/ Story: Kangsadan K. / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Markus Gortz /
Amidst a beautiful mountain landscape, a steel frame home looks lightweight under a canopy of overhanging trees in Mae Rim District, roughly 15 minutes’ drive from Chiang Mai’s downtown. It’s tucked away in a cozy corner of a peaceful neighborhood blending seamlessly into the dark green of nearby woodlands. Upfront a natural water pond lies hemmed in by the U-shaped house plan, creating an environmentally friendly living space. Needless to say, it’s invitingly comfortable, calm and peaceful thanks to the crisp cool mountain air passing through all day. Nothing compares to living close to nature.
Its spacious floor plan affords a whopping 800 square meters of living, functional and utility spaces snug by the warmth of a northern countryside. The brainchild of Design Qua, an architectural practice based in Bangkok, the house among the trees is designed to be in harmony with nature. This can only come from a profound understanding of the place, knowledge of the local climate and efforts at maintaining ecological balance long term.
A drawing illustrates the various component parts of a U-shape house plan in relation to the courtyard under tree cover and a water pond that’s the centerpiece of landscape design. / Courtesy of Design QuaA diagram of the second floor shows the private residential wing at the far end, utility areas on the left, and the multipurpose wing holding a welcome area in the foreground. / Courtesy of Design QuaA side-elevation view of the U-shaped house plan in cross section illustrates the physical interactions between man and nature, as evidenced by the positioning of living spaces linked by a system of corridors, balconies and verandas overlooking the courtyard with a water pond. / Courtesy of Design Qua
That being said, structural steel framing comes in as a handy building technique. Among other advantages, vertical steel columns take up less space than do concrete ones. This helps to avoid damaging the root system of a rain tree standing close by. Steel frames provide a stronger, more durable structure than concrete does. Plus, it’s lightweight and faster to construct. Overall, they are the key attributes that give the home its character.
Steel framing for building construction offers many advantages. Among others, it takes up less space and provides flexibility in design as evidenced by a system of pathways connecting to all parts of the home. Plus, it promotes good ventilation and interactions between nature and humankind.
Typical of homes in the Northern Region, passive design strategies take priority over any other matter. Correct building orientation ensures there are enough openings in the walls to admit natural daylight and fresh outdoor air into the home, while texture applied to walls and ceilings create shadows and an even concentration of warm soft light in the interior.
Named Maerim House, the two-story steel home is built on a U-shaped floor plan with a courtyard containing a natural water pond occupying the in-between space.
The house consists of three parts. First, the north wing holds a garage upfront leading to the main entrance with a warm and cozy welcome room. The ground is covered with new top soil, paved and polished to give it a neat and clean surface. The raised floorboard ensures safety in case of heavy rain.
The second part of the house plan is raised at plinth height 60 centimeters above the ground. All the equipment and utility spaces are here, among them washing and drying machines plus a work studio at the far end right next to a rather unique circular bathroom.
The third and final section of the home holds a quiet, secluded residential area. The downstairs consists of a kitchen complete with dining and sitting rooms plus a bedroom for guest accommodation. It’s accessed by a veranda tiled in different colors and textures that blend with surrounding courtyard landscapes. Close at hand, the overhanging branches of a rain tree spread above the water’s edge providing crisp, cool shade.
The counter enclosed by an overlapping clapboard of reclaimed timber adds vintage appeal to the kitchen and dining area.For a good first impression, the welcome wing is enclosed by glass walls and sliding doors that open to admit natural daylight and fresh outdoor air into the room.
A set of steps illuminated by recessed lights gives access to a two-meter-wide veranda overlooking the water pond that’s the focal point of the courtyard landscape.
Nearby, an apparently lightweight set of stairs next to a breeze block wall provides access to the second floor holding the principal bedroom. From here, a hallway connects to a living area and a circular bathroom and, beyond, two other bedrooms tucked away at the far end. On the outside of the building, a spacious balcony affords beautiful views of the rain tree and lush courtyard landscapes.
Separate but not divided. Breeze block walls painted a muted shade of green clearly define the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, at the same time providing visual continuity between the two worlds.A yoga pavilion at the rear of the house affords a beautiful panorama of wooded hills and surrounding mountains stretching farther than the eye can see.
For indoor thermal comfort, the house’s wooden floorboard is made up of long planks recycled from older homes, resulting in a feel and appearance that make people feel calm. The interior decor is simple yet elegant, featuring the simplicity of a mix-and-match between old and contemporary items. The furnishings mostly sourced from within the region bespeak the homeowner’s love for pleasingly graceful styles adorned with beautiful works of handicraft.
