Category: MAGAZINE

ANUBAN SAMUTSAKHON SCHOOL

April 10, 2023
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CONTEXT STUDIO OFFERS A NEW IMAGE OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY TRANSFORMING THE SPACE TO BE SUITABLE  FOR LEARNING EXPERIENCES FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND TEACHERS THROUGH THE ‘OCEAN’ DESIGN CONCEPT

TEXT: PICHAPOHN SINGNIMITTRAKUL
PHOTO: DOF SKY|GROUND

(For Thai, press here)

It is not often that we see a public school invest in architectural design and decoration with the intention that these built environments will help  improve the children’s learning ability and playing experiences, not to mention doing it at the level of a good private school. But the Samutsakorn Public School, also known as Anuban Samutsakhon School, shows how important it is to put money toward improving the school’s architecture and functional spaces. The improvement has stunned many parents and passersby, even having them wonder if this is actually a space inside a Thai public school.

Badintra Balankura of Context Studio, the project’s architect, talked about a conversation he had with the school’s director: “When the school’s director called us, I was surprised. Because, to me and many others, it is unusual to see a public school invest money towards its architecture. I personally have never seen anything like this. After having a serious conversation with the director, I discovered that the province’s governor was partially responsible for this renovation because he wanted to see the public schools in the province have top-notch learning environments that would enhance both the children’s experience and the province’s image and reputation. The director also agreed with the idea of designing  functional spaces that would serve as a tool to help prepare the children for life outside of school. The design is also intended to instill a sense of pride in the students and alumni.”

The school’s location, which is only 200 meters from the mouth of the Tha Chin River.

The final few sentences about creating a space that would help prepare the children for the real world became the essence of the design concept, which compares the experience to a ship’s embarkation into the ocean. The concept also corresponds with the province’s prominent fishery industry and the school’s location, which is only 200 meters from the mouth of the Tha Chin River, situated  almost directly on the gulf. The river and water thus plays an important role in the design. The renovation includes the multipurpose classroom, the hall beneath the elevated floor of the building, and the faculty office.

“The multifunctional classroom, or what the teachers refer to as the ‘presentation room,’ which has been carefully scheduled for the children from different classes to take turns using, depending on the subjects they’re learning, has to be the highlight of this project. We designed the surfaces of the walls and ceiling to have acoustic properties with functions that are more suitable for presentations with projectors and activities that require verbal communication and interactions. When we associated the design to the concept of water, the ceiling ended up looking like waves; quite intimidating-looking waves (laugh), though, because we wanted them to be able to absorb noise effectively,” explained Badintra about the design concept of the first section of the spatial program.

It wasn’t easy to design and build the ceiling to resemble  intimidating-looking waves while still delivering the intended functions. The recurring spans between the waves required the design team to use Rhino software to work out the form of the ceiling. Sixteen variations were created, each with waves of varying lengths and enough repetitive spans to help reduce echoes. The CNC machine was used to create molds from the sixteen digital files. The molds were then used to cast the fiber glass tissue modules, which were then assembled into the undulating ceiling.

The multifunctional classroom’s floor and walls are made of a light-colored wood substitute to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for the students. The wood finish reveals groove details,  adding a fun dynamic to the room, which would otherwise be just a rectangular classroom with a plain surface. The grooves also contribute to the sound-absorbing property of the room, one of its primary functional requirements.

The faculty’s office, which also includes the director’s office and a meeting room, is designed to use the same material and color tone as the presentation room, with wood as the main material. The design of the building, which mimics the bottom of a large ship, incorporates elements of water and rivers. A highly skilled group of local ship builders constructed the ceiling, and the process itself was a cooperative effort that brought the province’s officials, the school, and the neighborhood together and strengthened community ties. The hall under the raised floor of the building is the area where the children play and engage in various activities. The ceiling is meant to look like the hollow cockpit of a ship. The curved and hollow features of the columns reduce the rigidity of other elements while lowering the risk of injury to the children as they run around the area. The renovated floor is constructed out of terrazzo that is partially made of glass scraps and gravels, allowing the children to see an example of an environmentally conscious effort through design.  

