Photo courtesy of Jorakay LET’S STROLL THROUGH THE NEW HEADQUARTERS OF JORAKAY CORPORATION AND EXPERIENCE HOW SEE JORAKAY, THE BRAND’S LATEST PRODUCT LINE, IS INTRODUCED INTO THE SPACE
TEXT: PAPHOP KERDSUP
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
Many may have already seen Jorakay Corporation’s new head office on Krungthep Kreeta Road here and there on different social media platforms, noticeably including the building’s aluminum composite façade and its resemblance to a crocodile head (a play on the meaning of the brand’s moniker, Jorakay or ‘crocodile’ in Thai). With leading architecture firm A49 in charge of the design, the interpretation of the brand’s identity into architectural language delivers a unique and meaningful final result.
Photo courtesy of Jorakay
The design divides the functional program into three buildings. The interior functionality of each building corresponds with the roles and responsibilities of the company’s working units. Building A is located at the front, housing offices of executive personnel who are the brains behind the company’s visions. Meanwhile, Building C is situated to the back (the crocodile’s tail) and is home to the marketing department whose role directly contributes to the brand’s development and positioning. The program has also come up with several facilities designed to encourage interactions between employees with the simple idea of ‘happiness through spaces’ as the conceptual foundation.
Photo courtesy of Jorakay
Photo courtesy of Jorakay
While Jorakay is known for adhesives and waterproofing cement products, it’s SEE Jorakay paints are gaining recognition as one of the brand’s up-and-coming product lines. Made of natural materials with the use of advanced manufacturing technology, SEE Jorakay paints offer a variety of applications. With Jorakay now having moved into its new home, the spaces inside the new office have become a gallery showcasing the products’ superlative qualities. We can see GColor Stuki Premium being on the columns and the restrooms’ surfaces. Designed primarily for the urban industrial decoration style, the paint delivers a glossy texture similar to that of marble.
GColor Stuki Premium is found on the columns and walls of the Happiness Lounge. The multifunctional space situated on the building’s ground floor functions as the place where employees and visitors meet and exchange ideas. The dark tone creates a sense of serenity while the paint renders a soft, comfortable touch–the aesthetic and functional characteristics the designer and the brand had intended for Happiness Lounge to bring.
Another surprising part of the design is the use of the brand’s color cement used for the interior floors. The material’s unique, coarse texture and the grid-like pattern with a series of squares produces a final look that is similar to a tile floor.
Another important highlight of the new headquarter is the Jorakay Museum. Sited at the front part of the program, the museum exhibits the brand’s founder’s personal collection, which is also the Guinness World Records-certified largest collection of crocodile-related items, from art pieces, ancient objects to products from various sources. The exhibition space also features the brand’s story from the past, present to their future visions. In this particular area, the Color Stucco product plays the leading role as the material used for the walls. The Color Stucco’s idiosyncratic and dimensional surface reveals its strongest appeal with physical attributes that bear semblance to crocodile’s skin, but with a more simplified and contemporary look.
Near the exhibition space, a large wall adjacent to the elevator showcases six different patterns within the Color Stucco product line (8 O’Clock, Rocky Snow, Sand Stone, Lava Rock, Slide Slade and Brick). Each design is created using different tools and craftsmanship techniques. The unique textures resemble concrete, brick and stone (but with significantly lighter weights), while one of the patterns contains the physical characteristic of an oil painting’s brush strokes. Collectively, the thoughtfully curated Color Stucco exhibition wall serves as inspiration for how SEE Jorakay paint can bring life to any surface.
Besides the use of the brand’s products in various sections of the interior spaces for clients to personally experience their actual applications, Jorakay is also preparing to open the See Jorakay showroom. The space, which will occupy a part of the new headquarters’ back building, is curated to inspire and showcase the products’ new possibilities. The program also includes the mixing station that allows clients to customize their desired color tones. What will the new Jorakay showroom look like? How different will it be? Stay tuned for further updates.