Asia-based studio Linehouse has refurbished the CentralWorld shopping centre in Bangkok, Thailand, introducing a double-layered facade punctured by arches.

According to Linehouse, the revamped facade and seven floors of retail space depart from typical shopping centres by drawing from the history of the site and creating opportunities for "peace in the chaos".

"The design conceptually explores contradictions between the chaotic and peaceful nature of Bangkok, offering a moment of respite in a dense urban district," the studio told Dezeen.

"Located in an area once abundant in lily pads, we examined the stemming, radiating and circular profile of the lily pads, translating this into a spatial narrative to the exterior and interior condition," it continued.

Linehouse used CentralWorld's existing structure as an underlay for its design. The updated facades are formed of concrete arches applied over the original elevation to frame views of the inside.

"The existing perimeter skin of the facade was treated as black render and a secondary skin in concrete formwork was applied to break the regular rhythm of the column structure," Linehouse explained.

Openings are carved behind several of the external arches to host terraces and add visual porosity to the shopping centre.

"We punctured a series of terraces offering exterior gardens for the food and beverage floors, providing a depth to an otherwise flat elevation and blurring the exterior-interior condition," the studio said.

Internally, a central atrium rises between the retail floors, shifting as it ascends to create a network of overlapping ceiling planes.

To support the shifting planes, Linehouse treated existing structural columns with radiating white fins that branch out to form distinctive canopies.

"Upon entering the interior, one is transported to space full of light and volume, offering a meditative journey away from the intensity of the surrounding streets," the studio said.

"As one ascends the interior atrium, the ceiling plane treatment shifts in materiality, beginning with tectonic green metal grids, evolving to natural and tactile textures, timber trellis and woven cane ceilings."

A food hall occupies the shopping centre's fourth floor and was configured to overlook the neighbouring park from the rounded facade opening.

Understated, neutral materials such as timber and stone line the interior to help create a calm atmosphere.

Linehouse is a Hong Kong and Shanghai-based architecture and interior design studio established in 2013 by Alex Mok and Briar Hickling. The duo won the emerging interior designer of the year category at the 2019 Dezeen Awards.

The studio has also recently designed the interiors for a Hong Kong residence that respond to coastal views and a Shanghai restaurant with arched details informed by the New Wave art movement.

The photography is by Jonathan Leijonhufvud and Depth of Field.

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An exposed concrete frame, red brickwork and a large silver curtain define House K in Thailand, which has been designed by local studio Bangkok Tokyo Architecture.

Designed for a mother and her son who wanted to rebuild their family home in Bangkok, the residence has an exposed, "understandable" structure that is intended to be easy to customise, adapt and modify over time.

"We wanted to expose the most typical building materials and construction method found in the surrounding context," said Bangkok Tokyo Architecture senior architect Poom Prakongpetch.

"This way, the architecture becomes comprehensible and accessible to everyone," they told Dezeen.

Each of the home's three floors serves a different function. The ground floor contains an en-suite bedroom for the mother, separated from a private living area by a central wall.

Above, the first floor contains a shared living, dining and kitchen area, and the third floor has a bedroom and bathroom for the son.

The floors have each been set back as they move up the building to create space for external terraces. One of these faces a neighbouring building and is enclosed by a brick wall, while another overlooking the street is sheltered by a large silver curtain.

A large concrete base forms a patio around House K, creating areas for planting and space for the house to be extended in the future.

"All the floors are designed to feel like a continuous one-room space with an accessible outdoor area," said Prakongpetch.

"For us, a house is something that can be continuously built upon and appropriated," added Prakongpetch. "Putting the house on a concrete plinth suggests the house as a 'platform' for various uses and adaptations."

Inside, the brick and concrete structure has been left exposed, teamed with white partition walls and white-tiled bathroom areas.

Large metal-framed windows, sliding doors and skylights provide each floor with ample amounts of natural light as well as access to the external terraces.

"The look and feel of the house will depend on whoever is viewing or using the space – we did not intend to communicate a certain look or feel through the design of the house," explained Prakongpetch.

Elsewhere in Thailand, Bangkok studio PHTAA also used a visible concrete frame to create a home called House R3, which is infilled with pink-toned concrete panels.

Other houses in Bangkok featured on Dezeen include Basic House, a residence by Brownhouses that exhibits its owner's car collection, and an inward-facing family home that Thai architect Kuanchanok Pakavaleetorn designed for her own family.

The photography is by Soopakorn Srisakul.

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A blocky pink form and curving glass walls define House R3, a residence by Bangkok studio PHTAA on a compact roadside site in Thailand.

Made from concrete, the 400-square-metre home features living spaces across five levels to maximise the available space for a family of five.

To give privacy from the nearby road, PHTAA infilled House R3's road-facing facade with concrete panels so that it is almost entirely solid.

Meanwhile, the opposite wall that faces a quieter street is lined with floor-to-ceiling glazing. On two levels, the glazed areas curve inwards to create a wavy facade.

"The concrete stair core in the back position of the home had to be solid due to building regulations," studio co-founder Ponwit Ratanatanatevilai told Dezeen.

"So we utilised that law to serve the purpose of mitigating the vibration and noise pollution originating from the road," he continued.

"The front part of the home contains all the living spaces and faces the smaller road in the peaceful village, so we tried to put the open windows on this side," added Ratanatanatevilai.

On one side of the building angled towards the main road, PHTAA added a triangular terrace that is cut into the main volume and bordered by angled windows.

"When viewed from the back, the exterior looks solid," said the studio. "Instead, it reveals an opening from the side of the building in a twisted form."

