/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Ratthee Phaisanchotsiri /
Aptly named “Our Home”, a pair of houses stands on the same property, suggesting the truth about the importance of family and building a peaceful society. The bigger house is designed for occupancy by the homeowner, while the smaller one is Mother’s residence. On the whole, there is beauty in simplicity and the way of life relevant to both of them. The concept of design is evidenced by the use of vernacular building materials and contemporary gable roof ideas that are straightforward, warm and inviting.
The main building is a two-story home that’s simple yet attractively modern.
From the design perspective, the principal building is a two-story home with three-bedroom three-bath suites under a steep pitch roof. The basic elements of design paired with the landscape speak the language of architecture that’s easy to understand. Walk in the door, and you come to a bright and airy hallway giving access to all the rooms, at the same time blurring the boundaries between indoors and outdoors.
Courtesy of Homesook StudioCourtesy of Homesook StudioCourtesy of Homesook StudioCourtesy of Homesook Studio
A staircase nearby is built against the south wall glazed using clear glass alternating with louvered wood shutters for light control and ventilation. On the side facing the hallway, a handrail provides stability for walking up and down stairs.
Opposite the stairs, an open kitchen designed for easy moving affords a view of an inner courtyard with a thriving shade tree in the middle. It grows to fill the void of space on the second floor, creating a visual connection with nature and bringing the home office and private residential areas into contact.
The staircase leading to the second floor is built against the wall glazed with clear glass alternating with louvered wood shutters for light control.The kitchen is enclosed by glass walls and sliding doors, creating clearly distinguishable boundaries.A passage on the outside of the building overlooks a courtyard offering green spaces, fresh air and the joy of home.
The mother’s home is a single-story building with an open floor plan made for plain and simple living. There’s a sitting room adjacent to a pantry capable of adapting to changing needs. It holds two bedrooms and a bath with all the functionality for receiving visiting family members.
A platform along the exterior provides a connection between inside and outside. The overall effect is impressive, thanks to wall openings, windows and doorways working in tandem to keep the house cool and comfortable. The two buildings share the same vernacular building materials and features, forming a delightful and consistent whole.
The living room inside Mother’s home has oversized glass door systems that open to connect with the main house.
Mother’s bedroom is a plain, well-lighted place thanks to a large glass door system.
Everything changes with the passage of time, and somewhere along the line this pair of houses is changing with it. Previously an empty space, the backyard garden is now bursting with vegetable and herb gardens thriving luxuriantly. An outdoor area provides room for a playground with swings and miniature houses for kids.
A garden pathway meanders gently through the pea gravel courtyard between the two homes.
Like nature intended, they create a conducive learning environment. Above all else, the courtyard between the two homes serves the purpose of strengthening family bonds. It’s a place to sit together, talk together and shoot the breeze. In a few words, there’s nothing like “Our Home”, so to speak.
/ Story: Kor Lordkam / English version: Bob Pitakwong /
/ Photographs: Poto Architects and Blind Space /
There’s more to this than meets the eye. Here’s a small house that chronicles a series of events and experiences of a multigenerational family in Chiang Mai. The humble abode that’s anything but ordinary is nestled in a residential compound shared by relatives living in ten separate households. The new home on a budget is the brainchild of Studio Sifah, a homegrown architectural practice admired for their knowledge of the social and cultural environment in the Northern Region and ability to apply that information in a meaningful way.
The house entry area is glazed using clear glass that provides a welcome contrast to nearby solid walls for privacy protection.
It all starts with a young man wanting to put in a home close to his aging parents on a large property where a group of close-knit families also live. It looks the epitome of experiences in communal living, a system whereby family relatives help and support one another come what may.
Point taken. The architects respond with a contemporary home built of concrete and steel framing. There’s a pleasant surprise. Its modern exterior belies the unblemished charm of rustic life hidden inside.
More so than anything else, the house plan is thoughtfully devised to preserve a culture unique to the Northern Region, the way of life by which people sit on the floor as they gather to enjoy a main dish called “Laab” just like their ancestry did in times past.
Here, though, the zesty meaty meal served with a salad and sweet rice is more than just food. It’s a way of life. It’s the living embodiment of a food culture that unites the people across vast swaths of land on this side of the world. Long story short, it’s only appropriate that the house is named “Laab Is More”.
The patio leading to the front door is taken up a notch with custom-made interlocking concrete blocks that can be dyed to create qualities and features resembling old-fashioned bricks.
