UNDER THE THEME ‘OUR HOME,’ SARAN.CO REVAMPED THE HOMESTAY INCORPORATING LOCAL MATERIALS TO ALIGN WITH THE EXISTING STRUCTURE, PRESERVING THE ORIGINAL ATMOSPHERE AND HARMONY WITH LOCALS
TEXT: SURAWIT BOONJOO
PHOTO COURTESY OF SARAN,CO
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“Architectural characteristics, therefore, serve as a bridge, connecting identities—especially those considered as “other”—with the context of a place to achieve the utmost harmony. Yet, there’s a contemporaneity that persists, an instinct that can’t escape its own essence. It’s akin to camouflaging oneself to feel a sense of belonging, making it “our home”—avoohe in the Lisu language.
Perched atop a hillside, an open-plan, single-story modern building stretches out, distinguished by round green steel columns and beams, and topped with metal sheet roofing. Some of the interior spaces are thoughtfully designed to extend beyond the rectangular floor plan, and one of the long balconies resembles a bridge, collectively enhancing the experience of immersing oneself in nature. This is the avoohe café, flanked by an office that manages the homestay rooms. Accommodations and other functional spaces are scattered along the slope of the hillside in Khao Kho district, Phetchabun province—the juncture between central and northern Thailand. Throughout the entire project, there’s a deliberate emphasis on creating a landscape that connects and interacts with the atmosphere, blending seamlessly with the lush greenery through the physicality of colors and physical forms, inviting contemplation.
This homestay and café is the work of saran,co, a new-generation architecture and interior design studio founded by Saran Jamrungkul and Thamas Muthapong, alumni of the Faculty of Architecture and Design at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. Sharing a mutual interest in exploring empty spaces to navigate and highlight contexts, narratives, and relationships, they respond to their clients’ needs with a balance of compromise and humility toward the surrounding environment. Their aim is to craft appealing architectural creations and refine communicative methods using simplistic materials, utilizing a design language that distills the essence of structural elements without detaching them from their contextual environment.
The project began with the owner’s passion for the beauty of the area and its surroundings, particularly the Lisu ethnic community that originally inhabited the land. Frequent visits fostered a deep familiarity and affection. When the original homestay owner decided to sell the premises, the new owner, who has a deep connection to nature and the local community, took over. This marked the beginning of the avoohe project, which started with the renovation of the accommodations and landscape, and included the addition of a new café where the parking lot once stood. The aim was to create an inviting open space at the second-floor level, visible to passersby from the main road. The lobby, serving as a multipurpose relaxation area for guests, aligns with the hillside slope and connects to the accommodations, including the camping ground and restrooms further along.
“From the context of its location, which may appear quite ordinary amid the surrounding mountainous forest scenery of Khao Kho district, this place holds special emotional significance for the owner due to a deep connection with the people and culture. This bond inspired a design approach that renovated the area without altering the original structures—partly due to limited time constraints. We simply transformed the existing homestay buildings by enveloping them with materials that blend as seamlessly as possible with the natural surroundings. Additionally, we attempted to select materials that are easily and locally obtainable and familiar to local craftsmen. The design of this project is divided into two main parts: renovating the existing accommodation buildings with new materials, integrating patterns to make them more contemporary; and constructing a new café at road level, aiming to create a friendly atmosphere and maximize the view through widely spaced columns,” Saran explained, elaborating on the concept behind redesigning the existing area and creating new structures.
The original accommodation buildings are now clad in new materials, interspersed with walls of split bamboo. For the new café, the design team chose structural steel—a decision that not only accommodated the limited renovation timeframe but also helped the new structure harmonize with the existing group of buildings. This choice continues the architectural dialogue in a contemporary language. Observing the materials used throughout the project, it’s evident that Saran aimed to use common, locally sourced construction materials like steel tubes, smart board panels, and metal sheets. Yet he assembled these by integrating local craftsmanship—the traditional split bamboo walls found in local homes—conveying the essence of the materials and creating new contemporary meaning through their intriguing arrangement.
The new building serves as a space that blends the external with the internal and the public with the private—an intriguing echo of formal areas or multipurpose spaces in homes that both welcome guests and serve as communal areas for household members. This concept aligns with the architect’s vision of treating the entire project as a singular house, with the café as the living room and individual accommodation units as bedrooms. Moreover, the structure of avoohe emphasizes the connection between the project owner and the newly constructed spaces. It underscores the effort to integrate with the Lisu ethnic community through support for local employment and youth. This includes harmonizing with the shared landscape and surrounding buildings through colors and simplicity, adopting an approach that respectfully acknowledges the area’s context—completely embodying the concept of ‘one home’ from which all originated.
