wooden accents and a central courtyard bring nature into house in thailand by anonym studio

anonym studio helped its clients relive their memory of being among the nature that surrounded a wooden terrace in a japanese temple. the client requested ‘a simple, single-story home. no step, just a minimal, open comfortable interior space with rooms that access the outside garden’. so the architecture studio designed the sophisticated, yet down-to-earth, POP house, a single story residential project in bangkok that embraces nature while exposing its raw materiality and minimal spaces. 

the client’s experience was retold many times in conversations between the owner and anonym studio.  despite the fairly large piece of land of almost 1,600 square meters, the owner never intended to build a big home that would take up all the space. what they were looking for was a moderately sized, one-story house with the basic functional spaces and the architectural structure that wouldn’t be taller than the height of the fence. the remaining part of the land would later be occupied by an outdoor, luscious garden, allowing the presence of nature to work its magic in reminding the owners the peace of mind and happiness they once experienced standing on the terrace of that temple in kyoto. 

looking in from the outside, the house is perfectly shielded by the fence and luscious garden. once the gate opens, owners and visitors are greeted by an expansive garden space that gradually ascends to the structure of the one-story home; an oversized rectangular box standing humbly with massive openings that connect the interior space to the large wooden terrace and the garden. 

anonym studio used the wood kept from the dismantled old houses the owners had lived in the past 40 years of their lives. the wood was polished, repainted and arranged to reveal it beautiful, natural pattern. the U-shaped floor plan comes with a space at the center, housing a courtyard where another portion of green space is located. 

essentially, the house was designed to contain the functional program that corresponds with the direction of the wind in order to maximize natural ventilation, and lessen the unnecessary use of air conditioner. the ceiling is 4-meters tall, which grants an incredibly lofty and spacious living space. the steel roof structure renders a physically and visually lighter mass and structural outline, making the interior space look and feel more ample and comfortable.

the thermal insulation was installed at the ceiling to prevent the heat transfer from affecting the comfort of the interior space. the outline of the steel roof structure flows in a stylishly minimal pattern commonly found in the japanese architectural aesthetics, seamlessly connected to the wooden part of the ceiling, which extends to the eaves. 

the functional spaces are arranged in a straightforward order, from the living area situated next to the dining space and the kitchen. located further in respective order are the prayer room, an office and the bedroom. each of these functional spaces has large glass doors, which offer direct access to the central courtyard. the living room is designed to have extra large terraces facing both the courtyard and the front garden. 

when both walls are opened, the house’s living space is simultaneously embraced by the beautiful presence of nature. the garden space at the central courtyard serves as the lungs of the house for the area can be accessed from all the living quarters, welcoming the dwellers to rest and enjoy the beautifully diverse vegetation. it is on this terrace where the owners are meant to peacefully observe and appreciate the presence of nature, reminiscing the happiness and peacefulness they once experienced at the temple in kyoto.

project info:

project name: pop house

architect: anonym studio, phongphat ueasangkhomset, parnduangjai roojnawate

interior designer: anonym, phongphat ueasangkhomset, parnduangjai roojnawate www.anonymstudio.com

location: bangkok, thailand

area: 250 sqm 

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: cristina gomez | designboom