SIAMESE BLOSSOM BY SOMDOON ARCHITECTS

Siamese Blossom is a townhouse project on Raminthra Road, a suburb on the north of Bangkok. The scheme aims to create a living space within greenery, conveying a sense of community and to fix the common problems of townhouses.

These include a lack of natural ventilation and a lack of natural light found in a long and narrow plot. The townhouses are arranged to allow the narrow elevations facing East and West to gain minimum heat from the sun.

In contrast the long elevations entail openings facing the North and South to get natural ventilation. They become perpendicular with the main public road in the centre of the development. 

Plants walls and fences along the main public road provide security and control before accessing to the townhouses, whilst maintaining a friendly atmosphere. The townhouses are systematically designed to be 12m apart.

The space in between becomes a shared garden and a key space for natural cross-ventilation between the two rows. In this respect the gardens become a community space as they are only accessible by the immediate townhouses.

The units are increased the variation and created better identity for each unit by either mirroring units or increasing the 3rd floor height on random units. These taller units are highlighted by the red brick coloured façade leaving all other units coloured grey.

The brick screens are the primary element of the townhouse façade.  It is an inexpensive and common material in Thailand.  Therefore it has a low carbon footprint and is better suited for the skills of the local construction labour.

The brick screens have various functions such as acting as privacy screens, providing sun shading and covering of air-condensing units and downpipes.

Location: Raminthra Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Architect: Somdoon Architects

Principal Architect: Punpong Wiwatkul, Puiphai Khunawat

Interior Architect: Somdoon Architects

Landscape Architect: Sanitas Studio Co.

Structural Engineer: Ritta Co.

Mechanical & Electrical Engineer:Siamese Asset Co.

BU LANDMARK COMPLEX BY ARCHITECTS 49

BU Landmark is a new building complex built right at the main entrance point to the Bangkok University Campus at Pathumthani.

In addition to the mentioned requirements, the School of Business Management also required some supplementary facilities, for example, classrooms, seminar rooms, lecturers’ office, lecture halls.

Then, the new complex is emerged from the particular architectural form evoking the symbol of the university, a diamond. A group of buildings as a “Landmark” is a fundamental concept of the project.

The created architectural form is evocative of the presence of the university, its symbol and also allows students and visitors approach the campus easily.

The concept of a learning space, in which students search for refining themselves through learning process – in order to obtain knowledge and become qualified human resources – can be illustrated by analogy with a lapidary process.

In common with a learning process, a lapidarian gradually transforms a stone into the precious diamond through cutting and polishing elaboration. Thus, the concept coincides precisely with the university’s vision that aims to be “Creative University”.

The site planning considers the campus’s traffic system and provides two additional gates in order to facilitate the traffic flow efficiently. The landscape design plays a role of bringing the complex become more outstanding.

The pond is placed in the front of the building group so it creates a reflecting effect of the building forms. Moreover, it also serves as a natural barrier as well as the campus’s reservoir.

Principally, the design considers visual and functional continuity between the front area and the rear of the campus so the entire campus is inextricably intertwined.

It consists of 3 buildings – 2 lower 4-storey buildings at the front and a higher 7-storey building at the back. The circulation spaces are all naturally ventilated yet cool and comfortable despite of the hot tropical weather.

Location: Rangsit, Thailand 
Architects: Architects 49 
Structural Engineer: Architectural Engineering 49 
System Engineer: M&E Engineering 49 
Interior Architect: Interior Architects 49 
Landscape Architect: Landscape Architects 49 
Lighting Consultant: Lighting Design Consultants 49 
Construction Management: KCS 
Contractor: Thai Obayashi 
Area: 26,000 sqm 
Year: 2010 
Client: Bangkok University

CENTRAL PLAZA CHIANG RAI BY SHMA COMPANY LIMITED

Being the first up-scale shopping mall in Chiang Rai, Central Plaza provides a generous outdoor space for the public to enjoy.

 

Our proposal presents this space as a cultural plaza and park that embraces native culture and identity with various activities to enrich local suburban life.

The landscape design encapsulates the mountainous scene surrounding the site through the interpretation of the northern mountainous contour line characteristic.

The contour pattern is reflected in the stark pavement pattern and the shape of undulating flower mound, step, seats, water cascade. Simple local materials like sandwash and terrazzo are used to construct the pavement and the fluid seat respectively.

Their flexible nature makes constructing natural form possible. Selection of native plants further enhances the northern atmosphere as well as corresponding to regional ecology.

Red Silk Cotton tree – locally known as Ngiew Tree – is the main feature. It is majestic in form and famous for its flower as an ingredient in traditional delicacy.

During January to March, Ngiew’s bright orange flower blooms in profusion and is accompanied by orange flowers of Trumpet Vine which covers the wall on the façade and other flowering shrubs on ground.

Shma’s collaboration with world renowned local earth artist, Master Somluk Pantiboon, is resulting in a series of 5-piece sculpture floating over cascading water feature. Placed as focal point of the landscape, the ceramic sculpture is depicting the life cycle of ‘Ngiew flower’ from budding to blooming to withering.

 

 

 

Location: Chiang Rai, Thailand 

Architects: Shma Company Limited 

Design Director: Prapan Napawongdee 

Landscape Architect: Chanon Wangkachonkiat 

Area : 7,780 sqm

Year : 2011 

Client:  Central Pattana Public Company Limited 

Photography: Wison Tungthanya