The upstairs bedroom boasts the simplicity of a floorboard made up of reclaimed wooden planks installed with narrow grooves in between, creating a texture that’s the only one of its kind.Tall wall ideas provide ample room for an awning window hinged at the top. It opens and shuts as needed to regulate fresh outdoor air streaming into the upstairs bedroom.An accent wall in the downstairs living room is tiled in different colors symbolizing variety, with a fireplace directly across from it radiates timeless appeal.
To create a restful atmosphere, perforate brick walls are painted earthy light green that visually blends with the darkness of nearby wooded hills in the landscape. For a lightweight look, the home is roofed over with metal sheeting with extended overhangs protecting the glass walls from the elements. At the end of the gutter, rain chains direct the flow of water from the rooftop to the ground in a more controlled way.
Taken as a whole, it’s a beautiful amalgam of natural and built environments. Built largely of bricks and reclaimed timber, the steel frame home successfully merges into the complex woodland ecosystems that are the pride and joy of this part of Chiang Mai. By design, it’s a simple structure inspired by a yearning desire to live closer to nature. And that’s exactly the point. Gorgeous!
A contemporary vernacular home aptly named “Baan Suan Athisthan” stands surrounded by lush green trees and bushes in Chiang Mai. The term “Baan Suan” is Thai for an orchard home. You got the idea. It’s a living space that merges traditional knowledge and skills with modern design principles, technology and materials. The result is a well-thought-out two story house plan filled with style and personality, plus useful features fitting perfectly in a coherent whole.
A tree and lush vegetation add a light and pillowy texture to the front yard. The roof is covered with terracotta tiles sourced from neighboring Lamphun Province.
Located at Tambon Mae-Tha in the District of Mae-On, the house makes good use of indigenous knowledge systems and experiences unique to the locality, albeit adapted to suit new conditions and the look that belongs to the present. It’s part of a whole range of professional pursuits that homeowner and architect Supawut Boonmahathanakorn is engaging in.
He has worked at Mae-Tha for a long time, getting involved in all kinds of development efforts. It’s easy to get why he’s become a respected member of the community. We swung by Supawut’s beautiful vernacular home recently and loved every minute of it.
A Home That Blends into the Surroundings
Supawut came to Mae-Tha some eight years ago to work in community planning but ended up falling in love with it. Over time, a friendly, harmonious relationship with locals culminated in a decision to purchase a piece of land with the intention of building a home there.
What he had in mind was the kind of home that would fit, geographically and culturally, into the context of the rural vernacular habitat. And it climaxed with an impressive event in the form a thoughtfully devised wooden home with functionality and comfort fitting into a rural house plan.
Plus, correct building orientation protects it from inclement weather, creating a cozy and inviting living space that syncs with the rhythm of nature.
It’s the product of design thinking that started out with the simple drawing of a wooden home plan. As might be expected, he wanted it built the old-fashioned way. The house is now complete.
The principal front of the home looks out over a rural road and, beyond it, a panorama of Doi Khun Tan, a scenic mountain range straddling the border between nearby Lumphun and Lampang provinces to the south.
To deal with intense sunlight coming from that direction, a tree is put in the front yard to provide shade and protect the home from harsh glare. In the meantime, a specious porch along the outside of the house performs a dual function as semi-outdoor sitting room and a layer of protection saving the interior living spaces from sun damage.
By design, it’s the cool front porch that makes the house stand out from other vernacular homes in the neighborhood.
Bamboo poles alternating with barbed wires reduce the harshness of precast concrete fence posts. They provide a weather-beaten look that blends smoothly with the wooden home on the property.An array of awning windows allows natural daylight and fresh outdoor air into the home. Plus, they prove a perfect complement to clean line design on the building’s external envelope.
To blend in harmony with the community, the house is kept roughly the same size as its neighbors. Plus, it makes perfect sense to build a good rapport and avoid being seen as different from what is usual or expected.
To create a quiet and secluded living space, Supawut puts a tree in the front yard that’s still growing at the time of this report. At the same time, appropriate adaptations make the interior spaces cozy and comfortable. Among them, a “Tai Thun” or the open lower level space has since been enclosed by the walls for privacy and security since the homeowner doesn’t live here every day.
Combining Old and New
For strength and durability, the house is built on concrete foundations. The beams and joists supporting the house floor are crafted of steel to significantly speed up the overall construction process.
The floor itself is made of hardwood. The same applies to the beams and joists supporting the porch along the outside of the building. All types of timber used in this project are recycled from three old homes. They are chosen for their color and ability to suit different applications.
For good looks, teakwood is used as showpieces and wall panels, while the floor is crafted of solid hardwood in varying tones.
The front door opens to a vista of herb gardens and, beyond, a seemingly endless line of mountains.A roofed well casing made of concrete syncs with gardens filled with herbs indigenous to the Northern Region.
