Category: CO.SPACE

ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG | GUARDIAN GLASS

November 15, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG | GUARDIAN GLASS

HERZOG & DE MEURON TRANSFORMED THE OLD WAREHOUSE INTO ‘ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG’ THE NEW LANDMARK OF HAMBURG, GERMANY THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 3D CURVED GLASS FAÇADE FIRST DEVELOPED BY GUARDIAN GLASS AND THE ARCHITECT

TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: CORDELIA EWERTH

(For Thai, press here)

The Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, is one of the buildings known for its architectural splendour and its use of some of the world’s best acoustic systems. The project has the eminent and 2001’s Pritzker Prize laureates, Herzog & de Meuron, known for their masterful adaptation and reappropriation of the old and the new for their architectural creations.

What’s particularly interesting about the project isn’t just its captivating appearance and advanced technologies that are employed but also the historical narrative and context of the location, especially the old building in which the program is sited. Originally, the space was home to a government-owned warehouse (Kaispeicher). The government later initiated an idea to develop the building and the area into a new city center, housing a program of diverse public spaces, urban and cultural activities. The design takes a conservation approach by keeping the old warehouse building as the base of the newly constructed addition, and creates an intriguing fusion that merges the old brick structure  to the new architecture where glass is used as a principal material. At the lower portion of the structure, function spaces are connected, embraced and run through the old warehouse’s space before the program leads up to the diverse functional areas on the upper floors, such as a concert hall, restaurants, bars, an apartment complex, a hotel including the rooftop overlooking the spectacular view of the city and its harbour.

The essence of the project is, however, the glass addition sitting on the top of the brick warehouse. Designed with the aesthetic merits that coincide with the functional program of the concert hall, the building’s dynamic materiality and surfaces render emotional responses with users. The spirit of Hamburg as a harbour city is expressed through the facade’s form and details that take inspiration from the sails of a ship and natural attributes of waves. It is far from common to see glass being used in its varying bent and curved forms to create a three-dimensional curved facade with the expansive 5,000 square meter surface. The collaborative process between the design team and Guardian Glass  granted the architects incredible creative freedom, successfully materialising possibilities and imagination into reality.

The complex three dimensional curved glass façade is interesting for it is the novel invention specifically developed for the project, through an extensive and detailed research that seeks for a way to preserve the aesthetic and functional qualities of each type of glass, from indoor temperature control, exterior heat prevention, etc. with models such as Extra Clear, ClimaGuard®, SunGuard® are used to keep the design the closest to perfection. Architecturally speaking, the development of material achieved in this project has enabled many promising possibilities for the future works of architectural design.

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THE EXPERIENCE OF LUXURY | SCOPE LANGSUAN

November 9, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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THE SCOPE LANGSUAN ADDRESSES LUXURY BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL SENSE WITH QUALITY OF SPACE, WORLD-CLASS AMENITIES, AND SERVICES, ENSURING A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE IN EVERY MINUTE OF LIFE

TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOPE LANGSUAN

(For Thai, press here)

It is common knowledge that the index of measuring a value of a high-end real estate project depends on several key factors such as location, value,material selection, provenance, or even brand reputation. Although, with the ever-changing modern living and lifestyles that are constantly changing, the flexibility and nature of contemporary lifestyles and work schedules have allowed us to be at home much more than ever and this has tremendously increased the time we spend and the interactions we have with our homes. The sudden growth in home utilization beyond being just a space for living now demands an adaptive solution to answer to new needs. 

High-end developers are often confronted with the challenge to push the boundaries and opted for an innovative definition of what a luxury project should provide to its buyers. Undoubtedly, depending on materiality and materialism alone to justify the price of a luxury project are strongly questioned; luxury is rediscovering an immaterial dimension — time, quality space, and also meaningful experiences — an intangible quality can be as luxurious as an object and to meet the perfect balance between both realms can be considered supreme luxury. Having ownership of the city’s most prime and rare location as Langsuan  which was a record-breaking price per sqm. back in 2017, together with its top quality material selection satisfies the conventional definitions of luxury, but it is also important to Scope Langsuan to address luxury beyond the traditional sense and offer to its client an experience of timeless and relevant living space through good design.

