Blog : Bangkok

Family Home Surrounded by Warmth and Happiness

Family Home Surrounded by Warmth and Happiness

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Atta Otto / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Rithirong Chanthongsuk /

A Swiss chalet-style building had been a family home for more than thirty years. Eventually, it was in need of repair and restoration. The Panikabutra family gave serious thought to renovating and returning their two-story wooden home to its original condition. All things considered and when a decision had to be made, the homeowners thought it wise to have it demolished to make room for a new home.

Family Home
A wood deck is designed to take in the view of the courtyard landscape. Like a must-have in any design, a healthy, lush lawn serves as the yard’s focal point. The grass lawn is uncluttered and easy to keep clean like those on the golf course. Underneath it, a drainage system is in place to carry off excess water, thereby preventing flooding in case of rain and getting rid of mosquito breeding grounds. From this angle, the rectangular-shaped inner courtyard can be seen enclosed by a walkway system that connects everything on the property.

Reclaimed wood from the old house was prepared for reuse in a new single-level building designed for mother, Khunying Pannang Panikabutra. Her daughter, Thapanant Suwittayalangkarn, shared the story behind it.

“Old wood taken from the house that Dad built a long time ago was still in very good condition. It was considered so valuable.  Besides that, it was legal as timber prepared for use in the building. 

“Dad always insisted on the legality of things. Generally, it was beautiful reclaimed wood. There was some of it that had fallen into decay and new materials had to be purchased including old house  poles.”

courtyard
A set of stairs leads to the entrance of the building. Nearby, a ramp is put in place as part of preparation for possible future events should a wheelchair be needed. Only a short distance away, an Indian cork tree (Millingtonia hortensis) thrives in a round container. It has since grown through the skylight that’s purposely built to brighten a nearby carport during daytime hours.

The new home plan is arranged around a central courtyard with a beautiful lawn as its main attraction. It’s a great way to frame a view since every room opens to the lush, refreshing garden landscape.

This is especially true where the main hall and dining room connect to a wood deck with furniture, a perfect setting for relaxing outdoor living spaces.

The design is about disposing the home plan around a central courtyard. This way, the problem of a lack of natural daylight in the interior is solved. It immediately freshens up the room and makes it comfortable for everyone, especially older members of the household.

Family Home
The reception room boasts large opening glass doors overlooking the central courtyard. At the further end, two doors with matching transom windows add a light and airy feel to the atmosphere. In the middle of the room, despite its rather formal appearance, a vintage-style waiting room sofa in dark hues seamlessly fits into the décor.
The dining room and nearby sitting parlor get a good view of the inner courtyard, thanks to large opening doors that stand tall from floor to ceiling. Soft hues on the sofa upholstery creates a calm and serene atmosphere to make one feel more relaxed. It’s easy to get why this area has become the family’s favorite hangout.

Free from being observed by other people, the house’s five bedrooms have their place and private facilities around the courtyard garden.

The building being raised on piles at least a meter from the street level is a decided plus. The rooms are clean and uncluttered thanks to the under-floor space being used for utility systems.

Meantime, preparations for this family home are put in place to take good care of the elderly parent.

Family Home
The walkway around the courtyard is roofed over with translucent sheeting to shield it from sunlight and rains. The rafters and roof battens are made of reclaimed wood from the old house, while the posts are erected on cement foundations to protect against humidity damage. The passageway surface is covered in a mixture of small stones to prevent water splashing in case of rain.
An open space between walls offers room for a shady tree, while wood lattice fencing serves as an engine that drives natural air circulation. Together,
they create a spectacular light and shadow play that’s constantly changing with time.

Sharing her thought, Thapanant said:

“From our experience before Dad passed away, the old two-level home proved inconvenient since we were responsible for taking care of people in poor health.

“The safety precaution already in place wasn’t good enough. When we decided in favor of building a new family home, my brother looked into every design detail. We put in a garden walkway around the courtyard with direct access to Mom’s room. That was our idea of making space available for mobility exercises.

“Everyone felt secure now that, to protect against slips and falls, all the rooms were set at the same level including the bathroom floor. We also put in a ramp linking the house to the  carport to be ready should a wheelchair be required in future.”

