This 7-storey concrete house, blanketed with a refreshing green façade, has angles everywhere, with one especially remarkable section dominated by slanting red posts and beams.
Chatrawichai Phromthattawethi, interior decorator and owner of the company “Pro Space,” lived in a two-storey building for 15 years before finding it too small and building a new place on a nearby property. On that limited space he built upwards rather than out, in fact seven storeys up.
“Designing, we weren’t thinking primarily about style, but utility. The space was narrow, so we built tall.
“Then with a 4-storey townhouse next door we figured an ordinary building would seem too cramped, so we made the building structure visible: posts, beams and deep spaces into open walls creating dimensions of light and shade, adding panache with one section of oddly slanting posts painted red, set off with flowers here and there.”
Angular concrete building animated by the refreshing green of a quick-growing ivy.Spiral stair where people can come into the office on business without entering the house.Roof deck: garden spot with swimming pool, an outdoor living room.
Even closed in next to a small street, Chatrawichai’s design still provides nearly 1,000 square meters of usable space.
“Depending on use, each floor has a different height.
“The ground floor, with garage and kitchen, is moderately tall. The second floor is an office, and the third holds the butler & maid’s room, all normal height. We use the fourth floor for entertaining, so it’s spacious, with a higher ceiling than the others.
“The fifth floor has a guest bedroom and storage space, the sixth is my bedroom, and the seventh floor holds a living room and dining room set at different levels according to usage; the living room has a higher ceiling. On the roof is a deck, swimming pool, and garden.”
Chatrawichai agrees that this is an unusual design for him, with its red exterior posts at odd angles and interior ceilings displaying working utility systems, plus use of unusual materials such as metallic structural highlights in certain spots, creating a much different residential feeling than before and incidentally requiring a lot of detailed work during construction.
For the interior, furniture and décor mostly come from the old house, a mix of many styles – modern, classic, and antique – matched with exceptional taste because the colors were chosen in advance, primarily framed in a context of gray and black.
Colorful ornaments such as cloth or bright pictures hung on the wall add vitality.
“Coming from a two-storey house, at first living here took some getting used to. It was a tall building with the green façade, but definitely no condo; how to live in such a place? In the end, though, we found it wasn’t all that different,” Chatrawichai adds.
Design: Pro Space Co.,Ltd. by Chatvichai Phromthattadhevi
/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Peter Montalbano /
/ Photographs: Tanakitt Khum-on /
The architecture of this Modern Breeze Blocks home in Ho Chi Minh City is perfectly suited to the hot, humid climate, with an imaginative counterpoint of plants, greenery, and airy openings keeping it shady and pleasant inside and out.
Shunri Nishizawa, architect and owner of this 5-story row house, designed the Nishizawa Architects office into the basement. Floors 1-3 are rented to a Vietnamese family with a bedroom and dining room on the first floor, living room on the second, and more bedrooms on the third. The Nishizawa family itself has its living room on the fourth floor and bedrooms on the fifth.
Levels from the basement up to the fifth floor alternate between open and closed design, according to their use. Catching sunshine and natural breezes, the second- and fourth-story balconies are edged with small gardens.
This makes the tall building less constricted while allowing for easy air circulation from the front through to the back. Alternating levels extend out from the building’s frame, with the floors above shading the ones below.
Sun diversion screens: the design comes from the hollow brick concept, but uses larger units, so the breeze enters more deeply and freely while keeping intense sun and rain from indoor areas.A spiral staircase provides access to the second floor.A comfortable work environment at the office of Nishizawa Architects.
The small gardens not only make residents feel relaxed, but also filter out intense light and cool the breezes blowing through. The second and fourth floors feature concrete ceilings sculpted with curves rather than the harsh lines found inside most buildings. This makes the light more diffuse in the interior, creating the relaxing perception of being in a natural stone cave.
Shunri says, “This house shows a true combination of ‘tropical’ and ‘modern’ architectural design coming from understanding traditional living patterns in this hot, humid Vietnamese climate as well as how to set things up perfectly for contemporary life.
