anonym's Y house is designed to be protective as well as open towards the urban changes

the ‘Y house’ located in nonthaburi, thailand, opens a dialogue with its existing context through the rhythm of building skin layering. it brings about the perception of the flow of spaces from the context to the living spaces of the house. the relationship creates enclosed spaces and environments that provide privacy, while connecting the house to the urban ecology in harmony with the lives inside.

all images © w workspace

bangkok based anonym studio‘s ‘Y house’ is composed of four bedrooms, two sitting rooms, and one office. the architects, phongphat ueasangkhomset and panduangjai roojnawate, use the limits of the Y-shaped land plot to form small courtyards and gardens, achieving a micro-ecology on site and connecting living spaces together. they also employ a formal difference while the articulation of the architectural skins and mass create visual sequences that reflect the owners’ memory and long-established relationship with the neighborhood. as one walks through the spaces, one can perceive different fragments of the urban context through the various layers of building skins.

the ‘Y house’ opens a dialogue with its existing context through the rhythm of building skin layering

even though nonthaburi has a certain distance from the chaos of the center of bangkok, it does not mean that the rapid changes of the capital city will not affect the context of anonym’s ‘Y house’. the residence stands in the midst of constant changes of the metropolis, an attentive solution to the visual and psychological distance between the project and its surroundings becomes crucial for creating the living spaces. the environment of the house itself is designed to be both protective as well as open towards the changes at the same time. under such limited circumstances caused by the particular Y-shape of the site, the plot size, and the functional requirements, the architectural language of the building is articulated within the relationship among the small open courtyards, narrow strips of the garden along the residence, and the layers of the skins. the architectural elements, therefore, play a role of interlocutor with life and the context.

the environment of the house is designed to be protective as well as open towards the changes at the same time

anonym uses the layering of surfaces to achieve the effects of various shades of atmosphere for different functional spaces, keeping the shades of perception of the surrounding context in harmony with life inside. so, it brings about another form of living ‘with’ the ever-changing urban context. the white painted steel ‘brise-soleil’ brings about a superimposition of visual perception that draws the surroundings into the interior spaces. the vivid and colorful row-houses or the detached wooden houses in the neighborhood are not cut out but appear from time to time when one moves freely inside the ‘Y house’ and becomes a part of the environment. all of these, form a conversation in which the project pronounces its speech to the context by exposing its identity and differences through a simple form, while it still listens, observes and perceives what is going on in its beloved outside world.

enclosed spaces that provide privacy are created, while connecting the house to the urban ecology

the project pronounces its speech to the context by exposing its identity and differences through a simple form

the architectural language of the building is articulated within the relationship among the small open courtyards

the inner court features a small pond with a wooden deck

the living area seen from the upper floor

floor plan layout with context

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edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom