PHTAA transforms historic home into modern restaurant and coffee bar in bangkok

PHTAA created a home for a neighborhood in central bangkok, which takes the form of the coffee bar and restaurant, ‘H dining’. the home-like locale was designed to keep the function of the house as a lifestyle space, including a front yard, in the middle of the city. the architects experimented with traditional thai materials, zigzag brick and rattan create unique space.

in the front yard,small  spaces are designed for food stalls and dining, clad in zig-zagging red bricks.

h-dining takes its name from both the owner’s previous cafe, ‘hand and heart’, and the project’s location in an existing home. PHTAA’s design was inspired by the renovation of a typical 1960-70s suburban bangkok house with the aim of keeping a domestic feeling without resorting to cliches of suburbia. from the street, the demolition of the existing wall on the boundary of the property allows the streetscape to flow onto the front lawn and create a sense of openness to the property. 

the architects redesigned the restaurant in the old house’s site, and created connection between interior and exterior space.

once in the front yard, guests pass loosely arranged, semi-enclosed pavilions, which house a hot dog stand, performance space, and craft beer bar. these semi-outdoor dining areas are separated by walls constructed of interlocking concrete pavement blocks, often used on footpaths in bangkok. the blocks, which are laid either vertically or horizontally, are painted red-brown by hand to make a random design, adding an artistic touch to a mass-produced element that has been given a new function. 

the house’s foyer lets ample sunlight and ventilation into the spaces.

the pavilions remain open to the sky with the use of clear roof sheeting, shaded by the trees in the garden. before entering the main house itself, guests are allowed a back-of-house view of the bar through the large plate glass window, again to promote the idea of openness. inside the entrance is a cylindrical stainless steel maitre d’ stand from where guests can choose to dine upstairs or downstairs. in contrast to the maitre d’ stand, the bar and furniture throughout the interior keep a domestic feel, with the use of rattan and wood.

the front facade includes four doors, in line with traditional feng shui design.

a hop window space is added at the front to the house to create a welcoming facade.

PHTAA use a metal structure create the new pattern of zig-zagging bricks.

the new usage of zigzag brick for a wall breaks the tradition of using it as a paving pattern.

a translucent polycarbonate ceiling floats over the food stalls to control the natural light.

to let the sunlight in, the direction of glass doors creates harmonies of light and shadow in the interiors.

the palette of wood and rattan in warm tones create sense of a comforting place in the neighborhood.

an exposed coffee bar and kitchen is placed at the center of the restaurant. 

a woven rattan wall alludes traditional thai handicraft, which also visually connect two spaces.  

project info:

design: PHTAA design living

project name: h-living

location: bangkok, thailand

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: cristina gomez | designboom