A pink-toned, slatted gate separates the home from the street and offers access to the ground floor. Here, there is a parking area for the family's two vehicles.

On the other side of the covered parking area is a circulation space with a curved concrete staircase and kitchen.

Personal living areas and bedrooms for each member of the family are arranged across the other floors, excluding the second floor where there is a living room.

House R3's bedrooms have matching plans and take advantage of the curved glazing, which punctures the rooms and frames views of the village below.

To provide privacy, curtains can be pulled around the curving glass walls, which open onto covered balconies on both levels.

The living room that takes up House R3's second floor has a straight, glazed wall on one side.

Its remaining walls are lined with wooden panelling as well as dark wooden joinery and mid-century furnishings that have been collected by the owner over time.

Other Thai homes recently featured on Dezeen include a home and music studio with raised living spaces and an inward-facing family home designed to prioritise privacy and airflow.

The photography is by Kukkong Thirathomrongkiat.

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Architecture studio Snøhetta has revealed its design for Cloud 11, a large glazed building with commercial, hospitality and cultural spaces that the studio says will create a "new neighbourhood" in Bangkok.

The 254,000 square-metre development, which the studio designed in collaboration with A49 Architects, will take the form of a large glazed volume raised above a central courtyard.

The building, which will be located in the upcoming CyberTech district of South Sukhumvit, was designed with large openings to create better air quality in the open spaces.

Snøhetta aimed to create plenty of public green spaces, which are rare in Bangkok, as a part of the development. As a result, Cloud 11 will feature a number of pocket parks and elevated gardens, one of which – the central lawn – will be the largest in Thailand.

The water of a nearby canal will be treated with a deep shaft cleaning system.

The project, which has already begun on site, will have a number of restaurants that operate from a central kitchen as well as a gym, stores and two hotels, all of which will be connected by "village-like" alleys, plazas, streets, stairs and escalators.

Cloud 11, which Snøhetta is designing for property developer MQDC, will also have a library, educational venues and a number of workspaces.

"We have had the opportunity to not only create a building, but a new neighborhood in the center of Bangkok," Snøhetta founding partner Kjetil Trædal Thorsen said.

"An urban artifact providing a thriving place for culture and creation, and green public spaces that will improve the quality of life for people living in the South Sukhumvit area," he added.

"With an increasing number of people moving into urban areas, it is crucial to develop communities fit to accommodate the needs of the future cities in a sustainable way, both socially and environmentally."

Cloud 11 will be located close to a BTS Skytrain station and will also have a centralized logistics system that will transport food and other products from an automated warehouse and the central kitchen. Deliveries will be managed from a centralized distribution hub.

"I am confident that Cloud 11 will set a new standard for a project that responds effectively to the needs of innovators, local communities, and future generations to come," said Cloud 11 project director Onza Janyaprasert.

The project is set to be completed by the end of 2024.

Other recent projects by Snøhetta include a quarter of wooden cabins that overlook a fjord in Norway and an urban farm in Hong Kong.

The images are by MIR.

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Thai practice IDIN Architects has created a series of minimal, pavilion-like structures for Nana Coffee Roasters in Bangkok, which feature mirrored mosaic ceilings to reflect the surrounding gardens.

Located in Bangkok's Bangna district, the project occupies an oasis-like site of dense greenery alongside a busy road.

IDIN Architects were tasked with expanding an existing structure on the site, which houses the cafe and roasters' "Slow Bar" by adding a new "Speed Bar" serving area, additional seating, and bathroom spaces.

Rather than create a single, large structure, the practice created three narrow, mono pitched steel structures at the front of the site, with glass walls and mirrored ceilings that would allow the surrounding gardens to "infiltrate the gaps in between."

"The main buildings in the front [of the site] are the result of maintaining continuity in the roofline with the existing building, which extends into three masses where the Speed Bar and indoor seats are located," explained the studio.

"Green areas of the landscape infiltrate the gaps between these masses and flow into the interior with the use of reflective glass mosaics on the ceiling."

"Through this concept, the boundaries between the three practices - architecture, interior, and landscape – are blurred," it continued.

Contrasting the black steelwork of the existing building, the new structures have been built using white steel frames and concrete, with oversized roofs that extend to shelter external terraces.

The southernmost structure contains the new bar, with a large, white counter accompanying by black stools runnings along its entire length and continuing through a glass end wall to become an external table with mirrored legs.

Small glass link corridors lead through to the two adjacent seating structures.

Both are fitted with undulating countertops designed to "heighten the coffee-drinking experience" and reference the mountainous areas from which the coffee originates.

At the rear of the site, the new bathrooms are housed within white cube forms with external sinks, connected by a paved bath that winds through the garden.

"All [of the] buildings are designed to be simple and functional, and this simplicity continues to the design of the interior, where the main focus still revolves around the coffee-drinking experience," explained the studio.

IDIN Architects was founded by Jeravej Hongsakul in 2006, and its name is an acronym for Integrating Design into Nature, a strategy that carries through all of the studio's work.

Previous projects by the firm include the design of its own studio in Bangkok, which features a blackened timber exterior and planters for tall trees designed to give it an "invisible presence."

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A zigzagging form gives extra privacy to the medical staff living in Thai studio Plan Architect's nurse dormitory apartment block at Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok.

Comprising 523 rooms, the building, which has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2022, is formed of 26 floors with diamond-shaped openings at their centres. Plan Architect designed the apartment block to be a restful home for nurses working in the hospital, which is run by the Thai Red Cross Society.