“We’ve renovated a number of areas, and the school is planning to continue renovating other zones as well. The end result will undoubtedly distinguish the school from other public schools in Thailand. I admire everyone involved for recognizing the significance of spaces in children’s learning experiences, in addition to the curriculum. It would be amazing if other public schools could spare their budget to improve their spaces and facilities in the same way that Anuban Samutsakhon School has.”

The ideas, concepts, and points of view that Badintra shared with us about the project, as well as how they differentiate Anuban Samutsakhon School from other public schools in such a positive and impressive way, made us realize how building a good school or influencing children to become accomplished people involves so many factors that go beyond issues such as budget and curriculum. These things involve adults’ visions and their willingness and ability to look at what today’s children  want to learn. It is the responsibility of grownups, particularly teachers, to closely observe the children’s needs and interests. While architecture is not the only solution that contributes to a child’s good upbringing, its ability to create an environment that is conducive to children’s learning experiences and allows them to exercise and express their imagination will undoubtedly help motivate and foster their creativity, positive awareness, and interest in ways that are unquestionably superior to being forced to sit in a boxy classroom all day.

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HORIZON : CAFE & RESTAURANT

April 4, 2023
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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.

facebook.com/ALSOdesignstudio

 

PINK, BLACK & BLUE

April 3, 2023
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THE EXHIBITION DELVES INTO THE LIFE OF THE ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER MANIT SRIWANICHPOOM WITH ‘BLACK’ AND ‘BLUE’, TAKES US TO THE JOURNEY OF DEATH AND THE AFTERLIFE OF HIS ICONIC CHARACTER, THE ‘PINK MAN’, WHILE DISCUSSES THE PHENOMENON OF ASSOCIATING MEANINGS WITH COLORS THAT THAI SOCIETY HAS WITNESSED OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

TEXT: TUNYAPORN HONGTONG
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN

(For Thai, press here)

Manit Sriwanichpoom’s photography series, ‘Pink Man’ is undoubtedly his most renowned work. The series is so successful that whenever the name Manit is mentioned, we always automatically think of Pink Man. Some people even mistake that the Pink Man in the photographs was Manit himself (actually Sompong Tawee, a poet and performance artist, is the person who took the role of Pink Man in the series).

Manit created  Pink Man in 1997 as the character of a chubby Asian man who wears a shocking pink satin suit and travels with an empty shopping trolley embellished in the same color as his outfit. Pink Man is represented the extreme consumerism that was taking over Thai society to the point where one had no care for other aspects of society that did not concern them. Manit then went on to create many more of his Pink Man series, such as ‘Pink Man on Tour’ (1998), where the character was captured in his journey to a variety of different places and incidents, both inside and outside of Thailand, with his expressionless face. Pink Man’s appearance in ‘Horror in Pink’ (2001) shows the character at the October 6th 1976 massacre and Black May, also known as “Bloody May,” two of Thailand’s most tragic and violent political incidents, with a face that looked like he was enjoying an entertaining spectacle.

In most of the series, Pink Man took the spotlight. Pink Man’s presence in ‘Hungry Ghost’ (2003) was not just as the main character, but appeared with the size of towering skyscrapers, the scale that would probably equate his giant ego. Nonetheless, in some series, such as Pink Man in Venice (2003), Manit chose to photograph the character from a distance, resulting in a miniature version of Pink Man. In some of the photos, he stood on the edge of the vast body of water, looking absentmindedly, with no shocking pink trolley by his side. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but wonder about his next journey. Will he undergo any changes? What was his fate going to be after consuming pretty much everything throughout his entire existence?