“Time is a luxury.” Forth Bagley, principal at KPF and design consultant of the Scope Langsuan boldly stated. “To the extent that architecture can provide, it should be a space where residents can recharge, think, and saves you time. I think we were very much aware of that when we were laying out the plans and programs of the building with the client.” Beyond the considerations of such a prestigious address location and consumer attention, especially for modern generations who prioritize work-life balance, is now focused on the complementary services that can ease the burden of daily chores and enhance their overall living experience to save their precious time. Scope Langsuan is becoming more than just another luxury residence, it subtly gives an impression of a luxury hotel with its 2,500 sqm. of world-class amenities and hospitality-level services to answer to all of those desires for a better quality of life and to ensure that its residents’ lives are as smooth as possible. These services include a hotel–standard concierge as well as a 24-hour valet and porter service to cater to every homeowner’s needs.

Also, much like a hotel experience, the design consultants paid extra attention to make sure that the sequences, as soon as you step into the property, are unique and private. The overall design elements, which are going to be elaborated in detail in the series, work together to create a sense of serenity to offer inhabitants a tranquil state of mind that can relieve the stresses from the outside world. “An owner of a residence at Scope Langsuan, hence, ‘The International Premium’ would have stayed of the nicest hotels around the world”, Forth tells art4d. “The expectations they have once they’ve experienced those spaces would also be elevated and they would expect those experiences to be in their home too.”

The co-dependent parallel relationships between high-end residential and hospitality design are undeniable. The appeal of being at home yet feeling a sense of retreat has become an enticing concept for urban residents with an increasingly busy life. As far as we can tell, the blurring lines of this experience are here to stay and the world-class team behind Scope Langsuan is well aware that this is a major direction they took into consideration when designing the space for the project to ensure that the experience that you get is one of a kind.

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THE VISIONS | SCOPE LANGSUAN

October 29, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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IN ORDER TO REACH THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, YONGYUTT CHAIPROMPRASITH, CEO OF SCOPE CO., LTD. COLLABORATES WITH KOHN PEDERSEN FOX (KPF) AND THOMAS-JUUL HANSEN IN DESIGNING SCOPE LANGSUAN

TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED

(For Thai, press here)

Most people’s goal in life is to live a luxurious life but what exactly is luxury? Luxury as a concept has always seemed inherently rooted in materialism. Over the centuries of living space design, luxury has been precious, rare, innovative, opulently extravagant, or even starkly minimalist. No matter what, luxury has always involved the owning of beautiful, often superfluous, things. However, it is seen recently that the perspective to luxury designs, especially in the space for living, has slowly but gradually changed in the past centuries. Referring richness solely on expensive items can be seen as a predated idea of luxury. There is a movement away from the human desire for excess necessities and opulence towards the term ‘luxury essentialism’. This modern take on luxury has stripped down its heavy emphasis on materialism to giving more focus on the immaterial and satisfying the essentials and functionalities to living a fulfilled human life, with aim of achieving physical and mental wellness to be its priority instead. It would be naive to think that the desire for materialism is ending, of course, it isn’t, but there is a growing sense in this generation for balance and prioritization. There’s a shift from viewing luxury from just visual and high-priced tags to surrounding oneself in carefully tailored craftsmanships and design that serves a specific purpose to every aspect of human activities. This core essence is the vision and idea behind SCOPE Langsuan.

Yongyutt Chaipromprasith

Despite the over-flowing supplies of condominiums and apartments in Bangkok, among this highly competitive market catering to all parts of the economy, there’s still a gap of apposite quality that seems to be missing and SCOPE Langsuan aims to be one of the first projects to ever fill that gap. The visionary behind SCOPE Langsuan, Mr. Yongyutt Chaipromprasith, CEO of SCOPE Co., Ltd, said, “We crafted this project for potential homeowners that share with us the definition of ‘luxury’ and giving attention to living space is of great significance to them among all other aspects of their life that they want to invest in. They have seen a lot and they have diverse experiences. I believe that for them, living in a carefully crafted home is the key fundamental of life. We coined the term ‘The International Premium’ to specify this group of owners.” This statement holds to the age of globalization where people’s access to the endless flow of information has shaped their standards to be somewhat ‘internationalized’. Before making purchases nowadays, most people would dive deep online to make sure they have a complete grasp of what they are going to buy to make sure they truly understand what is considered finest. They are not comparing what they’re buying with just the products in their countries but to the whole world. And most of the time, these people’s craving for knowledge and experiences often lead them to all parts of the world to have a hands-on appreciation of what they are investing in. As such, ‘The International Premium’ is a new luxury segment that offers a global standard between the balance of quality, rationale, functions, convenience, and aesthetic experience that can fulfill the practical and emotional needs of these homeowners.

