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RAD STUDIOS INCORPORATES ‘TIN CANS’ AS A PRIMARY INSPIRATION IN THE DESIGN TO ADDRESS THE LIMITATIONS OF THE LAND AND UNSIGHTLY SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT WHILE PROVIDING A PLEASANT VISUAL EXPERIENCE FOR THE RESIDENTS
TEXT: KORRAKOT LORDKAM
PHOTO: SOFOGRAPHY
(For Thai, press here)
A clean, white house stands out among the complicated web of side streets and alleyways of a residential neighborhood in the Thung Song Hong sub-district of Bangkok’s Lak Si district. On the same large parcel of land is a group of older-looking houses, indicating that the property is a residential complex housing a large family with multigenerational members. Instead of moving away, the owner decided to build a new house with the same perimeter as his family home due to a personal connection he has with this piece of land. The context of such a decision presented several challenges, including the limited space and run-down condition of the surrounding environment because of a lack of maintenance, resulting in stark differences between the old and new structures, making it more difficult to curate a pleasurable living experience.
Tiny Tin House is named after the owner’s nickname and the design concept that Pawan Ritipong, architect of RAD studios, came up with. Pawan, the project’s architect, compares the location and arrival of the new house to a tin can, which he finds to have appealing visuals and functions as a form of container.
“We were looking for a variety of different things to see what could hold a wide range of functions within a relatively small space. One image that came to mind was a tin can used as a food container. When you open a can, the content that is stored inside often turns out to be much larger than we expected when we only see the outside of the can. That piqued my interest, and it became the main inspiration for the project’s design concept because it has so many different elements that can be used and played with in architecture.
According to Pawan, the small 10×13-meter plot of land became the first challenge of the design as they searched for ways to fit different functional spaces required by the new family into such a confinement while still maintaining the quality equivalent to that of a large house. In this sense, a ‘tin can’ serves as the concept that influences the physical appearance and interior functional program of the house. The physical characteristics of an enclosed ‘can’ are treated as the architectural identity of the house, which also corresponds to how the design deals with the unsightly surrounding environment. However, due to its residential nature, the house must strike a balance between being open to the environment and being enclosed in order to obstruct unpleasant things. As the architect explained, opening up and connecting the living spaces to certain parts of the outside environment while blocking access to the unappealing view for some parts of the house was a major contextual challenge that impacted the overall design.
“From the very small land to the not-so-pleasant-looking environment, the context had a significant impact. But we saw them as challenges to work out and create something decent out of. I would say that these challenges inspired us to consider how we could design a house with a certain level of enclosure while still providing the best possible quality of living, in the same way that a house built on a larger piece of land or in a better location and context would.”
The curved exterior wall of the living area that helps block the unsightly view.
Originally, this three-story home with 350 sq.m. of total functional space was intended to have a boxy, clean-looking shape, and an open layout free of any protruding components or decorative elements. To create a distinct visual, the sharp and minimal geometric form was simplified by incorporating the physical characteristics of a ‘can’ with the house’s entrance. The access point to the house was gouged out into a concave structure that recessed deep inside and underneath the upper section of the house, which still retains the box-like shape.
A small foyer with a shoe cabinet welcomes visitors when they enter the house. The main living area is located above the foyer and is one of the functional spaces where the ‘can’ concept is most visible. The foyer’s spatial characteristics as a circular hall include a double-volume ceiling with a stairway in the center leading up to the second floor. Despite its small size, the foyer was designed with the goal of incorporating as much openness and spaciousness as possible into the living spaces. Following the main concept, the living room consists of a pantry where the owners spend the majority of their time and a large opening, where one side is designed to bring greater spaciousness and connectivity between outdoor and indoor space. The corner also connects to the large enough in-between space between the structure and the adjacent house, while the unpleasant surroundings are kept at bay and prevented from disturbing the curated perspective. The pantry is designed to have its own moderate-sized opening in a position that does not interfere with the space’s visual access to the outside environment.
The parts of the beam structure make their way into the circular foyer as the design’s gimmick and attempt to create the area into a ‘perfect circle’.
The laundry room’s turquoise color vivifies this particular part of the white home.