"The main aim was to create the most comfortable residence for the nurses at the hospital," project architect Jittinun Jithpratuck told Dezeen.

In response to the dense arrangement of the city, Plan Architect aimed to design a building that offers the residents plenty of privacy.

"With the dense high-rise buildings in Bangkok, we aimed to provide enough space for each room to have its own privacy without directly facing other buildings and to allow natural ventilation to get through the rooms," Jithpratuck continued.

To ensure the rooms didn't directly face the surrounding high rises, the studio gave the apartment block a zigzagging form.

On each floor, the apartments are arranged along two corridors separated by a central opening that lets more natural light enter the corridors and facilitates natural ventilation from the floor to the roof.

Most rooms are separated into two parts by a sliding door, with one half acting as the bedroom and the other containing a dining area, pantry and bathroom. The bedrooms are intended to sleep two people, with the beds on opposite sides of the room for privacy.

Balconies placed at an angle extend from each room, forming snaking rows along the structure.

"Since the dormitory is close to other nearby buildings, we designed the balcony to have a slanted angle," said the studio.

"This avoids a direct sightline to other buildings and allows more sunlight into the area, making it suitable for planting trees and drying clothes."

Aluminium railing and perforated aluminium sheets provide further privacy and shading on the balconies.

"This facade and balcony composition create the pattern of light and shadow that reflects the simple systematic design of the building while concealing the various lifestyles of the users," the studio continued.

Additional facilities in the block include a library, public dining room, co-working space, and laundry room.

An enclosed courtyard is formed in the space between the apartment block and three of the neighbouring buildings. Separated from the busy hospital, this courtyard offers green space and a peaceful area for relaxation for the nurses.

"The nurses feel it's a lot better than where they lived before because it can give them privacy even when living with each other, and the natural cross ventilation really works including the zoning in the room that makes it easier to work while the other occupant needs to rest," the studio said.

Plan Architect's project has been shortlisted in the housing project category of Dezeen Awards 2022. Other projects shortlisted in the category include a colourful apartment block in Melbourne and a green tower in Amsterdam.

The photography is by Panoramic Studio.

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Thai firm IDIN Architects has completed an office building in Bangkok, featuring angled metal cladding that reflects sunlight away from a nearby shrine and helps prevent the interior from overheating.

IDIN Architects designed the Suanphlu Office for a site next to the Lao Pueng Thao Kong shrine in the Thai capital's commercial district. The private office building also contains a penthouse for the owner on its top floor.

The building's main elevation faces west and receives strong sunlight. Its proximity to the shrine informed a design that aims to be an attractive backdrop and to minimise how the sun's rays reflect onto the shrine.

The facade design shields the glazing behind a layer of aluminium cladding that reduces the amount of sunlight entering the building.

"The double-skin facade is designed to protect the building from the harsh sunlight, reduce the reflection on the glass facade, and encourage the wind flow and ventilation," said IDIN Architects.

Demand for high levels of comfort and external views from inside the building also influenced the positioning of the different types of cladding panels.

In some areas the window openings are left exposed, while in others the glazing is shielded by perforated or opaque metal screens.

The cladding is broken up into vertical sections that are individually angled to limit reflections onto neighbouring buildings.

IDIN Architects explained that "the diagonal cuts in the design visually separate the facade into panels across the building, creating movements and adding dynamism."

The metal surfaces feature a semi-gloss titanium finish that produces constantly changing patterns of light and shadow throughout the day.

The building's facade also steps back in places to incorporate pocket courtyards.

The planted voids extend the full height of the building and help to reduce the overall area of the reflective surfaces, as well as adding variety and a natural element to the exterior.

The position of the planting alternates on each storey to provide varied views from within the office.

Full-height openings or bands of windows look out through the greenery towards the surrounding neighbourhood.

IDIN Architects was founded in 2004 by Jeravej Hongsakul. IDIN is an acronym for Integrating Design into Nature, which describes how the firm's projects respond to Thailand's tropical climate.

The practice designed its own studio to slot into a narrow site in Bangkok and obscured it using tall trees. It has also completed a house on the outskirts of Bangkok that is enclosed by wooden shutters to prevent it from overheating.

The photography is by Ketsiree Wongwan.

Project credits:

Owner: Vinsmor group
Architect: Idin architects
Team: Jeravej Hongsakul, Eakgaluk Sirijariyawat, Sakorn Thongdoang, Wichan Kongnok
Interior designer: Inblock studio
Structural engineer: C-insight company
System engineer: Eakachai Hamhomvong, Panot kuakoolwong
Contractor: Sorawee Karnchang, Inblock group

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Promotion: hotel brand The Standard is set to open a Bangkok outpost in King Power Mahanakhon, featuring bright interiors by Spanish designer Jaime Hayon and The Standard's in-house design team.

Named The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, the design-led lifestyle hotel in Thailand will open in May 2022 and become The Standard's Asia flagship.

The 155-room hotel is being developed in the pixelated King Power Mahanakhon.

Its interiors, which are being designed by Hayon in collaboration with the brand's in-house designers, are hoped to encapsulate the "unmistakable energy of the Thai capital".

"There is nothing in Bangkok, or the entire region, like what we have created here," said The Standard's executive chairman Amar Lalvani.

"We love the energy, style and culture Bangkok offers and couldn't be more proud to partner with King Power to open our flagship for the region in this awe-inspiring building, in this incredible city."

The 78-storey King Power Mahanakhon was chosen as the host building for the hotel in recognition of its iconic architectural design and setting within Bangkok's central business district.