Thomas Juul-Hansen

And of course, living is and will always be about the location, and Langsuan is the perfect location to complete this vision. Langsuan remains one of the most expensive residential locations not just because it is at the center of Bangkok city where every activity and amenity is not only conveniently connected and easily accessible but also because it is a rare location where a sense of peace and tranquility can be offered, despite being in the highly congested inner part of town, that can serves to each homeowner’s emotional wellbeing. Most importantly, SCOPE Langsuan sits on one of the very few freehold properties that are considered highly sought-after and scarce in this specific area with its front door only 140 meters away from the city’s public metro line.

Thomas Juul-Hansen

“With this distinctively wonderful piece of land, we wanted to make a truly iconic building to be at a global stage.”, Mr. Yongyutt stated. “To do so, we need an international team that can complete our vision and that’s the reason why I chose to work with Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and Thomas-Juul Hansen.” KPF sits as this project’s architectural design consultant and is one of the world’s most admired architectural design firms known for city-defining landmarks and innovative design seen all over the Western and most recently, Eastern cityscape. Together with Thomas Juul-Hansen, a renowned interior designer known for his understated style of luxury design who is behind some of the most inspired luxury interiors and apartments worldwide such as the ONE57-building which has the highest selling price of an apartment in New York. With the ambitious vision paired with a team of specialized experts, SCOPE Langsuan is setting itself up to be an exciting luxury architectural addition, not just in Thailand, but at a worldwide scale.

  • HUDSON YARDS New York © Connie Zhou

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LEGO HOUSE | GUARDIAN GLASS

October 28, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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LEGO HOUSE | GUARDIAN GLASS

LEGO HOUSE, DESIGNED BY BIG, CONCEPTUALIZES THE LEGO BRICKS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING FROM THE EXTERIOR TO THE EXHIBITION SPACE WHERE SUNGUARD® EXTRA SELECTIVE SNX 60/28 GLASS WAS INSTALLED TO DRAW NATURAL LIGHT INTO THE SPACE, REVEALING THE IMPRESSIVE DETAILS OF LEGO

TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: IWAN BAAN

(For Thai, press here)

LEGO is a part of many people’s childhood. LEGO’s modular system that can be endlessly assembled has, at times, turned into small works of architecture where different pieces are joined together with boundless freedom. The wonderful nature of LEGO pieces plays a monumental part in the conceptualization of the LEGO House. The design team of BIG materialises the building that looks as if it were made out of real LEGO pieces.

Situated in Billund, Denmark where LEGO originated, the museum is intended to help turn the city into the country’s future youth hub. The LEGO house serves as the city’s landmark and symbol with over 12,000-square meter functional space that tells stories of every aspect of the iconic toy. The physical attributes of LEGO find their ways to the building’s architecture, which is designed to look like an assembly of massive, white LEGO pieces, arranged and superimposed into an incredibly distinctive work of architecture.

From the outside, looking at the building from an eye level, users are able to see the white building appears in the proportion similar to LEGO pieces. Parts of the building are designed to have both rigid white walls and massive glass walls that facilitate a visual connection between the interiors and outside environment. From the top, the rooftops of all buildings are in different colors with the tones similar to those of LEGO pieces. The areas accommodate outdoor spaces such as playgrounds while colors are used to differentiate various learning zones of the museum’s functional program. The interior program comprises a cafe, restaurant, souvenir shop, exhibition rooms, learning and playing areas, all existing in a hierarchy of thoughtfully curated learning experiences with colors playing a significant part in identifying and defining spaces.  

The main hall exhibits a large LEGO tree, surrounded by a stairway and natural light casted from the skylight, nicely brightening the entire space. Another highlight of the program is the exhibition room where special collections of LEGO are shown. The room is designed to have eight, circular skylights, symbolising a LEGO piece’s signature attributes. This particular detail can be clearly seen from the top view. The design uses SunGuard® Extra Selective SNX 60/28 glass that can bring in 60% natural light while filtering and allowing only 28% heat from the sunrays to come into the interiors. The material keeps the interior space beautifully lit, spacious, and cool while providing the right amount of light for the exhibition.

Glass is an integral part of several components of the design, from the walls to railing, for the program’s intention to provide the openness and spaciousness while still maintaining the much needed safety for the majority of users who are children. The material’s transparency also facilitates different parts of the interior spaces to enable the overall learning experiences.