Sharing his design thinking, the architect said the homeowner was looking for a house plan that would jealously guard his privacy in the company of family relatives living close by. It was quite a challenge even for experienced architects since it was a little too close for comfort, so to speak.
Eventually, the design team decided in favor of a 165-square-meter home enclosed by solid walls, each strategically positioned to save the interior from being seen or disturbed by outsiders. It’s a well-thought-out plan that maximizes space utilization to protect privacy and promote the close family bond at the same time.
In essence, it’s a design that combines the modern and the traditional. The house’s contemporary appearance goes hand in hand with the homeowner’s love for old-fashioned lifestyles that promote a culture in which people sit on straw mats as they enjoy a good meal together as family.
With respect to construction, the small house plan is enclosed almost entirely by solid walls with tall transom windows at the top for lighting. There’s one exception. The entry area is glazed using clear glass to create a bright and cheerful atmosphere. Serving as a buffer between indoor and outdoor spaces, the hallway at ground level connects to a slightly raised platform holding a spacious living room with functional areas nearby.
In keeping with long-established traditions, there is no wall separating the living room from the bedroom that lies furthest in. The only room dividers that exist are the ones that set the bedroom apart from nearby bathroom and workspace at the farthest end.
The principal floor holding the open bedroom is raised at plinth height, providing sleek, convenient seating space and hence no need for furniture.
Nearby, the lower sitting room offers space for a kitchen pantry design and coffee bar. From here, the concrete floor spreads out to connect seamlessly with a large outdoor patio used for family gatherings and dining al fresco. The patio has room for food preparation with a wash basin and utensils for cooking large meals and entertaining houseguests.
Split-level design shows in the main living space elevated at plinth level 50 centimeters from the hallway floor. Together they provide a convenient place to sit shooting the breeze. Plus, they evoke fond feelings and a sentimental attachment to the culture passed down through generations.
From the look of things, it’s material honesty that gives the house a good first impression. For strength and durability, the foundations and structural framing are built of concrete to carry the weight of posts, beams and the roof truss crafted of steel. Albeit built of modern materials, the entire floor plan makes reference to traditional vernacular design unique to the Northern Region.
Built on a budget, the house makes good use of locally available materials adapted for a new use and contemporary design. They include the walls built of bare concrete blocks and aluminum frames for doors and large transom windows at the top of the wall.
The ceiling is built of ordinary plywood panels, while wooden furniture in the interior gives the home a warm and welcoming atmosphere. For ventilation, there are no soffits beneath the eaves that connect the far edge of the roof to the exterior wall.
A spacious backyard patio provides ample space for gatherings, cooking and dining al fresco.
The multigenerational family property in itself is rich in history and strong spirit. And the newly added small house is designed to embrace the same positive attitudes that have been the family’s core values through time. It’s a layout with the power of storytelling about a sentimental attachment to northern vernacular culture, in which sitting on the floor is the norm.
A perspective drawing illustrates the dimensions and texture of materials used in the project, plus spatial relationships between indoor and outdoor rooms.An open perspective drawing gives the illusion of spatial depth in the split-level house plan. The main living area floor is elevated at plinth height above the entrance hall floor.
The property is home to an old rice granary that has stood the test of time as an inextricable part of the family’s history and culture. The building used for storing threshed grain in times of old now serves as the symbol of farm community living and the close family bond.
As things change, it finds a new purpose as venue for socialization. It’s a place to sit together, talk together and eat together as family. And the lime and herb meaty meal called “Laab” comes in handy to cement the family ties, creating a healthy and strong society going forward.
The house façade, left, as seen from the old rice granary now used as work area.The old rice granary has since been adapted for a new use as food preparation area shared by relatives living in the same compound. Just like old times, it serves as the heart of family life where people assemble, eat a meal together and enjoy a casual conversation.
The old granary provides a focal point on the property. It gives the architects the inspiration they need to pursue their design goal.
And the result of all this? A house plan that celebrates communal living and a food culture where “Laab” is more than just food. It’s a way of life that connects everyone in the family just like the old rice granary did in times past. Now it’s easy to get why they name this house “Laab Is More”.
/ Story: Wuthikorn Sut / Photograph: THINKK Studio /
Taking a closer look at creative industries, we think you will agree that “materials” take priority over any other matter. Hence, a project codenamed “Domestic Alternative Materials” was born to research into the innovation, introduction, and improvement of new products needed for the manufacture of goods and articles. By creating products that are original and unique, it takes design to the next level and helps reduce waste as natural raw materials become scarce and hard to come by.