The two bedrooms and a study located along the double-space foyer that continues from the lower floor create a more private living quarter on the second floor. Because the owner spends most of his time in the study, extra space and openness are added to the layout. The double-space concept is reintroduced in a specific portion of the functional program, resulting in the room’s layout being quite long and narrow. A curtain wall is used on one side of the room to allow for more natural light and to make the space feel less confined. Certainly, the location of this massive opening corresponds with the outside environment, which is more open and visually appealing than other sides of the house that face neighboring built structures.
The third floor of the functional program is dedicated to the master bedroom of the owners, who are a couple starting a new family. One of the bathroom’s walls is designed with an extra-large window to provide access to the outside view. The floor’s remaining functional space is transformed into a circular rooftop or another ‘can’ storing the family’s recreational space. The rooftop provides not only functional benefits but also aesthetic merits that are consistent with the design concept from which the house’s architecture and functional spaces are realized.
Simplicity and openness remain the core of the house’s interior architecture. Partitions and walkways, for example, can play with the playful qualities of curved lines and arches to make some parts of the space more interesting and fun. There are also a few areas where graphic design and material gimmicks are hidden behind the minimal appearance. Nonetheless, the house’s refined lines, like its architectural identity, remain its most distinguishing feature. It’s safe to say that the architecture of the house was designed with extreme respect for form, lines, and cohesive visual elements.
An emphasis on creating cohesive visual elements in architectural design could be a method of bringing the artistic elements found in paintings or two-dimensional artworks to architecture, where the beauty or intensity of a work is crafted from the unity of artistic compositions. It’s reflected in one of Pawan’s explanations about the serpentine but corresponding lines of the staircase in the main foyer, as well as the effects caused by the refined presences of light and shadow on the architectural form and exterior surfaces of the building. “We approached the design as a very two-dimensional creation, with each section developed separately before everything was put together,” Pawan clarified. Tiny Tin House, with its thoughtful simplicity and openness, exemplifies a design that prioritizes visual elements just as much as the quality of space and living experiences, as everything works together to deliver a complete big picture.
ALSO DESIGN STUDIO TURNS THE OLD HOUSE INTO A CAFE BY INCORPORATING THE SITE’S EXISTING ELEMENTS SUCH AS OLD TREES, PARKING GARAGES, OR EVEN THE OLD HOUSE ITSELF TO DELIVER A COMFORTABLE AND RELAXING VIBE BY THE KOK RIVER FOR VISITORS
TEXT: MONTHON PAOAROON
PHOTO: PATIWETH YUENTHAM EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
Horizon: Cafe & Restaurant is in a fairly remote area east of the Kok River, outside of the province of Chiang Rai. Ratchapol Buajoy, a Chiang Rai native and founder of Chiang Mai-based ALSO design studio, is the architect in charge of the renovation of this old building turned cafe. The project began with no brief, just a straightforward requirement from the owner to open a cafe, and the architect was given complete creative freedom. Ratchapol stated that having such autonomy made the project both easy and difficult. But he went on to work out and incorporate the site’s existing distinct elements and strengths, using them as key ingredients in the design. Such elements include the trees growing inside and around the garage and the old house with a deck that opens to an unobstructed view of the Kok River.
The old house before renovation | Photo courtesy of ALSO design studio
The renovation began with a redesign of the parking area in an attempt to connect the original garage building and the house into a single structure, with the service area added in the back. The garage building was converted into the cafe’s entrance and the main counter, where all the coffee-making takes place. The first thing one notices upon entering is the waiting and order pick-up area, which has arched features intended to bring sculptural elements to the space. The final look differs from the architect’s initial vision for the space, which would have included a skylight and an infinite water well to give the space a sense of serenity. The primary design went through a series of trials and errors with the contractor because the architect personally witnessed the aesthetic effects and angles of light that would interact with the space if the idea were to materialize. The slow-bar counter occupies the new extension, whose glass walls beautifully frame the view of the verdant trees and plants.
The space inside the old house is the next segment of the spatial program. The architect chose to remove the walls that divided the rooms in order to create an open-plan layout that was outlined by the original roof structure. A section of the interior space adjacent to the neighboring plot of land is built into an indoor courtyard that showcases the raw characteristics of the original columns and the newly grown trees. This courtyard is the architect’s effort to curate a different user experience using natural light effects that differ from the first part of the cafe’s spatial program. The original structure is preserved in this area, with additional structural elements added to the multi-leveled seating.