Family Home
The bedroom offers a relaxed corner for leisure activities, such as drawing and playing music.
Family Home
Mom and daughter relax together in a sitting area around the courtyard.

Architect: Apisit Suecharoen


 

A White House Matching Modern Architecture to Its Environment

A White House Matching Modern Architecture to Its Environment

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Kor Lordkam / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs: Ketsiree Wongwan /

Secluded behind what appear to be walls of white paper, the “PA House” is a perfect combination of modern Tropical architecture and a unique solution to its site-specific environment. It’s the brainchild of IDIN Architects, a Bangkok-based architectural practice.

White House

Architect Jeravej Hongsakul explained that the first design challenge of this 400-square-meter house was its owner’s interest in privacy for his growing family.

“In our first site survey, we noted the wide variety of sizes and styles of the surrounding homes, a four-story house here, a Louis-style there. How to fit a new house into this context and make it livable?”

The architects observed, took pictures, noted directions, viewpoints, levels, and distances between houses, and analyzed the collected data to feed into their design plan, and came up with a concept that used these surroundings not as a limitation, but, surprisingly, as a help.

White House

“Each one of these other houses actually functions as an assistant architect, telling us where and at what levels to place the walls and planes that build connections on all sides, leading us to create open spaces within,” explained the architect.

“I sometimes feel like the conductor of an orchestra, arranging voices and the mix to bring this home to life as a beautiful piece.”

Accordingly, the relationships formed by viewpoints to and from surrounding buildings turned out to be a primary factor in the straightforward design of this home.

Each wall was placed to help deal with problems that might arise from its geographic situation. Where appropriate, well-thought-out adaptations were made to enhance utility and the livability of the house.

White House Modern House Modern House Modern House

Coming in on the south entrance road, we encounter two planes meeting in a tall, wide “L” appearing to float out from the second floor of the house. This construction benefits the house in the same way as a raised hand can block sun from burning our face.

The ground floor is cool and shady, but still has a great view of the wide, open garden directly outside, while the upper wall both blocks the view from other houses and insulates against heat.

Along this section of the lower floor, a fence wall set two meters out from the house provides ample space for growing plants, while glass walls reach up another 6 meters for a look out through the shade. From here the sunlight traces down the inner wall, creating new dimensions and an open, airy feeling.

Modern House White House

Comfort of use is the basis for the distribution of functionality within this white house. On the ground floor a living room and dining area open out on a wide garden view, and one portion is set aside for a guest bedroom.

On the second floor we find a master bedroom and one more room for a family member expected to come in the future. All this is coordinated with external design to support the family’s lifestyle in the most perfect way.

As the architect puts it, “The primary design is all about controlling sunlight and creating balance between outside and inner courtyards. The overall effect is open and airy in every direction. The horizontal plane forming the upper covering above looks almost like a hat on the house, and it functions both to block harsh light from the sun and create a wide open view at eye level.

“The concept is what we call ‘Passive Design’: design where the natural systems facilitate living. It also came out in a style both we and the homeowner are happy with. It’s a happy mix of many things.”

White House

White House


Architect: IDIN Architects (www.idin-architects.com)


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A Calm and Peaceful Wood House at the Water’s Edge

A Calm and Peaceful Wood House at the Water’s Edge

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Sarayut Sreetip-ard / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Sitthisak Namkham /

Pongsakorn Tumpruksa, of Arsomsilp Community and Environmental Architect Co., Ltd, was passionate about life beside the water. He built his waterside wooden house on 340 square wahs (1,360 sq. m.) of land in Bang Khun Thian where two small waterways converge with Bang Mot Canal.

Thai houses
The roadside entrance is in the back, so the house fronts on the canal, Thai-style.

Like the traditional Thai house in former times, this waterside wood home has a tall open area called “tai thun” (the underfloor space at ground level), an economical construction that suits Thailand’s climate and promotes socialization processes in the family.

Thai houses

Thai houses

Thai houses

Thai houses

The tall tai thun includes a carport and an area blocked off as a workshop. An open staircase leads up to the porch, and in the center is a large contiguous open space combining living and dining areas, with the kitchen on one side and bedrooms on the other.