In keeping with local traditions, the house’s external envelope is unsophisticated and easy to understand. Unlike traditional vernacular design, the roof eaves overhanging the exterior wall are left exposed, leaving the ends of roof rafters visible.
Neither is there a gable decoration, aka the “Ga-lae” that’s symbolic of homes in the Northern Region. But nevertheless, it’s a beautiful wooden house, one that’s easy on the eye and blending perfectly into countryside vernacular.
The house entry area boasts split-level design that provides a place to sit while putting on and taking off shoes upon entering. There is an element of surprise, though. The second floor is accessible via a spiral staircase made of steel, an unusual feature for the traditional style home of the Northern Region.
The dining room and kitchen that lies furthest in is well-lit by natural daylight streaming through side windows and the front porch. Directly overhead, exposed floor joists supporting the upstairs room are clearly visible.Double height ceiling ideas make the downstairs sitting room feel airy and comfortable. Sliding glass doors open for good ventilation and lighting.A nook with a small desk provides a flex workspace that’s airy, open and welcoming.
The downstairs bathroom is an extension of the house plan, accessible via a semi-outdoor room roofed over with corrugated translucent material for lighting, a clever hack to keep the bathroom clean and hygienic.
The front porch roofed over with a translucent material performs a dual function as semi-outdoor sitting room and additional protection preventing sun, wind and water from entering the home.
Climb a flight of stairs, and you come to a “Tern” in the vernacular of the Northern Region meaning an indoor raised platform. In a way, it serves as window into the past. Supawut explained that traditionally in former times, the area was used as living room during the daytime, and sleeping space in the nighttime for unmarried sons.
For good lighting and ventilation, the room isn’t enclosed by the walls. In times past, all family members would be out tending rice in the paddy field all day. There was hardly anyone home. And by the time the sons matured into adulthood, they would be married off and started a family of their own. Since the daughters remained in the family, they were entitled to a room of their own.
A window into Northern culture in times past, the raised platform or “Tern” in the dialect of the region provided space for a living room during the daytime, and sleeping space for unmarried sons at night. Like old times, it now serves as a sitting room with throw pillows and floor seat cushions for sitting and leaning on.
In keeping with traditions, the Tern in this contemporary home is without furniture, an evidence that sheds light on a culture in which people sit on the floor. For Supawut, it’s a quiet nook to lean back, chill out, enjoy the view of the surrounding landscape.
Double Height Ceilings for a Bright and Breezy Atmosphere
A void of space between the first and second floors further increases ventilation in the home. It serves as engine that drives cross-ventilation, drawing fresh outdoor air from downstairs and forcing it to exit through wall openings and vents upstairs.
By making appropriate adaptations to traditional house design, Supawut was able to create high ceilings that give the home a lively and cheerful atmosphere. The result of all this: a contemporary home that’s more cozy and comfortable than the original vernacular homes in former times.
An upstairs awning window and a gable vent allow natural light and fresh outdoor air into the home.Timber conceals the steel framework supporting the roof, creating a harmonious look in the interior living space. The coverings are made of reclaimed hardwood in various shades of earth color. The wall on the right is crafted of cement boards with sand swirl texture painted a cool-toned white.A void of space between the first and second floors makes the house feel light and breezy, while windows open to bring the outdoors in.
Technically speaking, the house is an interesting amalgam of the modern and the traditional. The architect started out with ideas for a modern house plan, and then added vernacular features to it with the help and advice of local elders highly skilled in traditional carpentry and woodworking.
Ironically, the elders were reluctant to participate at first. But after working with Supawut for a period of time, they came to accept it as one of their proud achievements.
The neat and tidy bedroom embraces simple living. Shelving and cupboards perform a dual function as storage space and double insulated walls.The contemporary upstairs bathroom is small yet complete with modern conveniences. The wet and dry areas are clearly defined, while the bathtub and shower room in cool-toned whites match the toilet and nearby rectangular wash basin.
As for building material adaptations, the walls are built for the most part of cement boards painted a shade of earth tones reminiscent of vernacular homes in bygone times. A light hue is chosen to create a bright and optimistic appearance on the front porch and entry area. The second floor is built strong to give it the maximum ability to take loading, especially the wet area where the bathtub is located. There are multiple vents that allow warm air to exit, resulting in a well-lit, well-ventilated interior. In the meantime, the open-concept floor plan makes the home feel spacious and improves traffic flow.