Pink Man had been on numerous adventures before arriving at the final answers to these questions. In 2018, Manit created ‘The Last Man and the End of His Story’, a series of photograph in which we saw a pink body bag lying on the side of the road in America, with a pink trolley by its side. The series was undoubtedly about Pink Man’s demise. However, when we look at ‘Dropping the Pink Self’ (2018), another work Manit created in that same year, it becomes unclear whether Pink Man’s death refers to the end of his actual life or a metaphor for him forfeiting something. Manit’s ‘Dropping the Pink Self’ (2018) was inspired by Ai Weiwei’s ‘Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn’ (1995). But while Ai dropped a Han Dynasty urn which shattered to convey the time of the demolition and reconstruction of Chinese culture, Pink Man, on the other hand, dropped a figurine of himself to the ground, causing its head to fall off.

Pink, Black, and Blue, Manit’s latest solo exhibition, reintroduces the two iconic works. The exhibition also includes ‘Afterlife So Pink #2’ (2023), an installation of a Pink Man doll on a wooden boat, a universal symbol of the human journey into the afterlife. But, being the Pink Man that he is, sitting with him on the boat is the head of a Buddha sculpture, and it appears that the boat floats inside an inflatable kid’s pool with a bold, kitsch sea animal pattern. In Heavenly Pink (2023), Pink Man makes his way into ancient Thai mural paintings, from the one where he stands amongst angels in heaven—the scene which depicts an event from the Buddha’s life story when Lord Buddha met Angulimala—to the iconic painting by Khrua In Khong (an avant-garde Thai artist in the past whose work has been featured in artworks of some contemporary Thai artists recently). As wild as the imagery that Manit created, Pink Man’s journeys in this series are open to all sorts of viewer interpretations. One might draw the conclusion that Pink Man has set himself free from consumerism, or that these photographs simply portray his unquenchable desires even after his death.

Pink Man’s story is curated as part of ‘Pink,’ one of the colors into which the exhibition is divided. The two remaining colors are ‘Black,’ which includes ‘When I Was Twenty,’ a series of black-and-white photographs Manit took when he was a student, and ‘Blue,’ which includes ‘I Saw A Blue Wing,’ a collection of Manit’s snapshots that tell the stories he experienced while participating in art exhibitions abroad. When it comes to the narrative, the two sections of the exhibition are less intense than ‘Pink,’ yet they allow viewers to learn more about Manit’s identity. His rebellious spirit (Black) was clearly visible in the works he created during his younger years, just like his slightly dark humor in the snapshots he took (Blue), and they can still be found in Manit’s artistic creation even today.

Nonetheless, the important roles that Black and Blue play alongside Pink do not end there. Manit’s decision to use more colors than just pink for this exhibition is most likely motivated by his desire to discuss the meanings associated with ‘colors,’ a phenomenon that Thai society has witnessed over the last several years, from how certain colors are used to express one’s loyalty to the monarchy or political standpoint, or to symbolize what constitutes the nation.

Regardless of the ideologies or intentions behind these meanings and how shallow they seem to be, the public has learned to accept these colors and what they represent. It is evident from the fact that many Red Shirt supporters refuse to wear a yellow shirt, and the same is true for Yellow Shirt supporters, who would never appear in public wearing a red shirt (Chinese New Year may be an exception). For Manit, putting meaning in colors has split Thai society into two polarizing ends, culminating in the country’s stagnated development, not to mention a consumerist economy. His perspective on the subject can be seen in ‘Afterlife So Pink #1,’ an installation in which he placed the Pink Man figure inside a resin block shaped like an ice cube. The piece is then placed atop two ice tanks that one is painted red and another is blue. Pink Man’s supermarket trolley is wired with IV tubes in another installation, ‘Stay Pink’ (2023), implying an attempt to keep consumerist behaviors alive. This is because while a polarized society is beneficial to the ruling class, once the effects reach the people’s consumption, capitalism becomes weaker, and that is when the upper-class and corporate entities begin to experience losses.

In Manit’s Pink Man series, Pink Man is a disgusting-looking man in a shiny, shocking pink suit. In the real world,  Pink Man exists in all kinds of clothes. He could be someone wearing a suit of a different color. To figure out who the Pink Man is, we might have to look deeper, through all the color-coated surfaces.

