with undulating rattan, enter projects transforms thai art gallery

transforming an art collector’s gallery in chang mai

Enter Projects Asia unveils a series of bespoke artwork interventions within an art collector’s gallery in Chiang Mai, a city in Northern Thailand. The existing architecture is characterized by a collection of interior pavilions, all enclosed by intricate gardens featuring sculptures and water features.

An avid collector of precious artworks, the owner hoped to contextualize these treasures within a more engaging environment of natural materials. The design team thus brings the gallery to life with lighting and seating elements fabricated in its signature style which hybridizes three-dimensional geometries with traditional Thai craftsmanship.

Enter Projects Asia Director Patrick Keane comments: ‘We sought to create an immersive experience, giving the space a warmth and depth uncharacteristic of conventional art galleries.‘

images courtesy Enter Projects

rattan structures imitate billowing clouds

With its gallery intervention in Chiang Mai, Enter Projects Asia employs a contemporary design language of fluid, parametric forms which appear to billow and transform with the viewer’s shifting perspective. This dynamic effect is achieved through the use of specialty software which simulates the movement of clouds and steam. Thus, the resulting rattan structures seamlessly meander through the gallery spaces, both interior and exterior, culminating in a collection of three ‘pod structures’ measuring 5 meters (16.4 feet), 4 meters (13 feet), and 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high.

 The architects describe the fabrication process: ‘Each batch of work was transported from the factory to the site in Chiang Mai, and assembled on-site.

‘The rattan lighting structure was the final installment, providing integration between interior and exterior as it floats harmoniously above the different zones, connecting courtyard to dining and through to the display areas.’

enter projects’ architecture in a state of flux

Enter Projects Asia describes the project as being in a state of flux, ‘a continual passage of movement, guided by nature and the natural forms embodied in the composition of the rattan.’ Meanwhile, the team notes that ‘nature provides the versatility of natural materials like rattan, grown in abundance all over South East Asia.’

Patrick Keane asks: ‘It is not hard to be sustainable in construction if we adapt to our environment. Why would we use synthetic, toxic plastics when we have all the noble materials we need at our fingertips?‘

Through the transformation of the art gallery, Keane reimagines the role of the program. He continues: ‘Designers need to seek alternative forms of art presentation to the clinical, antiseptic displays we are all familiar with. Art galleries for the future will be living organisms and multidimensional experiences, tied more closely to the environments we live in. Art is a representation of life.‘