“It’s safe and secure living with modern comforts such as air conditioning, yet still answers our need to be close to nature, with sunlight, breezes, and open spaces connecting to garden and plants right here in the house.”
The overall design can be adapted to many different functions. Shunri draws on his experience growing up with multipurpose spaces common in Japanese homes. Areas such as the living room are strategically partitioned to block direct light and view, simultaneously giving privacy and an open feeling.
Hollow blocks, a popular Vietnamese building material, inspired the design. They provide shade, aid circulation and effectively protect against sun and rainstorm.
More than just comfortable living, this house offers a charming blend of nature and architecture ensconced in an oasis of calm right in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City.
This breeze blocks Tropical house is actually much better described as a “house and garden” than simply a “building.”
/ Story: Patsiri Chotpongsun / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Sitthisak Namkham /
Turning left into a side street opposite Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim district bureau, rice fields on both sides of the road have matured and only just begun to bear fruit. In the middle of it, all emerged a two-storey wooden house with vintage Thai-style appeal. It stood hemmed in by tall trees and lush green lawns. This two-storey wooden house showcases a mix of concrete and timber, its wide façade looking out on a fabulous panorama of mountains and paddy fields.
Open-back bookshelves contribute to an airy interior made for lounging, reading, and viewing pictures in the gallery.
Anchan, the housedog, gave a welcome bark, followed by greetings from the mustached host, “Tom” Apichai Wangtragul. He introduced us to his better half, “Saa” Narawan Rajchasee Wangtragul, AKA the heart of the house. The Retro look of her Thai-style sarong matched the atmosphere of the home named “Good Old Days.”
“Back in Lampang we had a small coffee shop offering snacks and selling guitars. It was very warm there, so we started looking for a new home in good weather. We found one on Google, not far from where we wanted to build our first home in Chiang Mai. One day that piece of land was up for sale, and we were lucky to have bought it,” Saa said.
Tom was teaching draftsmanship courses in Lampang, when they met, and the rest is history.
In Chiangmai, he designed the new wooden house after first setting up a model to determine effects of different building orientations at various times of day. He kept track of amounts of sun and natural air circulation and used the information to aid in the design.
The result was a home that fit in well with its natural surroundings and weather conditions.
As he puts it, “The home facing west gets a full dose of afternoon sun. The glare can be felt, no doubt, but the trade-off is worth it.
Panoramic sunsets can be seen every day.” To solve the problem, he has put in moveable latticework, which reduces the sun’s harsh glare.
The kitchen counter boasts naked concrete finishes similar to those found in coffee shops.
A draftsman’s desk sits by the window that opens to take in cool breezes and views of the surrounding landscape.
“I grew up in a wooden house on the water’s edge. I told him I wanted one with a shed roof made of corrugated sheets just like old times,” Saa recalled.
“Tom said that could not be done. So we built our new home using metal sheet roofing instead. I wanted doors with plantation shutters and places to showcase collectibles that we have cherished for a long time.”
Tom made sure his loved one got what she wanted. He searched and found reclaimed timber in Sanpatong and paired them with old wood imported from Lampang.
The timber supplies included Burma padauk wood, ironwood, and teak. The couple sought blessings for peace and prosperity before every piece was put to good use.
Apart from carpentry details, Tom is passionate about modern style with an emphasis on naked concrete finishes. Together they make the building feel light.
The interior living spaces are light and naturally ventilated, thanks to plenty of openings on all sides. Each function area is clearly defined with floating furniture for easy updates.
This design concept applies to the sofa in the living room and the dining table by the rear windows. The kitchen comes fully equipped, as their house becomes a home-stay destination.
The couple does everything in-house from selecting natural ingredients to preparing indigenous meals. It is attention to details and good health practice that keep customers coming back.
Tom’s hobby projects have been the source of many décor items.Triple-shutter design : In the Northern region, the window with three shutters in a row is generally preferred for cost effectiveness. The ingenious design needs only one latch to lock all three windows.