Pink, Black & Blue: A Solo Photographic Exhibition by Manit Sriwanichpoom is now showing at Hub of Photography (HOP), 3rd floor, MUNx2, Season Square Srinakarin Shopping Mall until April 9th, 2023.

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CLOUD 11

March 31, 2023
by admin

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.  

facebook.com/cloud11bangkok

SUSPENDED HOUSE

March 27, 2023
by admin

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

falaatelier.com
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PARIS 2024 PICTOGRAM

March 23, 2023
by admin

BREAKING DOWN THE DESIGN PRINCIPLE OF PARIS 2024 SUMMER OLYMPICS’ PICTOGRAM AND EXAMINING ITS ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS COMPARED TO THOSE OF PREVIOUS OLYMPIC GAMES

TEXT: WEE VIRAPORN
PHOTO CREDIT AS NOTED

(For Thai, press here)

Humans learned to communicate through body language long before the existence of letters and writing systems, as evidenced by prehistoric wall paintings. Despite the development of written languages and alphabets, pictorial representations continue to have a place in today’s communication system. Pictograms have the potential and ability to help people from different linguistic backgrounds to understand each other. It produces endless sets of standard symbolic visuals for all kinds of activities, such as symbols for building safety regulations, washing care for garments, and even machinery and automobiles.

For an event that draws people from all over the world, such as the Olympics, sports pictograms have always been something that graphic design aficionados look forward to, just as much as the event’s logos and mascots. The easily recognizable sports pictogram was designed and used for the first time at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Other noteworthy pictogram designs that followed include the ones that Lance Wyman created for the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Pictogram for 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo | Photo courtesy of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVIII Olympiad

Pictogram for 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City | Photo courtesy of Organizing Committee of the Games of the XIX Olympiad, MEXICO 68

Pictogram for 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich | Photo courtesy of ERCO GmbH Lüdenscheid

A pictogram is typically constructed using the grid system and other features that serve to form continuity while also possessing an identity that corresponds with other visual aspects as well as the cultural identity of the host country. One prominent example is Sydney 2000’s pictogram, in which boomerangs, one of the weapons of the Aboriginal people, Australia’s indigenous tribe, were shaped into the form of a human body. Another interesting example is the Beijing 2008 pictogram, with its details and lines that took inspiration from the inscriptions on ancient Chinese utensils.

Pictogram for 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney | Photo courtesy of SYDNEY 2000, ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR THE GAMES

Pictogram for 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing | Photo courtesy of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee

It is undoubtedly difficult for a visual design for such a large-scale event to please everyone, be it the design enthusiasts or the general public. The London 2012 Olympics logo has faced criticism since its debut due to its unconventional typographic style. However, the pictogram took a rather realistic approach, while the Tokyo 2020 Olympics logo had to be revised due to a plagiarism allegation. The criticism leveled against these pictograms is that they are “unoriginal.” I had the same impression about Tokyo 2021’s pictogram, which is clearly an intentional attempt to modernize the design used for the Tokyo 1964 Olympics, until I attended the opening ceremony, in which real human performers were choreographed into the symbols in the most ingenious way.

Pictogram for 2012 Summer Olympics in London | Photo courtesy of The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited

Pictogram for 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo | Photo courtesy of Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee

When the introductory video for the 2024 Paris Olympics was first shown at the closing ceremony of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, audiences were captivated by a variety of novel concepts. New sports, such as skateboarding and breakdancing, were added while competition sites were held at major landmarks in the city. Certainly, the design of the event’s visual identity is equally impressive, from the logo, which combines different elements of the flaming torch, gold medal, and the face of Marianne, the woman who symbolizes the French Revolution, to the use of a vibrant color palette that reflects the host country and the city’s rich culture. Everything perfectly fits the overall mood and tone of the other media created for the event.

Photo courtesy of International Olympic Committee, 2023

The recently unveiled sports pictogram for the 2024 Paris Olympics upends many people’s expectations to the point that it feels uncertain if the design can be termed a pictogram at all. There are no human elements found in the symbols representing various sports categories. Instead, each symbol incorporates sporting equipment as well as features of competition grounds and venues, all of which are placed in a rectangular space divided by diagonal lines. The finished design looks like an emblem of a European family or city, with details and nuances that must be carefully explored, as opposed to most graphic symbols, which allow viewers to comprehend concepts and meanings in a brief period of time.