Pongsakorn explained the three design principles that he kept in mind, which are:

Thai houses

Thai houses

A centuries-old principle of traditional architecture of Thailand’s central region

It is about the house’s suitability for the environment, balancing sun, wind, and rain to keep things cool and comfortable. Here, the old knowledge is blended with modern construction materials. The high tai thun avoids flooding and termite damage.

Good air circulation is ensured with a high roof with long eaves; windows and a gap below the roof help release hot air. There is a deck where either clothes or fish can be dried, a heat-resistant mesh on the wooden roof, and there is an open porch below the eaves where you can sit, catch the breeze, and relax from the heat.

Also, the gardens around the house give shade and maintain moisture, cooling the area.

Thai houses

Thai houses

The architecture promotes Thai family culture

Previously, the family lived in a townhouse, chatted at the dinner table, and were always in close, warm contact.

To continue that feeling, living and dining areas and kitchen were designed as a single continuous space.

Thai houses

Thai houses

Cost-effective construction

The house was built with a limited budget: overbuilding would have been problematic.

Thai traditional knowledge shows how to do this: leave room for gradual expansion, building onto the house as needed, as was done in Thailand’s earlier days.

Thai houses

Thai houses

Pongsakorn tells us, “Building a home for my loved ones was like building happiness. What I’m most proud of is doing it as the architect son of my father, who worked for the government as an architectural technician. Dad left us last year, but he got to live with us in this house.”

“Happiness for me is growing plants and living in a shady, cool home,” says Pongsakorn’s mother with a smile.

“I’m truly glad that Father had the chance to live here with us again.”


Owner/Architect: Pongsakorn Tumpruksa of Arsom Silp Community and Environmental Architect (arsomsilparchitect.co.th)


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“Huean Tham,” Local Thai House in a Japanese Tradition“Huean Tham,” Local Thai House in a Japanese Tradition

Peaceful, Shady Northeastern Thai House

Peaceful, Shady Northeastern Thai House

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Wuthikorn Suthiapa / English version: Bob Pitakwong /

/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul / Styling: Wanas Thira /

Out of the edge of a sun hemp field rises what looks to be a traditional huean isaan (Northeastern Thai house). But this home, set in a shady, woodsy atmosphere, fragrant with the aromas of a Thai house and the fun-filled rhythms of Thai family ways, is fully adapted to contemporary ways of life.


After Sakda and Orapin Sreesangkom had lived 20 years in a condo, they designed this eco-friendly house to find an adaptation of Thai family life that could suit the modern age, and to build environmental awareness in themselves and their children.



The ground floor design echoes the traditional “tai thun” lower space found beneath Thai stilt houses. A porch reaches outwards to fill the usual roles: entertaining guests, and socializing.

Up close you’ll see it’s more like 3 houses connected by one deck, each one with wide eaves blocking sun and rain, but with a twist: the underside insulation is “rammed earth,” La Terre’s innovative cooling solution that rapidly absorbs and diffuses heat and is made from organic, renewable materials.

Sakda and designers Arsomsilp Community and Environmental Architects shared the same vision.

The huean isaan takes over in spirit, though, with its outward image evoking a cultural memory reflected in the playfulness of the three boys, Chris, Gav, and Guy, bringing cheer to every corner of the house.

They like to play in the attic, slide down polished planks beside the stairway, and everyone’s favorite: the sky deck, accessible from anywhere in the house.


The heart of the home is the living room: it’s spacious, with a bar counter, dining area, and sofas for relaxing, sized 7 x 11 meters, and with no support pillars blocking the view within.

It was designed to mirror the look and function of the “tai thun,” a space that brings everyone together to do whatever they like to do best, as individuals or a group.

The building foundation supports a raised deck all around the house. This keeps slithering things and garden creepy-crawlies from coming into the house, at the same time creating good ventilation below.

The extra area for sitting, stretching the legs, or walking out into the garden is one more bonus.

Sakda’s deep attachment to the traditional huean isaan is what brought this all about.

That, and the family’s courage in leaving the convenience of condo life behind them to design, build, and live in a completely different way, growing their own garden, and creating a new home that could be passed down to the next generations.

Sun hemp is grown for soil maintenance.