The house sits on concrete foundations designed to protect against water damage. Post bases built of concrete keep timber frames and columns dry. The joists and beams supporting the house floor are made of steel to significantly reduce construction time and save money on timber costs. Where appropriate, the open ends of steel beams are boxed in using wood plugs for a neat appearance and keeping insects out.For a neat appearance, wooden knobs conceal the pins that secure mortise and tenon joints in place, a preferred technique to build strong timber framing. The architect sought advice from an artisan/village elder skilled in traditional carpentry to do this. Reclaimed four-sided posts and round log beams fitting together like wooden toys add visual interest to the interior.The roof over the front porch is covered with a corrugated translucent material that reduces the amounts of light passing through. The load-bearing posts, beams and joists are made of hardwood for durability. Rafter tails are cut at an angle for a lightweight look and maximize the drip-off distance from the building. Plus, it allows rain gardens to make the most of runoff water.
The new contemporary vernacular home is named Baan Suan Athisthan for a good reason. The word is Sanskrit for a resolute mind or strong will to find inner peace and happiness. Like so, Supawut created this awesome place to be a home of peace, one that seeks reconnections with the natural world and the community to which it belongs.
More than anything else, it’s a little humble abode that provides a learning environment for kids, plus a close and harmonious relationship with others in the neighborhood.
The homeowner and project architect, Supawut Boonmahathanakorn, of Jai Baan Studio.
/ Story: Supachart Boontang / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Chaiyapruk Podang /
Created by a master architect, this contemporary wooden home in a suburb of Bangkok bespeaks the timeless elegance of traditional style residential architecture.
“It’s my intention to build this house out of wood because our country has strengths in wooden architecture,” said Chatree Ladalalitsakul, a nationally renowned architect. “Use of wood is the root of our wisdom and culture. It has made us self-sufficient in residential design and construction.”
The three-story home is crafted mainly of wood and structural concrete in beautiful flatwork finishes. Its uncluttered interior space is evidence of a minimalist style, combining aesthetics and functionality in ways that allow materials to show off their unique character.
Because the owner wanted his home to be perfect in every way, he gave the builders all the time it took to do it once and do it right. The resulting unsurpassed craftsmanship took three years in the making. The house emerged as a magnum opus in Thai residential architecture as he intended.
Striking the right balance, the interior showcases just enough pieces of magnificent woodwork, some of which are rare in this day and age.
The house plan is divided into two zones according to needs and activities. There’s a 10-meter-wide open space that clearly separates the private residential area from the office zone. The in-between space provides semi-outdoor room to chill out in the cool breeze looking out over the pool.
The first floor of the residential wing has plenty of room for dining, an open kitchen and piano room. The second floor holds a bedroom with private workspace, while the third contains a multi-use area for rest and recreation plus the owner’s favorite hobby, painting.
Sharing his work experience and a passion for wood, Chatri said: “A culture of wood construction that for centuries has benefited from the wisdom of our predecessors is on the decline. If it’s gone, our next generations will lose it forever.”
Overall, it’s a contemporary wooden home of outstanding merit. This is one that bespeaks the homeowner’s energy and enthusiasm to keep inspiring young architects to do their parts in preserving traditional-style wooden house design and architecture for years to come.
Owner/Architect: Chatri Ladalalitsakul of Tonsilp Studio
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej proposed vetiver technology as a way to conserve soil and water. The initiative led to the setting up of the Chaipattana Foundation’s PatPat Handicrafts Project.
///Thailand/// Photographs: Sungwan Phrathep
Vetiver grass has long roots, which makes it a perfect choice for preventing soil erosion and conserving ground moisture. Since King Bhumibol first promoted its use, vetiver grass has been widely popular among agriculturists all over Thailand.
To encourage roots to development, vetiver grass needs to be cut often. As a result, the Chaipattana foundation under HM the King’s patronage has developed PatPat handicraft products from vetiver grass cuttings as a way to increase incomes for farmers.
Vetiver prevents soil surfaces from eroding. (Courtesy of PatPat)
PatPat furniture and decorative items are handmade by local farmers from different provinces. With help from PatPat development teams, designs are kept minimal, with sometimes a hint of color where needed.
PatPat vetiver collection is currently on exhibit and available for purchase at the Thailand BIG+BIH exhibition, October 22-23, 2016. Optionally, you can also call PatPat at 02-282-6406 for more details.
Lightweight vetiver grass is fashioned into unusual curves in this unique chair.Vetiver seat cushion, supported by legs from the hardwood tree Kratinthepa (Acacia Mangium)Handy bird and elephant vetiver brushes.These versatile, easy-to-carry baskets can be used for laundry, trash, or storage.Fun color combinations make each piece unique.Vetiver is a good material for weaving. It has a neutral color and soft pleasant texture.Colored strips and small Northern Thai ornaments add interesting elements to round vetiver baskets.Grasses are woven into a circular form.
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