It is also in close proximity to Bangkok’s Old Town, which the brand said: "has recently become the chosen enclave for the city's dynamic creative community".

The interiors of the hotel will be distinguished by bright colours and fluid shapes. There will also be a mix of art installations and greenery.

These finishes have been developed by Hayon to challenge the usual aesthetic of other luxury hotels in Bangkok.

Hotel rooms will range in size from 40-square-metre guest rooms to a spacious 144-square-metre penthouse.

In addition to the hotel rooms will be a meeting and events room, as well as shops and a gym that will be open to the local community.

Like all other hotels by The Standard, there will also be an outdoor terrace pool and a mix of restaurant, lounge, bar and nightlife venues.

The terrace, described by The Standard as "the highest alfresco sky beach in Bangkok" will have sweeping views of the city.

The Standard was established in 1999. It is known for its design-led approach to hotels.

Its Bangkok outpost joins the US and European flagships, named The Standard, High Line, and The Standard, London, as well as waterside retreats in Miami, the Maldives, and Hua Hin. The Standard, Ibiza is also opening this spring.

To celebrate the opening of The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, the brand is offering a pre-opening discount of 25 per cent on bookings until 31 Jul 2022 for stays until 28 Feb 2023.

For more information on The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon, and its opening, visit its website.

The imagery is courtesy of The Standard.

Partnership content

This article was written for The Standard as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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The latest edition of our Dezeen Weekly newsletter features Thai architect Kuanchanok Pakavaleetorn's family home in Bangkok.

Pakavaleetorn, founder of Kuanchanok Pakavaleetorn Architects, designed her own family home to prioritise privacy and airflow due to the house's busy and polluted urban setting.

55 Sathorn is arranged around a large atrium, allowing windows to face inwards rather than outwards. The facade also incorporates sliced openings, strategically placed to encourage the breeze to flow through the building.

Readers are impressed. One called it, "Fantastic and fascinating".

Other stories in this week's newsletter include our lookbook featuring ten minimalist bedrooms designed for a dreamy night's sleep, a townhouse in London inspired by 1970s Californian modernism, and news of Bjarke Ingels' residential design company that aims to create a range of affordable, modular homes.

Subscribe to Dezeen Weekly

Dezeen Weekly is a curated newsletter that is sent every Thursday, containing highlights from Dezeen. Dezeen Weekly subscribers will also receive occasional updates about events, competitions and breaking news.

Read the latest edition of Dezeen Weekly. You can also subscribe to Dezeen Daily, our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours.

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Thai architect Kuanchanok Pakavaleetorn has built her own family home in Bangkok, with a design that prioritises privacy and airflow.

Pakavaleetorn, founder of Kuanchanok Pakavaleetorn Architects, designed 55 Sathorn to make the best of its busy and polluted urban setting.

The four-storey-high building is arranged around a large atrium, allowing windows to face inwards rather than outwards. The facade also incorporates sliced openings, strategically placed to encourage the breeze to flow through the building.

"The location is in the very centre of Bangkok; the noise level is very high, and the traffic flow of people and cars is a safety and security concern," explained Pakavaleetorn.

"So I designed the house to take a defensive fortress-like posture," she told Dezeen.

The building is primarily constructed from concrete masonry, which integrates a mix of rectilinear and curving elements. This means that some parts have a more solid aesthetic, while others take the form of smooth ribbons.

There are three main openings into this massing: one that slices though the south elevation before cutting round to the west, one that wraps the southeast corner, and one within the roof.

There's also a narrow vertical slit concealed within the eastern facade.

Although they appear to be design flourishes, each opening is there for a reason, according to Pakavaleetorn.

"The large openings are positioned precisely to maximise wind flow," she said, "and they frame specific viewing angles."

Large windows positioned within the atrium line up with the openings, to ensure that plenty of natural light can reach the interior.

The layout of the 460-square-metre building is generated by the atrium – most floors contain two main rooms, one on each side.

The ground floor contains a home office and gym, while the living room and kitchen are located on the first floor. There are then three bedrooms, located on the second and third floors, and a secluded roof terrace.

The concrete surfaces are visible inside the house, but have been treated with a textured coating. They are combined with a palette that includes natural wood veneers, stone tiling and various shades of grey.

Other details include black aluminium windows, a mezzanine library accessed via a spiral staircase, and a kitchen with an entire wall of storage.

Pakavaleetorn currently lives in the house with her husband and one-year-old daughter, but she expects her parents to move in at some point in the future.

The photography is by Wison Tungthunya and Kittipong Bumrungchaokasem.

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Human hair can be a tool for measuring the toxicity of a city, according to London-based architects Deborah Lopez and Hadin Charbel, who have also created a textile made from hair.

Through their research studio, Pareid, Lopez and Charbel have been analysing hair samples as a way of mapping the levels of pollution across different areas of Bangkok. Samples containing larger quantities of heavy metals indicate higher levels of environmental toxicity.

"Pollution is becoming a gigantic environmental problem," Lopez told Dezeen, who founded Pareid with Charbel.

"We were interested in the capacity of the human body to become a sensor to this, to reflect and record the environment where you live, where you breathe, and where you eat and drink."

The project, called Follicle, started out as an investigation into the potential of hair as an architectural material.

Research suggests that around 6.5 million kilos of waste human hair is produced in the UK alone every year, so Lopez and Charbel felt this material could be an untapped resource for sustainable construction.

However, after learning about the presence of heavy metals in hair, the pair realised they could also use the substance as a research tool in cities with dangerously high levels of pollution.