Owner: Sakda and Orapin Sreesangkom

Architect: Arsomsilp Community and Environmental Architect (arsomsilparchitect.co.th)


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A Large White House with a Modern Oriental Flavor

A Large White House with a Modern Oriental Flavor

 / Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Samutcha Viraporn / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs:  Sitthisak Namkham, Nantiya Busabong /

This beautiful place is home to a large, multigenerational family. With family members from 8 to 84 years old, what stories it tells! Here belongings passed down across nearly a century give a sense of modern oriental flavor to every corner of its design.

Modern House
Patama Roonrakwit, the architect and the owner (second from the right), and her family

Long-time community worker Patama Roonrakwit, CASE Studio architect who designed and owns the house, created it from her knowledge of the ways and tastes of all its residents in their old home.

In a unique adaptation and fundamental design difference here, she preserved an old wooden house Pong’s grandfather had built, hiring Chinese craftsmen to raise it up to the second floor of the central building so family members could continue to experience its warmth.

Besides this, the home contains the offices of CASE Studio, Ed The Builder/Contractor, her brother’s tour company, sister’s music school, and guest rooms where friends can stay.

 

All this had to fit in a space of 1 Rai (1600 sq.m.), a narrow, long north-to-south lot.  The building divides into seven sections, some of which are open, verandah-like corridors that give an angular definition to the space, trapping the wind and making for good air circulation throughout.

Modern House
Wooden slats guard against the sun and wind and create visual harmony.
Modern House
The lower floor is a multipurpose area, adapting the Thai traditional “tai thun” space below a house to fit modern lifestyles.
Modern House
A nearly hundred-year-old wooden house is set as the very center of the main home, and contains a shrine holding Buddha images.

Bedrooms are intentionally not large, so as to encourage residents to come out and socialize in common spaces. Throughout the home, doors open onto walkways sloping down to the swimming pool.

Modern House
The swimming pool parallels the central verandah on the west side, which is set back a bit to reduce heat entering the central building.

 

The charm of the wooden house and the heirloom furniture gives the three generations of the Roonrakwit family and their regular guests the sense of a home that has opened its doors to welcome change while incorporating the experiences of them all at this important time.

 

An elderly person’s room, with special adaptations: bathrooms with no steps, support railings, and adjustable wash basins.
An elderly person’s room, with special adaptations: bathrooms with no steps, support railings, and adjustable wash basins.


Owner: Roonrakwit family

Architect: CASE Studio


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A Bamboo House Embraced by Nature
A BAMBOO HOUSE EMBRACED BY NATURE
The Perfect Townhouse Makeover in Bangkok

The Perfect Townhouse Makeover in Bangkok

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul /

The townhouse is a common type of building in Thailand, especially in Bangkok. Homeowner and architect Narong Othavorn grew up in one, always thinking of ways it could be better designed. Eventually, he and his wife Pim Achariyasilpa chose a 30-year-old townhouse in Si Phraya, a downtown neighborhood, and turned it into one of the most excellent townhouse makeover projects in the city.

townhouse makeover
Overall, the final building is a combination of the adjacent townhouses. Narong kept the original wrought-metal façade, modifying the original metal entrance door with a mixed frame of wood and steel, leaving the next-door side the entrance to a fourth-floor warehouse.

A picture window in the living room brings in natural light onto washed gravel walls that lead down to a small garden behind the house, inspiration for the “double space” mezzanine.


townhouse makeover

The double-space ceiling isn’t only about making the lower level look good: it supports the open-plan design.

Glass panels in the dining nook of the mezzanine above extend a feeling of comfort to every space in the house. From the mezzanine there’s a continuous view through glass partitions out to the garden behind the house, and there’s steady circulation of air from front to back.

Townhouses are apt to feel cramped, but not this one! The light is different in each area, but the light is what connects everything.

townhouse makeover

townhouse makeover

townhouse makeover

“These things came from our own personal tastes. Pim likes well-lit spaces. Me, I like indirect light,” explained Narong.

“So with a house for the two of us, we had to get the division of space just right, using the light available in each area. The lower floor is bathed in subdued natural light; upstairs, the living room is brightly lit through the front window.