Tom keeps a collection of vinyl records for sentimental reasons. He likes listening to relaxing music on the old-fashioned phonograph while Saa cooks. Some of it is rare on this day and age. Here time goes by so slowly that it seems stuck in history.
The floor plan features a flight of stairs made of concrete and wooden steps. Located in the center, it keeps the two bedrooms on the first floor a good distance apart for added privacy. There are cabinets where old books and other collectibles are neatly kept. Nearby stands a gallery made for lounging, reading, and viewing pictures on the wall.
The second floor offers two good-sized bedrooms : one for guest accommodations, and the other for the couple’s exclusive use. There are antique beds in all of the bedrooms. Saa said she felt good about them knowing they came from good homes. She bought them direct from their previous owners. Between the two rooms stands an office space, where Tom spends time working at his draftsman desk. The workspace is bedecked with collectibles including old cameras and vinyl records.
As Saa puts it, “This is the wooden house that strikes the right balance for the two of us. It effectively chronicles our love story and journey through time. I am just happy being here.
“Chiangmai is such a delightful place, with canals, plenty of water, trees, and beautiful culture. During the period from November to February, our house becomes a home-stay destination.
Known as “Good Old Days,” the house has become a wholesome getaway for like-minded people. The service is not available during summer months, because we don’t use air conditioning. Time is well spent in the great outdoors.
/ Story: Ajchara Jeenkram / English version: Peter Montalbano /
/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul /
Comfort, safety, and privacy were the primary considerations in designing this house. Spacious, cool and airy, it fits right into its Nakhon Pathom city neighborhood.
“Coming back exhausted from work, the owner feels he’s escaped to the other side of a wall where he can finally relax with family in an inner sanctum hardly at all visible from outside.”Meechai Jaroenphon, architect from the Backyard Architect Co., Ltd., says the family wanted a lot of privacy for their home, which accounts for the dense concrete fence, broken only by a few narrow slots.
The house entry area next to the carport.
The property holds three houses with a connecting court in between. There’s the main house where the owner lives, a second house for his siblings, and at the very rear is the parents’ house.
The idea was to live together as a big family while still having privacy. At the architect’s suggestion the homes are compact, leaving a large common space for a garden they work together, which adds a warmer, more intimate atmosphere.
Meechai goes on to say, “The owner wanted the different homes to be set at different levels, with stairs of different heights. I took this a step further and designed stairways as connecting elements, primarily using wood for its simplicity and warmth.”
The owner’s outside staircase.
Stairways connect the three buildings, and going up or down each time brings us into the private space of a different family unit. Sometimes there’s more functionality involved: the stairway in front of the first house, for instance, has a frame of steel and wood railing which screens the view from outside.
Although privacy is important, there are also openings to facilitate sun and wind coming in. “I had in mind the concept of a “safe house,” says Meechai.
“So I designed the carport to block a house view, but the buildings are open to the breezes. When the owner comes home exhausted from work he enters a cool, comfortable atmosphere, escaping into his very own world.”
The altar room is a common area where the parents come to pray and make merit every day. Set at the highest point, it’s larger than other rooms, and divides into two sections: a meditation room and a sitting room. The walls here are open on three sides for an open, airy ambience.
As you can imagine, it’s quite a challenge to create a home for people of different ages to live close to each other. Good design has to anticipate actual usage and find solutions for each person. This house in Nakhon Pathom is a real success story in that way: the big family really enjoys living together.
The house fence and carport wall have 10 cm. slits allowing a view outside.
Materials used in the house: teak, Makha wood, brick, marble, mosaic tiles.
Architect: Meechai Jaroenphon of Backyard Architect Co., Ltd.