They set up their first test station in Bangkok, a city that hit the headlines in early 2019 after high levels of smog forced all of its 437 schools to close.

The architects created an installation at Bangkok Design Week 2019, inviting visitors to voluntarily cut off a small amount of their hair and submit it for analysis, along with details about their day-to-day environment.

As the hair toxicity is affected by lifestyle choices – smoking and dying your hair both led to increased metal content, for instance – visitors were asked to also provide some anonymous information about themselves.

Although there was some reluctance, Lopez and Charbel were surprised by how many people were willing to donate their hair. They ended up with hundreds of samples.

The toxicology analysis suffered long delays, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis unfolding at that time, but when they finally received the results they were able to see significant links between certain types of environment and certain metals.

For example, people who lived near major highways were found to have a notably higher volume of arsenic in their hair.

"From that moment we were able to link these two stories together, hair toxicity and pollution in the context of Bangkok," said Charbel.

The architects have been using the information gathered to produce a "toxi-cartography", an interactive 3D map of the city that charts the varying toxicity across different areas. This is available to view on a dedicated website.

The pair are currently presenting their research within the Spanish Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Going forward, Lopez and Charbel hope to be able to set up test stations in more cities, so that they can start to build up a wider understanding of the links between urban conditions and hair toxicity.

At the same time, the architects are also continuing to explore ways that waste hair can be used in building construction.

They have used a felting machine to create a hair textile, which has featured in both the Bangkok and Venice installations. Lopez suggests that this felt could be used as an insulating material, or as some kind of acoustic panelling.

The main obstacle to overcome is the stigma surrounding the cleanliness of hair, Lopez said.

"We find it interesting that we feel comfortable with the hair of non-humans, with animal fur, but we feel so disgusted by our own hair," she stated. "We want to find a way to use this material to create something that people feel attracted to."

Human hair has been used in a number of recent design projects, including designer Céline Arnould's ceramic vessels cast from the hair of her friends and family and a collection of bricks made from hair and manure.

Project credits:

Architects: Pareid Architects (Deborah Lopez and Hadin Charbel)
Collaborators: Konlawat Meklalit, Noppa-on Plidtookpai, Pitisuda Sukumalchantra, Phatsorn Mutanone.
Support: Matter of Trust, Embajada de España en Bangkok, Bangkok Design Week 2019 and TCDC
Photography and images Pareid & Visut Innadda
Hair analysis: Mery Malandrino, Alberto Salomone, Marco Vincenti (Department of Chemistry - University of Turin, Italy)
Website design: Pareid Architects (Déborah Lopez and Hadin Charbel)
Website development & Data Visualization: Sherif Tarabishy
Sound design: Donnie Brosh

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Foster + Partners has released visuals for The Forestias, a multi-generational residential neighbourhood on the edge of Bangkok, Thailand, which will have a large forest at the centre.

The Forestias has been designed by Foster + Partners' local studio to address a "growing disconnect between contemporary city life and family traditions" in the country.

Design offers "template" for urban living

Once complete, it will combine housing and shared facilities that accommodate the lifestyles of different generations, enabling extended families to live in close proximity.

These will be interspersed with green spaces shared by the community, which will encourage residents to engage with nature to boost wellbeing.

It is hoped to provide "a template for healthier and happier urban living in Thailand", according to Foster + Partners.

"Traditional Thai families often have strong intergenerational ties that are being strained due to the demands of urban life, with the younger generation moving to the city for work while the children and the older members of the family remain at home," explained studio partner Sunphol Sorakul.

"The Forestia's masterplan takes inspiration from the layout of traditional Thai houses to create a contemporary interpretation in the form of flexible community spaces, focussed on health and nature, that can expand and adapt as the needs of the family grow."

Variety of house types to feature

The Forestias is divided into two zones. The north side will contain commercial, public facilities, while the larger southern zone will be residential.

Both zones will be built with "smart city principles", such as autonomous vehicles and wireless sensor networks.

The southern zone is planned with a variety of different house types, ranging from large villas to high-rise condominium blocks.

There will also be "cluster-home residences" – groups of interconnected dwellings designed to support co-living – alongside housing for the elderly.

The north side is expected to feature offices, retail and food outlets, alongside entertainment, cultural and sports facilities, as reported by the Bangkok Post.

Forest will form heart of neighbourhood

At the heart of The Forestias there will be a large forest to form a relationship between nature and the built environment.

Smaller planted areas and green spaces will also feature throughout the entire development, offering residents "a sense of escape into an urban oasis".

The masterplan will be complete with The Forest Pavilion – an "experience centre" in the first that will contain interactive exhibits that showcase the vision of the neighbourhood alongside an elevated walkway through the trees.

Foster + Partners is an international architecture studio, founded by Norman Foster in London in 1967. Elsewhere in Thailand, it recently completed an Apple store with a tree-like column as its centrepiece.

Other projects currently being developed by the studio include a quartet of aluminium-clad skyscrapers in Qatar and the conversion of an abandoned gas plant in Madrid into offices.

Visuals are courtesy of Foster + Partners.

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Austrian architecture studio Precht has used more than 7,000 handmade bricks to create the floors, walls and stepped seating in this Bangkok cafe for coffee brand % Arabica.

Located within a retail space in Central World – the largest shopping centre in the Thai capital – the 120-square-metre cafe benefits from a large, glazed facade that looks onto a busy plaza.

It features stepped seating areas located to the right of the entrance and at the rear of the space, while a counter, roastery and storage room run along its length.

"When we started the design process, memories from previous travels in Thailand came to mind," said Chris Precht, who co-founded Precht alongside his wife Fei Tang Precht.