Photo courtesy of International Olympic Committee, 2023

I’m not sure how well this pictogram (?) will work. The first shortcoming and issue is how difficult it will be to notice when these symbols are employed in a smaller size compared to previous designs. The lines do not exactly correlate with the 2024 Paris Olympics’ logo, but rather with the 1924 Olympics’ logo, which was also held in Paris. Everything, I believe, is a purposeful endeavor to impart the inherent creativity of the past to the present. Every symbol in this pictogram is intended to present itself as an adaptable logo (a type of logo that varies its form and elements based on the scale of the space it’s in), which will be especially interesting when used in animated and interactive media formats.

Paris 1924 Olympic logo

Photo courtesy of International Olympic Committee, 2023

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BAAN TROK TUA NGORK

March 22, 2023
by admin

A 90 YEARS SHOPHOUSE THAT STU/D/O ARCHITECTS PARTIALLY REPLACES THE STRUCTURE AND ADJUSTS THE SPACE TO MAKE IT FUNCTIONAL WHILE ENCAPSULATING A SENSE OF NOSTALGIA THROUGH ITS TRACE WITHIN

TEXT: PRATCHAYAPOL LERTWICHA
PHOTO: STU/D/O ARCHITECTS AND KUKKONG THIRATHOMRONGKIAT

(For Thai, press here)

When a person reaches the age of 90, they undeniably become designated as a senior citizen. Yet for Baan Trok Tua Ngork, a building with over 90 years of history located in Trok Tua Ngork alley in  Bangkok’s Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, the journey to its 100-year milestone is the start of a new, exciting chapter. 

From a family home to a chili paste factory, an office, and at one point in time, a built structure with a majority of space left unused, Baan Trok Tua Ngork has stood the test of time, having been lived in by people from different generations. Today, after having Stu/D/O Architects at the helm of the renovation, the home has been given new life as a venue with rental spaces ideal for exhibitions, activities, and other potential functions.

Baan Trok Tua Ngork is a five-story building made up of five units of shophouse. At the back of the building sits a trapezoidal-shaped courtyard whose widest size measures up to 5 meters. Behind the area is a small building that was once used as accommodations for workers. The building’s front was originally four stories high before the rooftop floor was converted into the top floor and used as the room where ancestral rites were performed.

“Baan Trok Tua Ngork was initially the home of a family of Chinese immigrants who settled down in Thailand,” Apichart Srirojanapinyo, architect of Stu/D/O Architects, explained the building’s history. “It was originally a multigenerational home where five extended families lived together. It was also used as a chili paste shop and production base, as well as an insurance company’s office, which were also businesses run by family members. As time passed, the space became too small to accommodate everyone. Each family began to move out, leaving the building empty except for the time of ancestor worships, when relatives gathered in the room on the top floor to pay respect to deceased family members and ancestors. 

The ancestor room before renovation

The ancestor room after renovation

After seeing the building neglected for a great many years, the fourth-generation members of the family were seeking ways to bring it  back to life. The initial thought was to build a café, a restaurant, and a small hotel. Everyone debated the idea and eventually agreed on renting out the spaces with the demand for additional system works to be done to prepare the building for future expansion.

Converting an old building into rental spaces didn’t sound like a difficult task, given that they would be developing a layout with empty spaces for people to use for whatever purposes they desired. As it turned out, the new program was the most challenging task for the design team. For the rental spaces to be used for different kinds of activities, the building would have to be able to hold the weight of hundreds of people. This means that any extra functionalities added to the building  in the future would burden its structural framework with more weight.

“One of the first ideas we came up with was incorporating reinforced concrete into the structure of the building,” explained Chanasit Cholasuek, another architect at Stu/D/O Architects. “We experimented on many designs of reinforced structures, from the one that blended every structural component together to the one that emphasized the distinct contrast between the old and new frameworks. The end result was relatively decent, but we felt that the procedure would end up removing the true spirit of the building.” 