The renovation of the original deck at the back of the house that opens up to the Kok River includes new windows and doors, which contribute to a better spatial flow. The pool is also preserved but given a new finishing material. The architect also incorporated a ramp to make it easier for elderly people and disabled individuals to access the area than through the building. The ramp creates a line that visually softens the solid-looking mass of this side of the building. Meanwhile, the ramp rails are made of steel coated in a rusty color with a gradient tone that matches the color of the exposed brick walls of the old building, which is showcased as part of the interior decoration. The design of the accessibility order begins at the entrance to the back section and then connects into a full circle at the entrance. The landscape architecture opts for maintaining the neatly growing tree lines while adjusting the mounds to create a better sequence and continuity for the space and spatial experience when one first enters the property.
What is particularly notable about the interior and architectural design of the building is how it takes into account the color tones of the original materials. The design starts with the colors of the exposed concrete columns and brick walls. Then, new colors and materials are added to complement the ones that are already there. The actual work process included numerous color and material tests, such as the creation of over 30 concrete block samples to find the one with the right tone, which ultimately keeps every element of the building beautifully cohesive.
Ratchapol explains how the ALSO design studio’s slogan, “You are happy, so am I,” reflects an approach to design that does not primarily put the architect’s idea at the center of each project but instead focuses more on the sharing of inputs from everyone involved to achieve the most gratifying outcome. Horizon exemplifies such a philosophy. Despite its distant location from Chiang Rai’s city center, Horizon is gaining popularity among a wide range of clients, from teenagers and the elderly who come to chill and hang out to families with children looking for a place where everyone can spend and enjoy their time together.
FROM THE COLLABORATION OF A REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, MQDC; THE NORWEGIAN ARCHITECTURE STUDIO, SNØHETTA; AND THE THAI ARCHITECTURE STUDIO, A49, THIS PROJECT ASPIRES TO BE ASIA’S LARGEST CREATOR HUB
TEXT: PRATCHAYAPOL LERTWICHA
PHOTO COURTESY OF CLOUD 11 EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
“Thai creators are tremendously talented, but Thailand has yet to have a hub for all creators to collaborate on bringing their creative contents to the world stage.”
Onza Janyaprasert, the director of Cloud 11, shared with us the idea that inspired the birth of Cloud 11 as he pulled the next slide to reveal an image of a large-scale building with a massive doorframe welcoming content creators and the general public inside.
Onza Janyaprasert, the director of Cloud 11 | Photo: Worapas Dusadeewijai
The economic impact of the entertainment business, whether games, movies, or art, is no longer a point of contention. The South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism produced a report in 2020, and one section of it revealed that the economic impact of ‘Dynamite,’ a single by the K-pop juggernaut BTS, is estimated at 1.7 trillion won (approximately THB 26,000 million).
Thailand is a country full of talented individuals with incredible ability and potential in content production, as proven by the international recognition Thai creatives have achieved through world-renowned awards. Yet, all of these creators, resources, and technologies have been scattered all over the place, resulting in inconsistent growth of the country’s content industry, akin to streams of wind with tumultuous flow, powerful at times and worn out the next.
MQDC, a real estate development company, created Cloud 11 to be a space that brings together the creative power of creators. The project aims to help creators expand their wings and soar as far as they can by providing a superb learning center, funding, and physical locations, as well as the proper tools, technology, and opportunities.
The project is not intended to be a platform for only Thai creators.
Cloud 11 aspires to be Asia’s largest creator hub.
On Cloud 11
Meteorologists classify clouds into ten different categories, using numbers ranging from 0 to 9. The number 0 alludes to low clouds, and the greater the number, the higher the clouds are in the sky, which is where the English idiom “on cloud nine” or “pure bliss and happiness” comes from.
The number 11 in the project’s name is utilized instead of 9 to indicate Cloud 11’s goal of becoming a space that can help creators achieve their dreams, in addition to the joy and happiness it hopes to bring.
Cloud 11 is located on Sukhumvit Road, between the Punnawithi and Udomsuk BTS skytrain stations.
The project has seven distinct zones and a total functional space of 254,000 square meters.