"I was always impressed that Thai culture values the 'chat' – an engaged conversation that is often depicted in local murals."

"In Austrian coffee house culture, we are reliant on chairs and tables for a conversation," he continued. "But in these Thai murals, the landscape or the traditional architectural topography was used in a joyful way."

Informed by these informal conversation settings and the rectangular terracing found in traditional Thai buildings, Precht stacked thousands of bricks, handmade by local craftspeople, to create a stepped "seating topography" within the % Arabica cafe.

Each block measures 15 by 15 centimetres and is made from a "concrete-like" material, with some left hollow and others inlaid with white ceramic tiles.

The brick modules were used to form the steps, seats and serving counter inside the % Arabica cafe. The same bricks were also used to line the store's walls and floors.

"It's one simple module for the entire programme," said the studio.

Both the blocks and the ceramic tiles were handcrafted by local artisans to create a design that is tactile and rooted in its context.

"We wanted to bring a certain handcrafted atmosphere to the place," Precht told Dezeen. "We think a haptic feeling fits the story of a barista and the making of a coffee."

"The handcrafting of the blocks infused the clean, nearly minimalist design with a little hint of wabi-sabi – rich in texture, with delicate imperfections, keeping the space bright and fresh, yet haptic and sensual," he added.

The hollow blocks were used to form a perforated brick wall, which divides the % Arabica store from the interior of the shopping mall while allowing passersby to see inside.

Integrated planters with trees were added to create the feeling of one connected landscape, where the floors merge into the furniture and walls.

The cafe is located right next to the dramatic Apple store that Foster + Partners designed for the plaza of Central World. Opened last year, the shop has a timber-clad column at its centre and an overhanging roof that resembles a tree canopy.

Other recent interior projects in the city include Enter Projects Asia's rattan restaurant design and Space Popular's green-hued spa interiors.

Photography is by WWorkspace, Sherman Chong and Chris Schalk.

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Dezeen promotion: the tropical gardens and luxury residences of this condominium building in Bangkok are set to be furnished with classic and bespoke pieces from French company Ligne Roset.

The eight-storey Scope Promsri is currently under construction in the Thai capital's lush and vibrant Sukhumvit neighbourhood, slated for completion in November 2022.

Developed by local real-estate Scope, the low-rise building will include 150 units that range from 28 to 34.99 square metres.

A collaboration with Ligne Roset through Ligne Roset Contract – the brand's first residential project in Southeast Asia – will see the brand furnish common areas and residences with existing and custom designs.

All Prado settees in the project will be designed to perfectly fit Scope Promsri's layouts, with the owners of the residences able to choose the fabric colours for their unit's Prado settee.

"We worked together with Ligne Roset extensively to refine the size, materials, and special colours and fabrics that can truly achieve what the design is meant to do," said Scope CEO, Yongyutt Chaipromprasith.

The building is organised around a central pool and tropical garden, influenced by the cenotes of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, and offers residents the use of several communal outdoor, semi-outdoor and indoor spaces.

These lounge and relaxation areas will be furnished with Ligne Roset's Taru, Valmy and Saparella collections, amongst a curated selection of others.

Promsri Edition residences will include the Promsri Table designed specifically for this project, along with the Prado sofa by Christian Werner, which can be customised with the owners' choice of colour and fabric – only possible due to the bespoke manufacturing capabilities of Ligne Roset Contract.

Larger units also come with a pair of Ettoriano chairs by Claudio Dondoli and Marco Pocci.

Architectural features include full-sized windows with reflective glass and motorised blackout blinds for privacy, plus acoustic window film to reduce external noise transfer by 30 per cent.

Miele kitchen appliances, Liebherr fridges and Kohler bathroom fixtures all come as standard in every unit.

For more information about Scope Promsri and the Ligne Roset collaboration, visit the website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Scope Collection as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Dezeen promotion: mosaic tile specialist SICIS is creating highly complex mosaic artworks to replace paintings in Thailand's oldest Hindu shrine.

SICIS is installing mosaics across the interior walls and vaulted ceilings of the historic Sri Mariamman Temple in Bangkok, which is the largest Hindu shrine in the world outside of India.

Taking years to complete, these mosaics are carefully designed to be precise copies of the original frescoes that have been slowly degrading over the years.

These replacements will have a significantly longer lifespan, allowing the temple to endure for the future.

"The mosaic is recognised as an eternal painting, which does not deteriorate and maintains the splendour of the colours and the vigour of the figures represented over time," said SICIS.

The Sri Mariamman Temple was built in 1879 by Vaithi Padayatchi, one of many Tamil Hindu immigrants that came to Thailand to escape colonial rule in India.

The temple comprises a six-metre-high entrance tower, known as a gopura, and three sacred buildings. The main shrine is dedicated to Sri Maha Mariamman, while the other two pay tribute to Ganesh and Kartik.

The task given to SICIS was to replace all of the frescoes in the temple, using both digital tools and tiling craft expertise.

To ensure the mosaics would be identical to the original artworks, artists created replica paintings that could be transported to the company's laboratories in Ravenna, northern Italy.

There, more than 80 SICIS mosaic artists have worked together to precisely colour match every shape and detail, using tesserae made from gold and Murano glass.

The process involved using the company's patented double indirect method, a highly skilled mosaic technique developed by company president Maurizio Placuzzi in the 1980s.

SICIS has so far completed the first two phases of the project. In the first phase, two artworks were created for the temple entrance, in the images of Sri Maha Mariamman and Shiva. Gold and gold leaf mosaic were also applied to the exterior.