Domestic Alternative Materials is a nice little collab that turns everyday things into items of higher quality and value. These include empty seashells, crab shells, glass bottles, water hyacinth fibers, coconut husks, coconut shells, betel nut fibers, even fabric scraps from the garment factory.
It’s amazing how a little bit of imagination can give scraps and litters new life. Together, the team transform trash into new products that the industry needs, among them faux metal bars and imitation wood that can be used as alternative materials for furniture making and light fixtures.
Like the wake-up call to a growing menace to the environment, the project causes us to look back at the trail of garbage left behind by commercial and industrial activities.
Hence to reduce waste, it makes perfect sense to transform those otherwise useless objects into alternative materials that can be put to good use again and in more creative ways.
The works of Domestic Alternative Materials are on show as part of a greater event known as Bangkok Design Week 2021. It’s a show designed to create an awareness among the people, architects, designers and consumers about the need to reduce waste and conserve the environent.
Despite disruptions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it provides the opportunity to appreciate a revolution of the imagination that results in a stunning array of unconventional materials for the creative industries.
Homework offers all-around knowledge about smart fabrics for solutions beyond beautification: Fireproofing, waterproofing, and long-term sun resistance.
Materials used for house décor and furnishings in the modern era need to do more than simply add beauty: they must also be more comfortable, convenient, and easy to use.
This includes fabrics we normally think of as decorative that have been developed to have fire-resistant and waterproof properties and – especially for outdoor furniture – high tolerance for sunlight, rain, and ocean salinity.
Today’s smart fabrics have evolved beyond old limitations to be more beautiful, durable, and adaptable to many new uses.
Fire-resistant fabrics
For the safety of people and property, in the near future fireproofing will be legally required for many types of equipment and materials, including fabrics. Modern production of fire-retardant cloth involves treating the fibers with fireproofing chemicals before color-dying the cloth and weaving it into sheets.
The admixture of these chemicals will not only make the fabric slower to burn but can also add as much as five years to its life. This can help save lives by giving more time to persons escaping a burning building, but also has the simpler advantage that the material can be washed and ironed an unlimited number of times.
This method is superior to earlier, more conventional fire-protection coating, where fabrics stored in either air-conditioned rooms or spaces with a lot of humidity will gradually lose such a coating within 7-8 months, reducing its effectiveness.
Fire-resistant fabrics; 01 Design No. 10216, 02 Design No. 10257, 03 Design No. 10258 / Note: 100% polyester fabrics are material of choice for curtains, throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.
TIP
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 701 is a standard used in the United States of America and approved by international designers.
Waterproof fabric
Waterproof fabric is more appropriate for furniture upholstery or wall covering than for drapes, since they are more likely to experience liquid spills. Upholstery with waterproof qualities has to be strong and have a long-term resistance to water.
For more effectiveness the cloth is woven in a special, loose way, using polyester fibers with gaps between that allow waterproofing chemicals to penetrate, be absorbed in, and fully adhere to them.
Properly waterproofed smart fabric must be able to hold water for at least 35 minutes without any seeping through, and maintenance should be easy: stains should be quickly removable by wiping with a damp cloth, after which the furniture should be as beautiful as before.
Waterproof fabric / Impact Collection; 04 Design No. 1788/07, 05 Design No. 1788/20, 06 Design No. 1788/03; width 57″ (145 cm) / Martindale >25,000 Rubs. / Note: 100% polyester fabrics are material of choice for curtains, throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.
TIP
Homework’s waterproof upholstery fabric has a Martindale value of more than 25,000 rubs, higher than the general standard of 20,000 rubs. great waterproofing, and also extremely durable.
Outdoor fabrics
Acrylic smart fibers have enabled production of new fabrics for outdoor use because they have qualities that ordinary cloth does not: resistance to sea salinity and strong sunlight.
Color is added along with chemicals to produce “dyed acrylic” thread whose color remains fresh, beautiful and lasting for 5 years or more with no significant maintenance required even when subjected to air pollution, sunlight, and sea water.
Collected dust, dirt, and even pen marks can be easily wiped away with a damp cloth.