Creative Office & Studio Space: The area is open 24 hours a day and specifically designed to accommodate content creators. The area, which is equipped with a high-speed Internet network and a silent and flexible air conditioning system, allowing all creators to fully express their ideas and creativity.
Hybrid Retail: A shopping center aimed at promoting creators’ products and enterprises by providing retail spaces for creators to display, sell, and grow their businesses. The center also houses a product storage, packing, and delivery facility, as well as a cloud kitchen to assist food creators who want to sell their products but are not ready to invest in their own physical storefronts.
Hotel: Smart Hotel and Lifestyle Hotel, run by globally famous hotel chains, will make their debut in Bangkok at Cloud 11, in keeping with the future development of the city’s innovative district.
Education: University campuses and research centers are located in the education zone, with the goal of enhancing creators’ ability and potential.
Cultural: The zone includes theaters, concert halls, and one of the project’s highlights, an enormous sky garden that welcomes both users and the general public to unwind and showcase their creativity.
Two architectural design firms are spearheading the design of Cloud 11: Snøhetta, the Norwegian architecture studio, whose portfolio includes impressive projects such as the Oslo Opera House and the redesign of New York’s Times Square, and A49, Thailand’s preeminent architectural firm responsible for the creation of megaprojects including True Digital Park, who collaborate in designing and overseeing the project’s architectural planning.
“We are glad to join this project. I love the project’s ambition to bridge the analogue and the digital world, and presenting a new prototype of building,” said Kjetil Thorsen, architect and co-founder of Snøhetta.
Kjetil Thorsen, architect and co-founder of Snøhetta
“The project originated from a very unique idea, and it contains all these varied and complicated functions, so it’s one of the most existing projects for us to be a part of,” Nitis Sthapitanonda, architect and executive director of A49, highlighting the challenges that Cloud 11’s design entails.
Nitis Sthapitanonda, architect and executive director of A49
The architecture of Cloud 11 is made up of a group of buildings that surround the green space situated in the middle of the program. When people use the skywalk to get to the buildings, they will be greeted by a giant LED screen and a structural feature that frames the main entrance. This gives the entrance the look and feel of a grand city gate and invites everyone to walk in and start their journey.
“The entryway is 40 meters wide and opens toward the sky garden in the center. The top section of the architectural mass is built on a truss structure whose prolonged span results in a phenomenally enormous and striking visual of the main entrance,” Nitis remarked regarding the design of the project’s frontage.
The structures are arranged around the perimeter of the sky garden in the master plan. The courtyard provides shady green space, keeping the garden pleasantly cool and useful even in the afternoon sun. Despite the fact that the courtyard is surrounded by buildings, the design positions the structures in a proper sequence, with spaces in between, allowing natural light and airflow to make their presence known and preventing the courtyard from becoming overly enclosed.
Even from a distance, the sight of clusters of buildings exudes an exuberant energy and diverse activities that take place inside the project. The buildings are divided into three levels based on their elevation: the street level, or the foundation, with a design that has shophouses as the inspiration; the garden level, or the sky garden, which has an intermittent line of the buildings’ exterior walls connecting to the skywalk at the front; and finally, the skyline, which is the upper portion of the structure.
“The layers of complexity in this building are reflected back into the shape of building. One can understand from outside that the building is rich with functions. It is like a miniature of Bangkok,” Kjetil Thorsen explained the idea behind the building’s appearance. “And we were not allowed to cut any trees in the site, so the cuts and shapes of building also reflect the existing trees.
Beyond Cloud 11
There are real estate development projects that focus on making the most of functional space to generate maximum value. Yet, given the enormous size of its sky garden, it seems like Cloud 11 will be taking a different route. The obvious question is: why give up such a significant piece of land for a garden?
Cloud 11 believes that the number of people drawn into the project by the green space, whether building users or passersby, is worth sacrificing one portion of the space. The garden will benefit not just the project but also the members of the surrounding community, who will be able to enjoy this vast urban green area, which, when completed, will become the largest elevated green space in Bangkok.
“At the beginning of the project, we surveyed the neighboring areas, asking people about their needs, worries, and concerns. We later discovered that people yearned for a good public park or a place to exercise. Creating a green place that welcomes everyone to access became one of the project’s objectives,” Onza Janyaprasert explained.