When the idea of using reinforced structures to merge the new and old structural elements didn’t work out as planned, Stu/D/O Architects and the engineering team brainstormed for alternative solutions before arriving at the method that delivered the intended final outcome. They took down the building’s first floor so that less weight would be put on the existing base. The first floor was then rebuilt on a new foundation with new foundation piles. “We excavated the entire first level of the building so that the rest of the building could support more weight because the weight of the first floor was removed,” Apichart revealed. “Then we incorporated a new first-floor structure into the existing building fabric, as well as new structural components for the elevator shaft and a new set of stairs.”

What would be inevitable when the old and new structures coexisted was the varied degrees of consolidation. To mitigate that, the design leaves calculated spaces between the points where the old and new structures merged. Not only that, the architect designed the glass walls of the central court next to the original building to overlap with the walls adjacent to the new building. These walls contain a red gradient that matches the tone of the tiles on the first floor. Should the first floor structure ever consolidate, the gradient detail of the glass wall will help hide it from being visible from the outside.

The façade is one of the aspects of the building’s design that the architects chose to keep as many of the original attributes as possible. The added component is the transparent glass walls on the first floor, which promote connectivity between the building’s first floor and the outside world. The architecture team opted to eliminate the walls that separated each area in order to unite the spaces, with the new wood borders on the floor indicating the locations of the original walls. Each unit’s stairs and railing were also dismantled. The treads are then employed as floor panels in the area where the old staircase was placed, adding to the list of traces from the old building’s memories. Numerous original structural details have also been carefully kept, such as the incised corners of the columns, concrete beams, and floor tiles, all of which demonstrate the taste and craftsmanship skills of builders in the past.

The inner court might be considered the building’s heart. While the court isn’t particularly large (the widest side is five meters, while the narrowest side is only three meters), when the light cast’s through it, along with the mirrors and glass panels cladding the rooms, these elements collectively make the court appear more spacious—an impressive improvement over the previous dimly lit space that didn’t have any use, rather than being the surplus space at the back of the building.

The main court before renovation

The new court also serves as a communal space, with users having visible access to what’s going on within the building through the translucent glass walls of the rooms. Old, colorful door and window frames border the glass panels, showing their original positions before being replaced by the new glass features. Tempered laminated glass panels are weight-bearing, allowing window and door frames to be securely mounted to them. Doors and windows that once let in natural light and air have been transformed into a nostalgic detail that transports visitors back to the building’s yesteryear.

Aside from the endeavor to encapsulate a sense of nostalgia, Stu/D/O Architects included new amenities to help increase functional convenience and a better and safer user experience, such as an elevator and a new fire exit, both built to synchronize with the building’s internal circulation. The construction of the translucent roof on the fourth story transforms the rooftop area into a well-shaded terrace that is great for lounging even while it’s raining. An additional walkway is built to connect the existing elevator core to the new one on the fifth floor.

Despite its recent official opening, Baan Trok Tua Ngork has already hosted a variety of events, including the art exhibition Ghost 2565: Live Without Dead Time, Baan Soho, an experimental space run by Soho House prior to the official opening of the clubhouse, and LOUIS VUITTON’s private dinner. Today, a new chapter of Baan Trok Tua Ngork has begun as the building welcomes new people and visitors to create new stories that will leave more traces to be inherited through time. Just like how those scratches on wooden windows or stains caused by incense papers that were burned during ancestral worships have now become an inherent part of the house.

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THAI TAXI TALISMANS

March 16, 2023
by admin

ATTRACTED BY A COLLECTION OF MESMERIZING ITEMS IN THAI TAXIS, DALE KONSTANZ DOCUMENTS THAI TAXI INTERIORS, RESEARCHES THE MYSTICAL OBJECTS HE CAME ACROSS, AND COMPILES THEM INTO THE BOOK WHICH MIRRORS THE QUINTESSENTIAL THAI CULTURE
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