Outdoor fabrics / Oxford Outdoor Collection; 07 Design No. 1838/03, 08 Design No. 1838/05, 09 Design No. 1838/06; Composition: 100% Solution-dyed Acrylic / Finish: Water Repellent / width 61″ (155 cm) / Martindale >25,000 Rubs. / Note: 100% Solution-dyed Acrylic fabrics are material of choice for throw pillows, and furniture upholstery.
TIP
Smart fabrics designed for outdoor use are generally quite tough, and can feel uncomfortable to the touch. Homework avoids this problem by weaving its fabrics so that fibers are slightly spaced apart, giving the product flexibility and a comfortable feel even with heavy use.
/ 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Anon Pairot has unveiled the latest in a new series of 3D cement printing based on the concept “Fluctuation of Precision.” The masculine outdoor design with a softer touch is developed in collaboration with SCG, a leading cement maker in the ASEAN.
/// ASEAN ///
After many years of research, Thai cement maker SCG has developed robots capable of acting as large-scale 3D printers and new cement formulas well suited to a variety of uses. This year, the “Designer Collaboration Project by SCG” has come up with new ideas for outdoor furniture designed by nationally renowned designer and artist Anon Pairot.
“I try to create design that gives a softer, lighter feeling. Usually cement structures are very masculine, so I add feminine accents to the design and see what the final result is. The new process enables 3D concrete strips to be printed quickly in non-traditional shapes and textures. The concrete printing process is performed by machine, but the cement itself leaves some random effects on the surface, hence the name Fluctuation of Precision,” he explained.
Anon Pairot
SCG will present the entire cement furniture collection at Architect 17, the 31st ASEAN Building Technology Exposition scheduled for May 2–7, 2017 in Thailand. It will be the first time ready-to-sell 3D cement printing products become available in the Region.
/ Story: Monosoda / Rewriter: Phattaraphon / English version: Peter Montalbano /
/ Photographs: Nantiya, Jirasak /
Cold black steel may not seem an obvious pairing for green plants, but one award-winning architect of Walllasia has matched the two in a unique and impressive way.
“Steel and the natural world present an interesting conflict to me,” said Suriya Umpansirirat, winner of the Silpathorn Architectural Award and owner of the design studio Walllasia.
“My childhood home was a rice mill in Phatthalung. I grew up playing ‘fix this, fix that’ in an industrial plant, but set in the midst of trees my father had planted.”
Adding to his compact two-storey house, he used a unique design based on childhood memories. The rawness of the black steel comes across as part and parcel of nature, meshing easily with the green leaves all about. Structural lines here are simple and straightforward, but full of architectural finesse.
When Suriya needed to expand his 64-square-meter townhouse, he bought and annexed the house directly behind, allowing no more width but creating two times the depth.
Between the two, he created a courtyard where the sun shines in. A metal frame is set like a ring around the courtyard, separating the two structures without physically attaching them to each other.
Every spot in the house has many varieties of plants and trees, looking as though they have sprung up naturally.
There is an automatic drip irrigation system which prevents water waste and also saves a lot of gardening time.
A workshop for artifacts and inventions. A big bike sits, waiting for a ride.
Suriya’s passion for nature’s fine details complements another side of him, which has him creating fine crafts in the workshop. His own artworks and a plethora of inventions and artifacts have become part of the house.
This award-winning architect of Walllasia has also done a lot of work on many religious sites, and this influence keeps his home a “work in progress”, never entirely finished, and saturated with Buddhist concepts and thought.
“Religion is about how to deal with human life,” he spoke about his inspiration.
“Each religion has a philosophy for finding happiness. Architecture grows from that: how can we express our own esthetics without encroaching on others? I tried to design this house to look simple and straightforward, for comfortable living without too many frills. For me, practical considerations are what’s important.”
Perhaps for a person of passion, practical living shouldn’t involve hoarding or accumulating, but reduction, or letting go instead, until what is left is the core essence of a home.
His concept: a house like a vase of flowers that’s also a car repair garage.
Owner/Architect: Suriya Umpansirirat of Walllasia (www.walllasia.com)
After the research, Deesawat used many kinds of waste materials to combine and create building materials as the new way.
eco flooring by Deesawat
For the eco flooring, basic materials will be cut in various timber species such as teak, white oak, rosewood, and walnut. Deesawat also add up eco board which is recycle material from the trash(aluminum and PE) from UHT milk pack, press into board and profile into another material. With this combination, the product is presented as an interesting combination of materials that can create a good reusable design for project requirement.