The latest phase sees the temple's central nave completed rejuvenated. Nine Hindu deities adorn the vaulted ceiling, while additional artworks decorate the walls and niches.

So far, more than six million mosaic tiles have been used, all of which have been selected, cut and placed by hand. The skills used in this process are similar to those used in fine art or jewellery making.

"The mosaic masters recreated the images, paying maniacal attention to the expressions of the faces, the position of objects and symbols," said SICIS.

SICIS expects to spend at least two more years working on the next phases of the project, which will see 20 deities created on the two side vaults of the temple and 12 micromosaics added to the base of the temple's main nave.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for SICIS as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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Architecture studio Enter Projects Asia has created a design installation for the Spice & Barley gastro lounge in Bangkok using rattan sculptures and gold hues to fuse Thai tradition with modern design.

Enter Projects Asia, which is based in Phuket, Thailand, used 3D-modelling to create large sculptures that weave through the 300 square-metres space at the Riverside resort.

These were made from rattan, a type of climbing plant with a flexible woody stem, and reach 30 metres from the floor to the ceiling.

They were informed by the use of the space – Spice and Barley serves gastro food but also specialises in craft beers imported from Belgium.

"We used 3D special effects software – Maya and Rhino – to simulate bubbles, foam and liquids to 'suggest' the foaming of beer and arrived at 'fluid geometric shapes'," Enter Projects Asia director Patrick Keane told Dezeen.

"Then we fabricated special aluminium frames as supports with marine technology software."

The sculptures were painted gold in a nod to Thailand's gilded temples, and also fill a practical function as they hide the beer pipes, air conditioning and other related services.

Spice and Barley's location also played a role in the design of the rattan columns, which mimic nearby skyscrapers.

"The site overlooks the Chao Priya River and the natural rattan structures act as twin towers, referencing the high rise towers in the backdrop," the studio said.

"The vast geometries flood the ceiling in an uninterrupted balustrade of twists and turns which bounce the light and become a beacon from far away."

Enter Projects Asia chose to work with rattan as it wanted to "bring arts and crafts to a mainstream application," Keane said.

"Many rattan factories are at the brink of extinction due to the rise of importation of inferior plastic products. This project saved two rattan factories from closing down," he added.

"Rattan is incredibly sustainable – it is a renewable material and found in abundance across South East Asia. It is a natural product and gives the space an essence of Thai tradition fused with modern design."

The studio didn't use any plastic for the project.  It worked together with local tradesmen on the rattan sculptures, and chose the furniture for the project as well as created the design installation.

"All furniture is local and handmade," Keane said. "It was intended to be natural and comfortable, especially the leather bar stools and banquettes in green leather."

Enter Projects Asia also wanted the installation and interior design to be eco-friendly and reference local culture.

"There is a strong environmental eco-friendly agenda with rattan –  a very relevant topic in the current climate," Keane said.

"Thai cultural context in the rattan and gold are references to Thai culture with the gold and the temples on the skyline."

The studio previously also used rattan for its design of the studios for yoga brand Vikasa, for which it won the Dezeen Award for Leisure and Wellness Interior 2020.

Photography is by William Barrington-Binns.

Client: Minor International
Architects: Enter Projects Asia
Construction and installation: Project Rattan

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Thai firm IDIN Architects has slotted a studio it designed for itself into a narrow site in Bangkok and obscured it from view using tall trees and blackened wood.

IDIN Architects' Office is designed to have an "invisible presence" that is overlooked by passersby, offering the studio's employees privacy and respite from the city.

It is among the five projects shortlisted for business building of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.

"Unlike the other stand-alone office designs, IDIN Architects decided to walk away from creating an iconic appearance for its office," the studio explained.

"The key idea unfolds from creating a creative working place with high privacy and then develops towards an idea about the invisible presence of the building in an urban context."

IDIN Architects' Office takes the form of a series of staggered but interlinking volumes, shrouded by their dark charred-cedar cladding.

The volumes are punctured by courtyards and terraces that overlook the wall of trees and greenery that envelop the site.

While providing privacy for employees, the trees help to absorb noise from the surrounding streets, provide shelter for birds and animals and offer the studio relaxing views of nature.

Inside, the office's staggered form creates three distinct zones divided into public, semi-public and private spaces. The public zone contains a cafe and is the only space visible from the street.

Tucked behind the cafe is the semi-public area that contains all of the studio's workspaces, while the private zone at the rear accommodates residential space for the studio's founder.

IDIN Architects' intention is for this layout to "filter" the flow of visitors, while also creating a playful sequence of rooms that offers them a feeling of discovery as they walk through it.

"The visitors can experience the rhythm of hide-and-seek throughout the building," explained the studio.

"Like reading a book, the upcoming chapters disclose slowly, as the readers keep reading the next page, each section of the space features different characters."

To help prevent IDIN Architects' Office from overheating, its west elevation takes the form of a solid, windowless wall while the south-facing side is only used for circulation.

The north facade is lined with floor-to-ceiling glazing, providing spaces throughout the office with views of the trees and natural lighting that is consistent throughout the day.

To help maximise the office space's connection to the outside, the interiors are lined with black walls that mirror the exterior of the building.

This is teamed with light wooden floors and furnishings, including floor-to-ceiling bookcase walls office chairs and tables and office chairs and tables.

Jeravej Hongsakul founded IDIN Architects in 2004. Its name is an acronym for Integrating Design Into Nature. Other recent projects by the studio include JB House – a dwelling designed for a couple who wanted a space that would allow them to focus on their individual hobbies.

