Bangkok, Thailand
2024 – 2024

2-Storey Sales Gallery Façade and Interior Design

Category: Sales Gallery, Interior
Gross floor area: 1,200 sq.m.
Cilent: Vertical Phattanakan Alliance Co., Ltd.
Collaborators: Su Landscape Architecture (Landscape), UPLUS Consultants (Structural Engineer), Pass Engineering Consultant (MEP Engineer)
Photographs: PanoramicStudio

Director: Punpong Wiwatkul
Architecture Team: Supachai Khiewngam, Nattan Jaruchawalit, Peerada Suttipoom
Interior Team: Jiradetch Vongpetchploy, Attapinya Charoenlap, Challika Vittayagul, Chanoknan Weerayanon, Nattawan Nimnual, Parichat Klomkan

At first glance, the building appears as another modern addition to the up-and-coming residential district. However, the building’s history tells a story of transformation. Once a factory that fell into disuse, the site became a gathering space for homeless individuals and street vendors. As times change, the site together with the neighborhood, evolved into a community spot that encourages urban lifestyle in this once-an-outskirt area of Bangkok.

Materiality and Sustainability

With the design objective of transforming the abandoned factory into a “new community hub in the park,” preserving as much of the existing structure as possible. The facade and supporting frames were thus merely added onto the existing skeleton to minimize construction.

Ventilation blocks – a low-cost, commonly used but effective material – were utilized to lessening labor time and construction costs that would have been required for a more complicated technique. The facade stands out through simple repetition that generates depth and visual intrigue from varying perspectives, an aesthetically pleasing and an effective shading device.

Programming and Spatial Design

The redesign adapts the enclosed, single-use factory into a more open, multi-functioning building that houses a sales gallery, cafe, and flexible space -- a commercial space that allows for different public uses. Integrating a diagonal axis into the space that slices through the front corner of the otherwise rectangular building creates a subtle yet impactful move that redefines the structure’s front, forming multiple entrances and enhancing accessibility inside the building as well as the park-like surrounding.

Interior spaces are connected through a central lounge that serves as the sales gallery, which is accessible from the left entrance or through the cafe that sits on the right side of the building. The surrounding landscape provides direct access to the flexible space, which is also reachable via the gallery, while extending indoor activities outdoors, fostering a more dynamic and fluid environment, adding vibrancy to the neighborhood.