“Moving back to the dining area and bar, the light is dimmer. Go upstairs to the bathroom and dressing areas and it’s lighter again, suiting the specific limitations and characteristics of each space.”

townhouse makeover

“Small, but spacious” is how both owners refer to this house: better than adequate, the size is really perfect.

Not so small as to be cramped. Everywhere some things catch your eyes up close and others at a distance. The home offers a master class on how townhouse renovation can work with limited areas to create special, interesting spaces.

Even though adjoining buildings make side windows impossible, careful arrangement of space and windows on higher levels give this house a beauty that is anything but ordinary.

townhouse makeover

townhouse makeover

townhouse makeover

townhouse makeover

townhouse makeover


Owner/Architect: Narong Othavorn of SO (www.soarchitects.space)


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ReGEN House: Modern Home, Thai Concept, Great for Family Members of All Ages

ReGEN House: Modern Home, Thai Concept, Great for Family Members of All Ages

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: foryeah! / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs: Chalermwat Wongchompoo /

“ReGEN House,” Pankwan Hudthagosol’s home, was designed as a modern home for a multigenerational family. Built on the same property as his father’s house, its concept echoes his father’s belief that the gift of warmth and closeness can show us how to think and live, and both welcomes and provides a foundation in life for young Mena, the newest family member. It began with a great design from EKAR Architects.

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects
The four-storey building on about ¼ acre of land has an interior space of 1600 meters. Its L-shaped layout opens on a green courtyard facing the forest-like garden at “Grandpa’s” house, connecting views for the people of three generations.

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

The first floor holds a carport, maid’s bedroom, and rooms for swimming pool equipment and other services.

The heart of this modern home is the second storey, where a wide balcony/deck taking up a full half of the floor space is used for family recreational activities.

This floor is designed to give the sense of being at ground level, as it reaches out to a “green roof” planted with ground cover seemingly floating atop a gazebo rising from the garden below, and with a swimming pool right there giving the feeling of an old-time streamside home.

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

The third floor includes a bedroom and workroom with large glass windows offering a panoramic view of Grandpa’s house and the big garden. The fourth floor is all about young Mena and her bright future.

The 4-storey height of the building gave the designers the opportunity to show differing siding materials on each floor, which they did using synthetic wood, stone, tile with stone designs, and glass.

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

If we look from the outside at the way the floors overlap, we get the impression of being a moderately sized house set inside a large one. Each floor has a self-contained design similar to a penthouse, including bedroom, bathroom, living room, and kitchen of its own, so the whole house is a bit like a four-storey apartment building.

To give a sense of spaciousness, doors and windows were put in only where necessary, but they can be conveniently opened and shut to give privacy.

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

Modern Home ReGEN House Ekar Architects

This house shows how modern design can be used to catch the spirit of the traditional Thai family residence of earlier days where many generations lived together, as modern architecture directly inserted into an urban environment manages to beautifully preserve a truly Thai way of life.


Owner: Pankwan Hudthagosol

Architect: EKAR

Interior Architect: Define Studio

Landscape Architect: Grounds play Studio

Structural Engineer: Sommuek Apiraksa


Visit the original Thai version.

REGEN HOUSE บ้านดีไซน์โมเดิร์น แต่แนวคิดไทย อยู่ได้ทุกวัยในครอบครัว


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Colorful Changes in Bangkok: 6 spots welcome the new year with color

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In this final month before the New Year, wherever you look in Bangkok you’ll see joyous festivities with colorful lights. Come with Living ASEAN to six of them!

/// THAILAND ///
Story: Gott /// Photography:  Rittirong Tongjunsuk, Tanakitt Khum-on

Thailand Illumination Festival 2017 – Ratchada

This garden of more than 15 acres bustles with fascinating activities under the brilliantly glowing light of more than a million bulbs. Here you’ll find a tunnel of many colors, a Christmas tree festooned with lights, models of the 12 constellations of the zodiac, and an indoor sound and light show featuring songs composed by H.M. Rama 9. Open to visitors free of charge Monday – Thursday from 6 to 10 PM, and Friday – Sunday 6 to 11 PM until January 6, 2018: Ratchadapisek Road Soi 8, opposite the Esplanade shopping center.

