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HENG CHIVOAN

The Malaysian owner and designer of the luxurious Amara Spa has succeeded in bringing together traditional building materials with contemporary Asian design ideas, the result of which is something completely new.

The interweaving of soft, moving elements with concrete, metal and wood is a central theme throughout the four-story spa.

The wave motif is captured spectacularly in the concrete walls and ceiling sculpture on the main floor. “I used some wave elements.… It’s very soft and goes with the water feature,” owner Patricia Tan says. “So when you hear the noise of the water dripping and you see the wave … it feels very relaxing.”

Amara Spa is a combination of ingenuity and necessity. Elegant silk lamps conceal main support columns, and large vases have been transformed into sink bases. “With such limited material here … to pull everything together and make it work and make it as contemporary as it can be.… You have to capture some new elements that you cannot find.… It’s actually very original.”

The furnishings and materials incorporated in Amara are local or imported from Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam.

It is Tan’s third project in Phnom Penh after Hotel Cara and Fusion Sushi. “I really like this design myself, and I think it will work in the future to use this type of design in all different areas.”

When asked what the future holds, she smiled brightly: “It will be a surprise, but I’m not sure yet!”

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