with a unique location on top of a 5-story apartment building, WARchitect has designed the skyscape residence in bangkok, thailand. the rooftop was previously only used to store water tanks, leaving an expanse of empty space. the owner, therefore, decided to build a small house for his own use. given its unusual context, the house has a concrete courtyard instead of a normal ground floor while trees are replaced with the vertical lines of surrounding buildings.

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

all images © rungkit charoenwat

 

 

to avoid creating a stark contrast between the house and the apartment below, the team designed the project so that it could not be seen from public roads. the idea was not to make the apartment feel like a building, but like a borderless box that emerges out of nowhere in the sky. the intention was to create an illusion to onlookers that the entire ceiling is in the same straight line even though it features a slope that is intentionally employed to make the wall and ceiling appear thin.

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

 

 

regarding the function, the owner wanted the house to be simple for his private use. taking this into account, the architect thought that it would be interesting to make the house appear more ‘naked’ than usual. the boundary between each room is linked by a central courtyard, while the functional area is divided according to the grid of the apartment’s pillars underneath, resulting in a six-grid layout.

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

 

 

the front section consists of three grids which are used as a dining area, a living room and a bedroom where the owner can enjoy a panoramic view through a large sliding glass door. the back section consists of the remaining three grids which are used as bathrooms, a courtyard that can be seen from anywhere in the house and a kitchen. since the owner already had a large number of balau wood planks, they were used as the cladding material. the final result is a space completed with the warm color of wood and the cool tone of the sky.

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok designboom

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok

WARchitect builds the skyscape apartment on a rooftop in bangkok

 

 

project info:

 

project name: the skyscape

location: ladprao soi3, chompol, bangkok, thailand

architect: WARchitect

area: 1614.59 ft2 (150 m2)

photography: rungkit charoenwat

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

edited by: lynne myers | designboom