Thailand Illumination Festival 2017
festival of lights
Thailand Illumination Festival 2017

festival of lights
Beautiful Bangkok – Magnolia Ratchadamri Boulevard

Here a “3-D projection mapping” light show by the artist group “Limelight” paints a 60-story building with images depicting Bangkok ways of life, culture, and history. Shows from Dec. 14 – 31 2017 five times daily, at 7, 7:15, 7:30, 7:45, and 8PM. On New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31) there’s a special additional show for the 2018 countdown at 11:55 PM.

festival of lights
Beautiful Bangkok

LIGHT UP CHRISTMAS TREE CELEBRATION – Central World

CentralWorld Shopping Plaza has set up an amphitheater in front for a wondrously decorated “land of music” featuring world-famous Argentinian artist Javier Gonzales Burgos. The huge Christmas tree surrounded by statues including Santa, polar bears, and reindeer is a visual highlight.

LIGHT UP CHRISTMAS TREE CELEBRATION
LIGHT UP CHRISTMAS TREE CELEBRATION
festival of lights
LIGHT UP CHRISTMAS TREE CELEBRATION

festival of lights

Harry Potter: Christmas in the Wizarding World – Siam Paragon

The space fronting on Siam Paragon has become a magical country, giving muggles a not-to- be-missed photographic opportunity under the theme “Christmas in The Wizarding World,” put on by Warner Bros. Consumer Products and GES,
organizers of the international show “Harry Potter: The Exhibition” on its first visit to Thailand.

festival of lights
Harry Potter: Christmas in the Wizarding World

festival of lights
Let’s Celebrate 2018: The Holidays Bring Me Here – Central Embassy

A ten-meter Santa Claus, largest in Southeast Asia, rises majestically above Central Embassy shopping plaza, this year brilliant with more than a million Christmas lights. Here also is “Santa Playland,” designed to take everyone back to a fun-filled childhood atmosphere.

festival of lights
Let’s Celebrate 2018: The Holidays Bring Me Here
festival of lights
Let’s Celebrate 2018: The Holidays Bring Me Here

festival of lights
Winter Wonderland the Grand Celebration – The Emquartier – EMPORIUM

The Emquartier – EMPORIUM has transformed the trade center to be a miraculous land of winter under the theme “Winter Wonderland: the Grand Celebration,” with a 12-meter white bear and an army of small white bears beaming smiles at all
passersby. There is also a light show with content changing each week.

festival of lights
Winter Wonderland the Grand Celebration
festival of lights
Winter Wonderland the Grand Celebration

Link: http://www.baanlaesuan.com/88727/design/directory/5-light-up-bangkok/

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Huamark 09: A Concrete Block House Stands the Test of Time

Huamark 09: A Concrete Block House Stands the Test of Time

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: foryeah! / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs:  Nantiya /

Codenamed Huamark 09, this four-story home wrapped inside the concrete block envelope belongs to architect Intanon Chantip, aka “Non” of the INchan Atelier, a Bangkok-based architectural practice. It’s a design experiment aimed at testing several theories that he’d arrived at through intense study and experience. The architect wanted his concrete block home to tell its own story through changes in the looks of construction materials. Precisely, all the years that pass by will leave their trace of time as the house ages. It will be interesting to see how the building materials perform in the course of time.

Concrete Block House
The concrete block home resembles four big boxes stacked one on top of the other. The fence that protects the first floor of the house is painted a cool-toned white that contrasts with bare walls on Levels 2, 3 and 4 intentionally left exposed to blend with other houses in the neighborhood.

Not that long ago, Non and his wife Tharisra Chantip, aka Ploy, bought this 80-square-wah property (320 square meters) in Hua Mark District on the outskirts of Bangkok. They had the old 30-year-old house demolished to make room for a new four-story concrete home integrating office, art studio and residential spaces to form a coherent whole.

The building external envelope is built of concrete blocks without plaster. It’s left uncovered on purpose so as to blend with everything else in the neighborhood. All together the usable space comes to 490 square meters.

Concrete Block House
Like everything else, the principal face of the house is intentionally of cement blocks, which collect dust and dirt as they change color with the seasons. Outer metal grating lets climbing vines grow naturally reaching for sunlight.