/ Story: Foryeah / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul, Beer Singnoi /
Utilizing the good qualities of the traditional Thai house in modern home design results in comfortable living and a look that never goes out of style. “Bua Baan House,” named after Bua and Baan, homeowner Ruja Rojanai’s daughter and son, was designed by Sorawis Na Nakhon of Bab Studio. His intention was to translate the most pleasing aspects of the traditional Thai house into a beautiful modern format.
“Almost all the houses in this neighborhood open onto a busy street, but this place of residence is located in a quiet, private cul-de-sac,” says the architect. “We planned the house in an “H” form which has more outside walls, allowing for more doors and windows and resulting in better ventilation than in a block-shaped building.”
The H-shaped house plan separates the building into two wings. From the carport stepping into the house, we pass the parlor/reception area, designed with a grand-looking “double-space” ceiling reaching up one and a half story.
An aluminum shading sunscreen blocks the sun’s harsh glare from the west.The entryway from the carport is reminiscent of the “Tai-thun”, or the open lower floor space in traditional Thai homes designed to improve lighting and promote natural air circulation.Above the front entrance, a border of potted plants adds green to the rooftop deck.
The home is built on a long and narrow plot of land. For privacy, service areas and maid’s quarters are in the rear, with a laundry section directly above it accessed by a separate set of stairs.
The owner’s living area is in the second wing of the H-shaped house plan, with a lower-floor connecting walkway between the two sections reminiscent of the Tai-thun, or the open space below Thai houses of old. Above the walkway is an exercise room.
Open space within the H-shaped house plan includes a mid-house garden, an excellent design aiding natural air circulation.Above the entryway, openings in the wall release hot air from below.A sitting parlor/reception room with high ceilings feel spacious, warm and welcoming.
The family residence wing rises three and a half stories high, with living room, workroom, dining room, and kitchen downstairs. Floor two holds a master bedroom for the parents, and another bedroom for an aunt. The third floor is for the daughter and son’s rooms. Each of them wanted a “mezzanine” level added to the bedrooms, hence a double-space ceiling with workspace set above.
The entrance hall continues along the length of the house, with doors and windows aligned right and left.[Left] A coordinated stainless steel kitchen. / [Right] The cool and calm atmosphere inside a double-space bedroom.Bua’s double-space bedroom.Bua’s workroom on the mezzanine.
Another thing adding to a sense of comfort and spaciousness in the home is in its linear plan, which allows easy circulation of light and air throughout.
Rooms are connected by a single walkway, and there are many doors and windows. The house faces west, presenting its narrow side to the hot afternoon sun. There, the architect provided thick, closed walls to block the heat, layering blocks inside to create a passage to let hot air out.
A flight of stairs leading to the workspace on the mezzanine in one youngster’s room.Baan’s bedroom, with a cool-looking net hung above.A stairway provides access to Baan’s mezzanine workspace.
/ Story: Skiixy / English version: Peter Montalbano /
/ Photographs: Rithirong Chanthongsuk /
This beautiful brick house belongs to a family of four in Ampang Jaya, a town to the east of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. The design work and use of materials such as bamboo and old brick taken from a pre-WWII colonial-style house make it special.
Childhood memories are fragments of the past that many of us can bring back to life. In her childhood, Mrs. Liew Jun Keong was entranced by house design. And in conversation with Studio Bikin’s architect Ms. Farah Azizan, her memories bubbled out, creating a happy chemistry of inspiration between the homeowner and the architect, with the end result of this gorgeous white brick house.
The kitchen counter with large pressed bamboo cylinder mortared in place and smoothed with a trowel.
Mrs. Liew said, “At first, I just had the thought I liked houses with a resort atmosphere and the sort of peace and quiet we used to find on holiday to Bali, Bangkok, or Singapore, experiencing nature in a more original state.
“Then I thought of the house we lived in then, in an area with a lot of unfinished concrete surfaces, and so told the designer I’d like a modern-style concrete house, but with plants and trees all around.
“By modern, I didn’t mean perfect, but featuring the natural surfaces of construction materials that have their own types of beauty.”
