Baan-Lom
BAANBAAN1989 IS A COMPANY THAT BELIEVES GOOD ARCHITECTURE MUST BEGIN WITH AN UNDERSTANDING OF PEOPLE, SPACE, AND THE FEELING OF LIVING
TEXT: BAANBAAN1989
PHOTO: RUNGKIT CHAROENWAT EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
WHO
BaanBaan1989 is a design-and-build company based in Ubon Ratchathani. We have grown gradually through hands-on experience, one house at a time. We began with a simple intention: to create homes that ‘feel good to live in.’ We believe architecture is not merely about form, but about the ‘feeling’ that emerges between people and space. We therefore pay close attention to the atmosphere of everyday living through light, wind, materials, and the small details of daily life. Over the years, we have spent most of our time moving between design work and construction sites. This has taught us that, for us, a good house is not simply one that looks beautiful. It is a space where people can feel calm, warm, and at ease—and simply be themselves without having to say much.
Baan-Lom
WHAT
Our work encompasses everything from architectural design to construction. We place particular emphasis on the ‘atmosphere of living,’ connecting people’s everyday lives with light, wind, nature, and the context of each site to create homes that are both beautiful and practical in the long term.
WHEN
Over the years, we have grown through hands-on experience, learning from mistakes made on construction sites as well as from the subtle relationships between people and space. Gradually, we have come to understand that, for us, good architecture is a space where people feel at ease and want to stay and live longer.
Baan-Lom
WHERE
We live and work amid heat, intense sunlight, wind, rain, and the simplicity of local ways of life. These conditions have gradually become part of our approach to design, which places importance on remaining connected to our roots. Through natural light, ventilation, openings, and the relationship between a house and its natural surroundings, we seek to reveal the character of a place hidden within the ordinary details of everyday life.
Baan-Lom
WHY
We believe a ‘home’ affects how people feel every day. We want to create architecture that embodies simplicity, warmth, and honesty in its relationship with both people and place. We also want to demonstrate that architecture emerging from outside Thailand’s major urban centers can be equally thoughtful, refined, and contemporary.
Baan Jai-Klang | Photo: Surachet Suwannarat
How do you define your own style of work?
To be honest, we rarely define our work in terms of style. Instead, we begin by asking what kind of space would make people want to live in it. We believe architecture is not simply a form of fashion that changes with time, but something that begins with ‘the feeling we want people to experience when they inhabit a space.’
We grew up in northeastern Thailand, surrounded by heat, wind, rain, dust, the smell of earth, and the simplicity of local life. These elements have naturally seeped into our design work. Some people might describe our architecture as modern tropical or warm minimal, but for us, what matters most is creating a house that can ‘breathe’ and genuinely coexist alongside its occupants over the long term.
Baan Jai-Klang | Photo: Surachet Suwannarat
What inspires you and what principles do you apply to each project?
Our inspiration often begins not with architecture, but with the lives of the homeowners, everyday conversations, and the feelings that emerge from experiencing a site firsthand. Our main principle is to bring design and construction together seamlessly, resulting in architecture that can actually be built, genuinely supports everyday life, and continues to convey a certain feeling even after many years have passed.
Dentalspace Clinic
Dentalspace Clinic
Which project are you most proud of and why?
One of the projects to which we feel most deeply connected is ‘Dental Space.’
For us, the project was more than the design of a dental clinic. It was an experiment in whether architecture could genuinely transform how people feel about a particular type of space.
Dentalspace Clinic
Dentalspace Clinic
We began with a simple question: ‘How can we help people feel more at ease about going to the dentist?’ We wanted the clinic to be more than a place for treatment. It should also alleviate anxiety and allow people to gradually feel at ease from the moment they enter. Many elements of the building were therefore designed so that lines, surfaces, light, and nature could work quietly together. Softened light, curved lines that ease the rigidity of the space, and a small garden at the center of the building all bring nature into the experience.
Dentalspace Clinic
Which part of the process do you enjoy the most during work?
We enjoy the moment when ‘the design begins to become real.’ It is a strange feeling and somewhat difficult to describe. Things that once existed only in our minds gradually become part of someone’s actual life. It is a small moment that makes us realize, “Oh… this space is coming to life.” Once people begin using the space—when it fills with conversation and traces of everyday life—architecture starts to become part of someone’s memories.
It is an especially enjoyable stage of the process. We get to absorb all the elements that once existed only in the drawings but have now begun to acquire weight, light, shadow, and the sound of the wind. Sometimes, we simply stand and watch the evening light fall across a wall. At other times, we quietly delight in discovering that the breeze flows through an opening even better than we had imagined.
Dentalspace Clinic
If you could invite any ‘creative’ for a coffee, who would it be and why?
We would like to invite Tadao Ando for coffee—not only because of the significance of his work, but because we are interested in how he uses ’emptiness,’ light, and silence to evoke certain feelings in people. His work demonstrates that architecture does not always need to be complex. It can be simple while remaining profoundly powerful on an emotional level. That is something we are also continually searching for in our own practice.
Dentalspace Clinic