For further information you can contact our experts, by visiting us at: 
Official Website / https://www.guardianglass.com/ap/en
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THEPPANYA HOSPITAL | GUARDIAN GLASS

September 30, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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THEPPANYA HOSPITAL | GUARDIAN GLASS

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROPERTY AND THE APPLICATION OF SOLAR CONTROL SERIES GLASS AND SUNGUARD® FROM GUARDIAN GLASS IN THEPPANYA HOSPITAL IN CHIANG MAI THAT ACCENTUATES THE DESIGN WHILE EFFORTLESSLY FULFILLING THE REQUIRED INTERIOR FUNCTIONALITIES

TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: THANANUPHONG KAMMERUU

(For Thai, press here)

Coated glass is one of the most favourable types of glass used in architectural design, from residential structures to public and high-rise buildings. But more often than not, people are unaware of the diversity and hidden qualities of the material’s visible and coated surfaces. 

Theppanya Hospital’s new building situated on the Chiang Mai-Lampang superhighway is a work by Prompt Architect. Surrounded by a local community, the built structure reveals its simplistic yet distinctive architectural form. Its visually appealing facade made of coated glass and the building’s solid, light grey mass render a beautiful contrast that perfectly reflects the hospital’s modern and prestigious image. 

From the outside, the coated glass facade gives off three different color variations, which contribute to the architecture’s more dimensional visuals. The material accentuates the facade’s presence while effortlessly fulfilling the required interior functionalities.

The design team has chosen three products from the SunGuard® Solar Series and Guardian High Durable Series of Guardian Glass for the different color shades needed in the project. Apart from its color, each coated glass holds its own interesting and distinctive physical characteristics.

The High Durable Colors Series (HD color) offers more vibrant tones compared to other models, making the exterior more eye-catching while keeping the interior spaces open and spacious with its transparency. The HD Blue’s good performance and aesthetics gives it the advantage compared to pyrolytic and tinted glass but with the color that is more vibrant than most tinted glass products.

The Royal Blue 20 and Solar Natural 67 from Solar Series are also used for their ability to reflect away heat thanks to the molecular coating brought about by the Sputtering technique, one of Guardian Glass’ innovative technologies, which creates unique physical characteristics for each type of glass. The Solar Control Series also comes with a great variety of colors, enabling more variations when used with other tinted glass.

Coated glass under this series can undergo fabrication techniques such as Heat Treatment (Tempering/Heat strengthening), lamination and bending to deliver greater design possibilities. 

Theppanya Hospital is one of the great examples of how glass is used to its fullest potential, transforming a normal-looking hospital building into a modern work of architecture, from the color shades to the arrangement of glass panels of various sizes, from small to two-meter wide. The design turns an ordinary material such as glass into something that manifests creative ability, which ultimately becomes an intriguing element to the project’s unique and striking architectural identity.

For further information you can contact our experts, by visiting us at: 
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A TALK ABOUT WELLADEE WELLNESS WITH SURAT NIRUNSITTIRAT | GUARDIAN GLASS

September 6, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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A TALK ABOUT WELLADEE WELLNESS WITH SURAT NIRUNSITTIRAT | GUARDIAN GLASS 

ART4D TALKS WITH SURAT NIRUNSITTIRAT, THE OWNER OF WELLADEE WELLNESS, ABOUT THE PROJECT’S BACKGROUND, DESIGN PROCESS AS WELL AS HER INTENTION TO CREATE THE ACCOMMODATION TO HEAL VISITOR’S PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH

TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: THANANUPHONG KAMMERUU

(For Thai, press here)

In the ‘Welladee Wellness’ article, the initial design concept and mood and tone were the subjects of discussion, so this particular piece will dive a bit deeper into the backstory and origin of the project. art4d talks with the owner, Surat Nirunsittirat, about her intention behind Welladee and the operations of this wellness facility.

art4d: How does this project come to be, and what do you intend for it to be?
Surat Nirunsittirat: I’ve always worked in the hospitality industry, and there are many projects that I’ve bought and rebranded. And while most of the establishments are in good locations, there are several marketing issues. Having seen all these factors, they’ve become somewhat an unanswered question, which when combined with my own personal experiences and how I’ve started to see the importance of self-care and finding the right balance between that and work life, I thought that if I could use my expertise in the field with this idea that I had, maybe I could create something new and different. Something with a wellness value added to it. So, I’ve begun to study and lived that kind of lifestyle to fully understand it. Then I started to have this idea of building a hotel that could offer answers and services for people who are particularly interested in personal wellness and self-care.

art4d: What is the concept you have for the project and the design team to work with?
SN: I worked with Architects49 (Chiangmai), and we started to talk about my intention of wanting this place to be different from other establishments. Because we don’t have a beautiful view or nearby tourist attractions, we thought about curating an experience that could allow our guests to rest and relax right in their hotel rooms or within the periphery of the hotel. We highlight the presence of comfort, a livability that people can feel from within. That’s why we include the landscape with a garden, a creek and mountains as part of the program. The facility is designed to have glass as the majority of the exterior shell so that users can have access to and bask in the surrounding environment.