The homeowner couple divided the property into northern and southern sections. They raised the property slightly higher from ground level to put in a garden to the north, then a rectangular building to the south.

The building’s long side runs east-west to block prevailing winds and allow openings to control sunlight and breeze streaming into the home.

The house’s four-meter width is comparable to most row houses in the area. Each side has double walls that work simultaneously for ventilation and heat insulation. Door and window openings reinforce the concrete block house’s primary relationship to weather conditions, wind, and sun.

On the south side are fewer openings because of a staircase, while north and east sides have balconies and various service areas reaching around to the west side, which also has the double walls characteristic of the building’s overall design.

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

The four levels are divided according to function. The architects’ offices are primarily in two first floor rooms: a larger one with a long work table for working in teams and a smaller one that serves as meeting room and library.

The second floor is a private residential area, with a living room connecting to kitchen and dining area.

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

The third floor contains one bedroom for Non and Ploy and another for Non’s mother. The two are connected with a shared bathroom.

The fourth floor is a studio for creative work and enjoyment. It’s designed with a view to high flexibility of function in expectation of anticipated future changes as little members of the household gradually grow up.

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House

Concrete Block House


Architect: INchan atelier


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Box-Shaped Steel House Surrounded by Nature

Box-Shaped Steel House Surrounded by Nature

/ Bangkok, Thailand /

/ Story: Kor Lordkam / English version: Peter Montalbano /

/ Photographs: W Workspace /

This box-shaped steel house, hidden in shady green woods, has a cool, peaceful resort atmosphere. – hard to believe it’s right in the middle of a congested city!

Steel House
wide eaves, glass windows set 3 meters in for shade and rain protection
Steel House
paved driveway leading into the carport 5 meters from the street

Designing architect Boonlert Hemvijitraphan of Boon Design took up the challenge set by the owner: create a home on the limited plot that is neither cramped nor stuffy.

Boonlert said, “The challenge was to make that work within the urban context. Fortunately, the owner gave us a completely free hand; our job was simply to design a comfortable residence on a 360-square-meter (90-square-wah) property. The starting point was what we saw in the original landscaping here.”

Steel House
[left] The dark of the steel house and bamboo blinds contrasts with the surrounding greenery. [right]: Open space carport leads up into the house.
Steel House
The main door from the carport into the living room

Steel House

The property was not large, and its location right in the center of a capital city was seriously limiting

How to build a comfortable residence here? The garden/orchard greenery was used as a tool to create a sense of spaciousness.

Instead of the house spreading outwards toward the fence, it rose vertically as a 2½-storey home with open space beneath the house used as a carport and multipurpose area, the rest of the property becoming a relaxing, park-like space.

Steel House

High-ceilinged living room, naturally bright and airy, with a great view of outside greenery.

The large garden was set up to the south to get the best breeze and the best shade from plants and trees.

The garden is planted on soil raised 1.2 meters higher than before to be level with the 3-meter height of the living room.

The living room connects with the dining area beneath the mezzanine, with the kitchen behind the glass door
The metal bookshelf reaching almost to the mezzanine also acts as weight-bearing support for the staircase behind it.

The first floor has a high “double volume” ceiling for more natural light and ventilation. A steel staircase rises from the living room to the mezzanine, which holds a workroom and guest bedroom, and up to the second floor, the owner’s private space.

The single staircase up from the carport connects everything from the ground to the top floor.

Mezzanine walkway with banister and protective grating steel is the primary building material, but natural materials such as bamboo are also important.

Bamboo shades cover the house façade, filtering sunlight, protecting against rain, giving privacy from outside view, yet still allowing good ventilation.

“We used steel not because we especially wanted to use steel, but because it was light, and we wanted that quality,” explained Boonlert.

“Each material has its own particular value. Coming up with a principle means coming up with the quality we want. Design is a value in itself.”

The architecture of this house reflects modern times. It’s surrounded by the natural environment people long for, so no matter chaotic and confused the outside world, in this home there’s a mood of relaxation and contentment: it’s just a great place to live.

Elevated porch connecting to the garden.

Architect: Boonlert Hemvijitraphan of Boon Design (www.boondesign.co.th)


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