Cloud 11 will also collaborate with the Bangkok Metropolitan Office on the project’s canal front promenade redesign, improving water quality, and transforming it into a canal walk that provides people with a better environment and commute experience. The canal walk will also connect Sukhumvit Road in the project’s front to Soi Sukhumvit 66 alley in the back. The endeavor stems from MQDC, Snøhetta, and A49’s desire to make Cloud 11 a project that benefits the local community as well as the targeted users.
Cloud 11 has begun its construction, which is scheduled to be completed and ready for the official launch in late 2024. We can only hope that this high cloud will help bring the aspiring and emerging creators as high as it can and happiness to the community like it intends.
FALA ATELIER COMPLETES A THREE-STORY RESIDENCE THAT LOOKS LIKE A COLLAGE OF GRAPHIC ELEMENTS. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HOUSE IS A TRICKY FLOATING COLUMN THAT SERVES NO PURPOSE OTHER THAN BEING AN ELEMENT FOR THE STUDIO TO UNLEASH THEIR CREATIVE INSTINCT
TEXT: PRATCHAYAPOL LERTWICHA
PHOTO CREDIT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
If one was asked to name an architectural studio with some wonderfully fresh and playful designs, Portuguese architectural practice Fala Atelier would most certainly be at the top of the list. The studio’s approach to architectural design utilizes the digital collage method to put various different components, shapes, and colors together, bound by no constraints but just creative instincts and imagination.
Fala Atelier takes their playful ingenuity to a new level with Suspended House, a residential project in Porto, Portugal. Inside, a strangely out-of-place concrete column positioned at the very center of the house has no weight-bearing obligation. While the column seems to be for purely decorative purposes, its presence functions like a hinge, dividing each level into four equal sections.
So, how can we know that this particular column has no structural burden? It’s because the columns on the lower level hover a few inches above the ground.
Photo: Fala Atelier
So, how can we know that this particular column has no structural burden? It’s because the columns on the lower level hover a few inches above the ground.
One can reasonably assume that the homeowner must be a design enthusiast who desires a unique and artsy home. But that is not the case here. The owner is a person who was searching for an architect to sign the working drawing in order to obtain the construction permit and get everything done and over with without even being that concerned about the design. The search for an architect was motivated mostly by necessity rather than a passion for design.
“This was a house designed for a friend who was not interested in architecture at all. Most of his requests were of little importance for the design, allowing us to be free in our intentions,” said Fala Atelier.
Photo: Fala Atelier
Suspended House is a three-story residence with the main entrance on the second floor, which corresponds to the road level in front of the house. The back façade has a strikingly looking and colorful sun protection tarp. A silver drainpipe appears boldly in the middle, splitting the façade in half. The upper trims of the window frames are clad in a black and white striped pattern that has no precise significance or reasoning behind it. The most bizarre aspect of the façade is the pink circular slab of marble that stands boldly at the top of the structure.
Photo: Fala Atelier
Photo: Fala Atelier
The walls that link to the centerpiece column divide the second and third floors of the home into four sections. The column serves as a frame for the dark blue doors that surround it. The architect did not specify the function of each space, leaving it up to the owner to bring the house to life. The first level lacks the partitioning walls found on the other floors of the home, but the column remains, suspended above the ground. The levitating concrete column was joined to the beam framework above. Initially, the concrete column was designed to stand on its own. But, once the concrete was set and dried, the architect removed the bottom portion of the column, transforming it into a mind-boggling floating mass. The ceiling on the first floor reveals a protruding portion, giving the area the appearance of a three-dimensional collage rather than a play on different elements on a flat plane.
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu
Photo: Fala Atelier
Photo: Ivo Tavares
Photo: Frederico Martinho
The project is similar to other works done by Fala Atelier in that it began with a simple requirement, and the architect was brought in more out of necessity than anything else. It corresponds to the current period in which Portugal’s real estate business has been revitalized with the prospect of a glorious return after the 2008 global economic recession. A design with such a strong character is a way for the studio to unleash itself from the repetitive briefs and constraints it has seen over the past several years and to be completely free of any expectation for utilitarian objectives or even meaning.
Wireframes | © Fala Atelier
Wireframes | © Fala Atelier