The reception parlor with dark wood furniture and vintage cloth coverings in muted tones of blue and gray.[Left] In the back of the house is a place to take a nap. [Right] The kitchen connects back to that nap space. Wood latticework helps with ventilation.A Chinese devotional altar roomThe master bathroom
After a good talk, the architect and the homeowner found their ideas really resonated with each other. Ms. Azizan also had pleasant surprises for Mrs. Liew. She came up with the materials handpicked specifically for this house.
“I was really impressed with Farah’s detailed choice of materials. I tend to think of the normal uses for bamboo, for instance, as for pipes, but she used it as a decorative façade for the house,” said Mrs Liew.
“Next, it was this batch of white brick, which has an extraordinary history, coming from the demolition of a colonial-style residence built before World War II.
“The brick had no coloring when she bought it. We were lucky to get this brick, as it was the first batch. Others looking at this may first notice it has blemishes or that the sizes are irregular, but it’s iconic material for that period, with a great value, and absolutely perfect for our family.”
The entire house is painted white, except for sections of bare cement. There isn’t a lot of interior furnishing and decoration, and furniture is limited to what is necessary.
Mrs. Liew values simplicity and doesn’t care for fancy interior décor. She said that she hadn’t yet found decorative work with the kind of natural beauty she cared for.
The homeowner added enthusiastically: “I’d never dreamed of living in a place where sunlight reached into the center of the house, which is something I now really appreciate.
“And the bricks used in the construction have blemishes, but each imperfection somehow adds to the perfection of the whole.”
/ Story: Monosoda / English version: Peter Montalbano /
/ Photographs: Nanthiya Bussabong /
Mountains, streams and forests in Mae Rim District embrace the open-air vacation home of a Bangkok metropolitan lady who has chosen tranquil Chiang Mai Province over big-city distraction and confusion.
Up front stands a beautiful Ceylon ironwood tree (scientific name: Mesua ferrea), also known as “Bunnag” in Thai. The building to the left side holds a reception lobby, with private residential areas upstairs. To the right is a spacious, open dining hall.
Three years earlier, this was just a holiday home for Lady Ying (Supapa Sanitwong). At that time, Prince Dighambara Yugala was in charge of it, and at his suggestion Lady Ying came to see if she should try living here permanently.
“Before, the house was surrounded by jungle. I explored a little each day, and found a nice view of the mountains. When the brush and grass was cut down, I found the river practically surrounded the house! Right then I fell in love with the place.”
The concrete structure with simple walls of brick perfectly suits the old-style doors and lunette windows.
Lady Ying bought the estate for her residence, naming it “Ironwood,” and put in a new building as lodging accommodation for visiting friends and family. Later, a hotel was added for guests wishing to experience the natural world of northern Thailand.
The name “Ironwood” refers to the Ceylon ironwood tree (scientific name: Mesua ferrea), also known as “Bunnag” in Thai. “This is a monument to my great-grandmother Jamreun (Bunnag) Sanitwong Na Ayutthaya, wife of Suwaphan Sanitwong in the reign of King Rama V. She’s not well-known, but is always in my thoughts,” she recalled.
The dining hall boasts the beauty of a high ceiling. It opens on all sides so guests can all experience the shady outdoor ambience.
The hotel has 5 rooms, each with a view of the Mae Sa River and the pleasant shade of big trees.
One of Lady Ying’s neighbors here is famous sculptor Jamnian Thongma, whose building design talents helped make her dreams come true. There are two zones on the premises, one in front and the other at the rear.
The front area holds two buildings; on the left, a reception lobby, with Lady Ying’s private residence above; on the right, a dining room and catering area. A walkway connects the buildings. The rear zone holds a riverside guest house.
The simplicity of the bare concrete wall helps direct guests’ attention to the natural world all about.Climbing vines on the outer brick wall adds to a pleasant, shaded look, also reducing heat absorption.
Lady Ying walks us up the white metal spiral stair to her space on the second floor: a comfy, airy little studio with classic décor and a great view of the mountains.