art4d: What were the problems that you came across and interesting details about the project?
SN: One of our discussions was the noise because the project is near the main road, so we had to figure out a way to keep the room quiet and undisturbed. It’s the reason why we got to work with Guardian Glass. We use 8.76-mm.-thick laminated glass with acoustic sheets for a more effective prevention of outside noises. So, once you walk inside the room, it instantly goes quiet. We also use float glass with other parts of the program, and we try to keep the color of the glass we chose to complement the overall ambiance and the buildings so that everything goes in the same direction.

From a vision to a materialized design and construction, Welladee Wellness is now coming to its completion and ready to be open soon. The hotel will certainly become one of the destinations for people who seek for a thoughtfully and stylistically designed architecture with detailed and creative use of high-quality materials as a part of their staying experience, in addition to the rest and revival of their body and mind.

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WELLADEE WELLNESS | GUARDIAN GLASS

August 30, 2021
by Ratchadaporn Hemjinda
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WELLADEE WELLNESS | GUARDIAN GLASS

BY USING ACOUSTIC GLASS FROM GUARDIAN GLASS, WELLADEE WELLNESS CHIANGMAI HOTEL WELCOMES THE NATURAL SURROUNDING INTO THE INTERIOR SPACE WHILE RETAINING ITS CALM AND RELAXED ATMOSPHERE

TEXT: WARUT DUANGKAEWKART
PHOTO: THANANUPHONG KAMMERUU

(For Thai, press here)

For those who seek for a hideaway to relax both the body and the mind from the ongoing distressful and exhaustive situation, a gorgeous beach or a science mountain view seem like an ideal choice. But imagine an escape from the chaos while being attentively cared for; a place that helps one regain both mental and physical strength and offers a true and much needed rest.  

The idea gives birth to Welladee Wellness Chiangmai, a hotel that prides itself in providing visitors a peaceful retreat with services developed to help reinvigorate one’s physical and mental strength.  Located in Chiangmai, Thailand, this wellness facility has Architects49 (Chiangmai) overseeing the design and development of its functional program, materializing the owner’s objectives and visions into reality. 

Situated on the city’s cultural Sankampaeng-Chiang Mai Road, not too far from the city center, the hotel is neighbored by the luscious nature with large rain trees growing on both sides of the road, setting the perfect introduction to the hotel’s thoughtfully curated program. The front of the building is home to green walls and a garden that help buffer the noise and air pollution, while setting the mood for visitors to sense the transitioning atmosphere and experience. 

The hotel’s functional program consists of two main parts—the accommodation and the common area housing the shared facilities from cafe, restaurant, spa, fitness room and to massage service facility. The two sections are separated with the first two ground floors occupied by activity spaces and the upper floors accommodating 34 hotel units.

The activity spaces on the ground floor are open and spacious with floor-to-ceiling windows that can be adjusted to enhance natural ventilation during the winter. With the large glass openings, the interior is abundant with natural light and access to the surrounding view of the garden.

In addition to visibility, the glass comes with an impressive properties of acoustic laminate that offers greater safety while effectively minimizing outside noises from disturbing the comfort of the interior spaces. The acoustic innovation from Guardian Glass can filter noises with a layer of special PVB film specifically developed for sound-reduction.  The film is sandwiched between two glass panels, causing the total thickness of the glass to increase up to 9 mm. The material contributes significantly to the pleasant and memorable user experience through the calmness, serenity, relaxation and safety it helps bring to the hotel’s interior program.

From the first floor, one can see the garden, the pool, all integrated to be a part of the architectural plan. A set of spiral staircase serves as central point connecting to other portions of the program including the hotel rooms. Meanwhile, the fitness room on the second floor is given access to the beautiful garden below. The rooms are designed to be airy, spacious and comfortable, a home-like space but with meticulously curated design and ambiance. Each unit has a sizeable indoor terrace with a large transparent glass that opens to the outside view, keeping the guests sheltered yet relaxing within the space of the room.

Conceived and operated with a distinctive intention and mindset, Welladee Wellness Chiangmai is special for its spaces and services designed to help every guest strengthen the physical and mental well-being, in addition to its quality as an ideal travel destination.

For further information or contact our expert, pls visit us at:
Offical Website / https://www.guardianglass.com/ap/en
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Email / guardiansupport@guardian.com