Eco Flooring by Deesawat received the DEmark Award in the industrial category from Thailand and also received the Good Design Award from Japan which guarantees the quality of the produce.
Flexx Stone – Flexible Stone Veneer // Light, Thin and Flexible to apply
A project in Thailand, designed by Studio B
Flexx Stone at the counter
Flexx stone is a veneer with layers of natural stone and polymer composite. This innovation makes it thin, light and yet strong. It is used for both interior and exterior and especially where bending to a curved surface is required. Flexx Stone can be applied on any surface: concrete, masonry, wallboard, metal, plywood and drywall. It can be glued by PU adhesive, silicone and epoxy. Its surface can be treated like natural stone, glossy or matt.
More than 15 color variation of Flexible Stone Veneer
Benefit of Flexx Stone:
Very light – 0.3 kg per square metre
Very Thin – 0.1-0.3 mm
Easy to cut and work with
Flexible to install on wall, ceiling, door, cabinet, furniture and decorative item
Cost effective
Water proof material
High Strength and durable
Every stale is unique
Columns which was covered by Flexx Stone at PLATO X Mobella Showroom Ekamai, Sukhumvit
The project in Canada
Left: ceiling application, Right: Translucent serie
Nowadays, Flexible stone veneer was installed in many countries in Europe, America and Asia. Flexx Stone in Thailand was distributed by Plan X Co.,Ltd.
Despite the building being long and narrow, a team of architects at Studiomake managed to turn it into a perfect home office integration that would inspire productivity. The Bangkok-based team of designers, architects and educators is known for its specialized skills and experience in various types of architecture.
When it came to designing their own home office, Orapan Sarasalin Schafer and David Schafer opted for an architectural steel design for its lightweight look that’s right for the prevailing climate in Thailand. It’s a layout that emphasizes an open, uncluttered living space with plenty of wall openings, windows and doors for good ventilation and heat dissipation.
Furniture in the workspace is movable. It can be easily arranged to avoid visual clutter and improve traffic flow, lighting and air quality.
By design, the building performs a dual role. The first floor holds a fully equipped office space, while the second floor is used as a residence. Overall, it’s thoughtfully devised planning made easily adjustable for future updates. The crossbeams resting across the tops of columns support weigh over an extra long span, five meters to be exact.
Home office design offers many benefits, among them the freedom to create the ideal work space like the owners intended, plus the peace and quiet that suits their lifestyle needs.
[Left] The work space is well lighted thanks to generous wall openings that let natural daylight stream into the interior. / [Right] A floor standing wall-mounted bookcase made of steel is designed by the homeowners. For practical purposes, the bookends are adjustable.
The workshop boasts high ceilings for better ventilation, plus it has ample space for equipment and tools needed to perform various tasks.
There is attention to detail in all parts, especially the integration of natural elements like plants and light into the built environment, making the interior work space feel light, airy and conducive to creativity. And they don’t come by accident. Rather, every building strategy and material is tested first to see if it’s suitable for a particular application.
This helps to understand whether a specific material is right for the task, plus it narrows down the choices to the best selection. And the same careful consideration applies to both upstairs and downstairs. Examples of this include high ceilings and a wall of bookshelves designed to maximize work space utilization.
Taken as a whole, the lower floor contains a fully functional work space and offices, while the upper floor in and of itself is a complete home, consisting of two bedrooms with a bathroom en suite, a relaxing living room, kitchen and dining room.
The headboard in subdued bluish gray color separates the main bedroom area from the dressing room. High ceiling design creates a sense of space making the room feel light and airy.
Rooms on the second floor are accessed via a wide corridor with room for a small dining space and a nook beside the wall offering peace and seclusion.
The translucent sheet seen here is of polycarbonate, which allows light to pass through, but not exposed to the outside.
With respect to the office area, the floor plan is simple and straightforward. Electrical wiring is neatly installed and piped to various locations hidden from view. The pillars supporting the tall vertical structure of steel are evenly spaced for proper load bearing, while the building façades are made attractive by crisp clean lines.
For indoor thermal comfort, important aspects such as heat insulation, soundproofing, and ventilation are carefully thought out and incorporated in the design. In the fewest possible words, it’s all about attention to detail that makes this modern home office a perfect place to be. Brilliant!
The steel building looks lightweight. It’s made strong and durable using semi-industrial materials, an interesting way to refresh the home’s curb appeal.
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