fattstudio renovates bento bar in bangkok with a perforated façade and hidden courtyard

fattstudio has transformed three row houses in bangkok‘s ari district into the dondon, a japanese bento bar which aims to provide good quality meals to companies’ employees and workers of the public relations department opposite to the site. the restaurant features an open kitchen placed next to a long entrance corridor, and a perforated aluminum façade designed to protect the entrance from heavy rain while facilitating natural ventilation to occur, reducing heat produced from the kitchen.

all photos by panoramic studio, thinnapop chawatin

the bangkok-based architects were called to resolve a complicated brief, having to work with three house units which didn’t connect properly, and an open courtyard in the back which was part of a separate coffee shop yet only accessed through one of the units. the new program aims at making the access to the courtyard café more visible, managing the main circulation through an interior corridor that directly connects it to the restaurant’s entrance.

fattstudio demolished two of the row houses to create an open plan ground area, as well as the walls and floor of the fist level, to install new materials and textures. the roofs of the units was also changed to connect them together, installing a polycarbonate roofing panel on some parts to let sunlight come into the interior.

situated in an area that has seen many changes in the past decade, the dondon is designed with unique features to allow it to stand out from the large numbers of restaurants and bars that have emerged lately. ‘the ari district used to be the hipster area of bangkok, with good quality coffee shops and a variety of cafés and restaurants,’ note the architects, ‘as the city expanded, many firms and condominiums outgrew the city center and relocated around the district. the companies came with a number of working people that affected the demands in the district, and from an alternative cafés area it has been transformed into a battlefield of restaurants which are competing for the attention of employees.’