The bedroom connects directly to a spacious bathroom; the kitchen is separated, and from there a stairway leads down to a greenhouse garden. The Ironwood grounds are shady and pleasant, landscaped by Siriwit Riwbamrung and Jaturong Khunkong of the Little Tree Landscape.
A wrought iron spiral stair leads up to the private residential area.A tidy bedroom all in white, even the floor, with lots of natural light from the balcony.
The rooms contain antique decorative items collected over several decades: wooden screens from Burma, handmade chandeliers from Italy, mortared columns from India: many remarkable masterpieces arranged to produce a multicultural atmosphere by interior decorator Sorasak Chatrakul Na Ayutthaya.
Taken as a whole, the vacation home has a remarkable mix of a natural setting and cultural atmosphere, with universal narratives everyone can understand. It’s a place that gives a sense of peace and tranquility, just waiting to be experienced.
[Left] The welcome hall features a high ceiling from which hangs a handmade glass chandelier from Murano, Italy. / [Right] A sewing and needlecraft hobby corner in the loft style, furnished with antiques which keep it from looking overly contemporary.Drapery hanging in loose folds separates the bedroom and bath for an open, uncluttered look.The kitchen opens out to a stairway reaching up to the rooftop deck and down to the garden below.
Architect: Sorrasak Chatkul na Ayutthaya, Jamnian Tongma
/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Peter Montalbano /
/ Photographs: Sitthisak Namkham /
This box-shaped house uses architecture and coordinated interior design to tell stories of the present and the past.
The house is located in the Petaling Jaya district of Selangor, Malaysia. This is a district of single homes, but with little space to put up a large house.
Still, architect Dr Tan Loke Mun rose to the challenge of house owner Kenneth Koh and tore down the former structure here to build a new 3-storey box-shaped house in its place.
“Ground space was limited, so we built upward,” the architect told us. Building vertically involved careful division of space. The lower floors hold common areas: parlor/living room, dining area, kitchen, and conference/chat room. The 3rd floor is an attic, holding hidden utility systems next to a small living room.
The designers brought an “outdoors” mood to each part of this box-shaped house: there’s a “double volume” high, open space on the first floor; glass windows open to the garden atmosphere, and potted shade-loving plants bring it inside.
Gentle sunlight shining into the living space combined with a light breeze from a ceiling fan gives the feeling of sitting in a garden.
An effective play of space combines with the interior décor to bring out a timeless feeling that reflects its Malaccan legacy. The Chinese-style furniture, both traditional and contemporary, was made by Malaccan artisans. Paintings tell of a land that lives on in the memory of the owner.
For architectural reasons, the stairway is in the middle of the house. The folded steel balusters look light, and the red banister is at once tremendously chic and reminiscent of the row houses of yesteryear.
Significantly, the prominent terra-cotta tile facade is remarkable.
“In tearing down the old house, we discovered that the roof tiles were handcrafted, imported from Calcutta, India, so we set them aside to use this way for privacy and heat insulation,” added the architect.
“Their texture connects nicely with the other materials used here. This original house tile is long-lasting, looks great, has a timeless quality, and is a good choice in combination with the other main structural components of brick, concrete, and steel.”
The decorative outer house wall uses a suspended steel framework to hold the terracotta roof tiles and red brick.
The outer surface of this box-shaped house structure shows a wall of terracotta roof tiles that open and close to catch the light. The metal support structures reach out from the main building to form a pleasing pattern of connections between the inside and outside.
The look and ambience here remind us of a Malaccan row house, but in a modern context.
Effective combination of old materials and new in textures that suit its owner’s heritage gives this house a sense of being outside of time, and its memories will be passed on to the next generations who live here.
Ultimately, we don’t often find a big-city house that feels so bright, natural, and full of narrative.
/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Soopakorn Srisakul /
Looking anything but traditional, this hybrid steel-concrete home boasts a beautiful open-concept space. By design, it creates the light and airy ambience symbolic of the house on stilts unique to Southeast Asia in former times.
The owner’s beloved traditional-style wooden home was damaged by massive flooding that inundated much of Thailand’s Central Plains in 2011. But love never dies. She had the old house torn down to make room for a new one. The result was a hybrid steel-concrete home with all the charm and character of traditional Thai-style residential architecture.
“She requested stilt house design with three bedrooms,” said Pises Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya, one of the architects on the team. “Much of the timber was recycled from the old house and put to good use in the new, and she didn’t need air conditioning.”
To fulfill the homeowner’s request, the team of architects came up with a house-on-stilts design with extended eaves for sun and rain protection. It was built of a mix of concrete, steel beams and connections strengthened by steel framing for durability. In the meantime, correct building orientation allowed the new home to reap the full health benefits from cool breezes blowing in all day from a nearby canal.
Generous wall openings allow plenty of natural daylight and fresh outdoor air into the home. They include sliding doors and windows along the exterior walls facing the nearby waterway.
To create cross ventilation in the home, air vents are installed on the opposite side to exhaust the warm air, a passive design strategy that keeps the interior cool and dry. In doing so, they were able to eliminate the need for mechanical air conditioning entirely.
Open air vents designed to exhaust the warm air, thereby keeping the interior space cool and dry.Door panels recycled from the old house find a new purpose as cabinet doors and shelves used for storage.
To ensure nothing goes to waste, timber and other building materials left over from the old house were adapted for reuse in new purposes, such as ceiling panels, windows, handrails, and benches, even kitchen cupboards.
Reclaimed timber worn by exposure to the weather added vintage appeal to the home. It also served as a sentimental reminder of the old house that had been the family residence for many years before the big flood hit in 2011.
From the outside, the new house may look anything but traditional. But inside, it’s an entirely different story. The interior calls to the mind the image of the traditional house on stilts in the past, a place of residence thoughtfully devised to fit the Tropical climate. Plus, it’s well positioned to maximize certain aspects of the natural surroundings. And the result of all this: a beautiful home with curb appeal and a panorama of the lush landscape and nearby waterway.
Architect: Pises Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya, Itirit Hatairatana
This old house that’s the pride of two generations has been given a new lease on life. Tastefully renovated, it transformed into a modern brick home that took the beauty of brick masonry to a whole new level.
The heritage building has served as a big family’s rendezvous in Pattaya, a seaside town just two hours’ drive from Bangkok. Those times are gone now. The extended family home is now in the hands of the second generation with a smaller household. That’s reason enough to restore it as a new place of abode ideally suited to a modern lifestyle.
“First, I started out with a building inspection looking to identify parts that needed repairs and whatnot,” said architect Kasin Sornsri.
“I talked with both generations of the family, and I could feel the love they had for this house. So, I decided to go for a renovation instead of a teardown to make room for a new building.”
In the process, the old roof that fell into disrepair was replaced by a moderate-pitch roof with shingles. Beautiful shed roof design was chosen for its ability to provide tall ceilings, which directly benefited the interior living spaces on the upper floor.
Like the architect intended, the new feature added attractive curb appeal to the home and its lively green surroundings when viewed from the street.
On the first floor, an open-concept dining room is capable of entertaining up to 20 houseguests. The architect has kept the iconic archway design and brick walls on the front façade pretty much intact.
In the meantime, appropriate adaptations are made to best suit the way of living of the second generation family, while the first generation family enjoys plenty of room for privacy complete with a dining space and kitchen.
Over all, the interior design presents the character and atmosphere resembling that of an antique store. Pieces of vintage furniture and stained glass decorations give off friendly vibes conjuring up the image of a family way of life back in the day.
To make it more inviting, custom mosaic tiles paired with window grills in complementing shades echo the beauty of a fusion of Eastern and Western design. Well put together, they breathe new life into the old brick house that has been home to a big family for two generations.
Built to last, and further improved through renovation, this brick house in Pattaya now stands ready for the future.
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