anonym studio merges indoor and outdoor space for bangkok house

designed by anonym studio, the ‘floated tree house’ is a residential project in bangkok, thailand, that has been developed to be more open than most homes. built for a married couple, the work has been realized to balance the owners’ requirements with the surrounding nature of the site.

large planters are incorporated into the internal space of the house

all images © W workspace

the house is situated on a 12 meter wide and 32 meter long plot of land. with the shape of the site and the owners’ requirement for a parking space to accommodate 5-6 cars, anonym studio created a design inspired by the traditional thai stilt house, where the main spaces are located on the second and third floor of the building. the architect also decided to gouge out the building’s mass, consequentially creating a negative space that functions as a courtyard (commonly found in sino-portuguese architecture) surrounded by the living space, dining room and sleeping quarter.

entrance detail

in addition to its long and narrow shape, the land is located less than ten meters away from an overpass situated toward the south and west end of the site. considering these factors, the house is designed to face towards the north to escape the afternoon sun and provide greater privacy for the residents. to follow the owners’ wish for a more animated and exciting living space, the design team chooses to scoop out the south-facing space at the semi-outdoor courtyard. such spatial manipulation turns the dining and living area into the house’s main stage, facilitating an interesting dialogue and visual connection between the house and the surrounding public spaces.

the main elevation

to achieve the right balance between visual accessibility and privacy, anonym utllizes architectural elements in the forms of walls, steel window frames, the openings at corners of dense concrete walls and large tree pots. by arranging them into a layered sequence of diverse yet hierarchical spaces, they offer varying levels of exposure.

a large atrium cuts through the volume

walking into the house at the ground floor, a ray of sunlight comes through the layers of the solid and glass walls situated towards the west, leading up to the upper floor via a stairway. the living room, which is located the closest to the road and overpass, has a double-layered wall separating the house’s private space from the outside. the inner wall is a two-story high steel structured glass wall that stretches itself around three sides of the living area. installed on this wall is a series of sliding doors that open out to the terrace. the two-meter height of these doors is equivalent to the height of the opening on the concrete wall. these architectural details are thoughtfully realized to render a comfortable and relaxing living area where the owners feel completely at home.

view of the outdoor to indoor space

the architect also decided to create additional rectangular openings on the west and south wall. the openings are located at the level higher than the floor level, which enable heat coming into the building to be controlled while allowing the right amount of light to be reflected into the room. collectively, the presence of these openings ends up making the overall ambience of the interior space more lively.

the interior is surrounded by glazing

one of the things that sets floated tree house apart from other residential projects is how the connection between the living and public space does not become less discernible when walking further inside of the house, but integrated in a rather interesting manner. the fact that the program puts the living and dining room in between the courtyard results in the two spaces being accentuated from other parts of the house and opening up to the outside surrounding the most.

material combination of wood, brass and stone

nevertheless, to effectively control the heat coming from the south and the west as well as the excessive presence of public space that can cause dwellers to feel uncomfortable, the architect designed the position of the trees growing in the courtyard to function as an additional green layer that helps filter the sunlight and obstruct outsiders’ visual access into the living area.

the interior is filled with light

with the clients’ demand for a house of distinctive appearance, anonym studio worked out the brief by refusing to define ‘being different’ merely as a visually striking form but puts the focus more on the meticulously fabricated spatial sequence that corresponds with the current condition of the site and dwellers’ behaviours, ultimately creating a story that is specific and connected to the place from which everything is originated.

plenty of glazing allows for natural ventilation

material combination of wood, brass and stone

bathroom detail

section perspective

project info:

project name: floated tree house

location: bangkok, thailand

architect: anonym studio (phongphat ueasangkhomset, parnduangjai roojnawate)

interior design: anonym studio (phongphat ueasangkhomset, parnduangjai roojnawate, napapash siraputtipat)

area: 5920 ft2 (550 m2)

project year: 2019

photography: W workspace

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