REAL ESTATE : California-Like Resort Built in Thailand by Newport Beach Architectural Firm

Take an exotic vacation in Southeast Asia and you might run across neighborhoods that look a lot like home.

Tong Gween Estates, a luxury resort in the foothills of Khao Yai National Park in Parkchong, Thailand, features mansions with scenic views, proximity to a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course and plenty of pools and spas.

If it sounds a bit like homes in Orange County’s Turtle Rock Summit or Newport Coast, that’s for a good reason. Richardson Nagy Martin, an architecture and planning firm based in Newport Beach, was hired by Tong Gween Co., a Thai real estate developer, to create the $50-million project. The two firms recently formed a joint venture to create projects elsewhere in Thailand.

“There’s a tremendous affinity for Southern California design,” said Ralph J. Martin, president of RJM. “Not that it’s all red-tiled roofs and stucco, but it is similar.”

A similarity of climate, paired with sophisticated designs and building techniques, has sparked Southeast Asians’ interest in Southern California, as well as the export of popular culture, Martin said.

The project’s first phase includes 27 homes, the first of which are expected to be completed in about six months. Hundreds more are planned.

RJM already had a stake in exporting California architecture overseas. About four years ago, it designed 100 Hills, a project in Tokyo that mimicked Beverly Hills homes.

Even so, Irvine of Thailand might be a stretch in the latest venture. The homes include more elaborate landscaping than is typical here, and “they are completely furnished, right down to the teacups,” Martin said.