Among the other projects shortlisted for business building of the year at the Dezeen Awards 2020 is Kohan Ceram Central Office in Iran by Hooba Design Group and a recyclable market in China by LUO Studio.

Photography is by Spaceshift Studio and Ketsiree Wongwan.

Project credits:

Architect: IDIN Architects
Architecture team: Jeravej Hongsakul, Eakgaluk Sirijariyawat, Sakorn Thongdoang, Wichan Kongnok
Interior architect: IDIN Architects
Interiors team: Thuwanont Ruangkanoksilp
Landscape architect: Walllasia
Structural engineer: Pakanut Siriprasopsothron
System engineer: Eakachai Hamhomvong, Panot Kuakoolwong
Contractor: ArtCon
Interior contractor: Diidia

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A tropical garden can be seen from within this spa in Sukhumvit, Bangkok, which architecture studio Space Popular has designed with soothing green and white treatment rooms.

Infinity Wellbeing is set within a building on one of the side streets, or "sois", that lead off Sukhumvit's main road.

It is entered via a luscious garden planted with dragon trees and lipstick palms, which Space Popular hopes will offset the shops, food vendors and towering skyscrapers that cluster around the spa.

"Designing the arrival and departure sequence is perhaps the most challenging element as the interior ambience is highly contrasting with the bustling street atmosphere in Bangkok," the studio's founders, Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg, told Dezeen.

"Through the leaves of the garden, the spa is in strong contrast to the street with its often chaotic collage of sounds and sights."

The leafy plants also help obscure views through to the interior of the spa, where the studio has continued the calming ambience by utilising a serene colour palette of off-whites and pastel greens.

Lesmes and Hellberg were particularly inspired to use the colour after coming across a local green-hued marble.

At the centre of the reception area is a fluted white service counter. Sheer white curtains have then been hung at the peripheries of the room, serving as a backdrop to customer seating areas.

The accompanying armchairs, recliners and bar stools are all from Space Popular's latest range of furniture called The Second Collection. Each piece features a tubular mint-green framework and "petroleum-blue" upholstery.

Green tube-like bases also feature on the stone-topped side tables dotted throughout the room, which also come as part of The Second Collection.

A contrasting pop of colour is provided by the copper-tone grid that runs across the reception's backlit ceiling. Stems of the grid extend down and away from the ceiling to form overhead lamps.

Corridors lined with mint-coloured timber louvres lead through to Infinity Wellbeing's white-painted treatment rooms, most of which have been finished with vanity stands and washbasins crafted from green terrazzo.

The garden-facing massage rooms are slightly moodier in tone – walls are clad in dark teal acoustic panels, while packaging foam is used to create coffered ceilings. Space Popular said it wanted to juxtapose high-end and humble materials like this from the outset of the project.

"It's a contrast often seen throughout Bangkok, which despite its abundance of luxury and shine manages to maintain its agility and inventiveness through its market and street food culture," the studio explained.

Only one of the treatment rooms, which boasts sandy-pink walls, diverts from the colour palette seen in the rest of the spa. It also has a dramatic tiered ceiling which staggers upwards into a cone-like shape.

"[The room] had very particular constraints due to where it was located – it doesn't face the garden – so we decided to turn it into its own world," added Space Popular.

This is the second branch that the studio has designed for the spa company. The first location, which is simply titled Infinity, was completed back in 2017. It's situated in Bangkok's Bang Rak district, occupying a pair of traditional Thai shophouses.

More recently Space Popular has designed the venue for Punto de Inflexión, the first-ever architecture conference to be held in virtual reality.

Photography is by Wison Tungthunya.

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More than 20 different plant species grow in Forest House, designed by landscape architecture practice Shma Company to fit the largest possible amount of greenery into a small urban plot.

Over a space of just 300 square metres, including the roof, the family home in the Thai capital of Bangkok accommodates seven people and 120 trees.

To achieve this, the house is segmented into three, blindingly-white volumes that are lined up like dominoes to make space for two courtyards in between and multiple green roofs on top.

"The architectural layout of the house is designed to maximise natural ventilation and sunlight," explained Shma Company's director Prapan Napawongdee.

"And the interplay between solids and voids, which is present throughout the three storeys, brings the greenery close to every room in the house."

Rather than choosing plants simply for their aesthetic appeal, Shma Company drew on its expertise in landscape design to create a miniature, biodiverse ecosystem that can provide a sanctuary for local wildlife.

This includes not just flowering trees but also evergreens, that will envelop the house in a verdant canopy all year round.

The roof, which receives the most direct sunlight, is outfitted with tall planters for growing Thai fruits, vegetables and herbs such as lemongrass and jackfruit, to provide food security for the family.

"Selecting a variety of tree species can mimic the conditions of a forest in nature," said Napawongdee.

"Different trees will extract different nutrients from the soil. And their fallen leaves, which act as a natural fertiliser will, in turn, return a full spectrum of nutrients back to the soil.

"By having a great number of the trees planted side by side, the water that evaporates from each tree will maintain an optimum level of humidity within the ecosystem even during the dry season," he continued.

This self-fertilising ecosystem is maintained via a drip irrigation system – a network of perforated tubes integrated into the top layer of soil that drip feeds the roots directly and requires less water than a splatter gun approach such as sprinklers.

Rather than using fully-grown trees, Napawongdee selected trees that were only one to two years old, as their young roots would allow them to adapt to the limited soil conditions.

In this way, he hopes to foster a resilient ecosystem for the long term, rather than creating a luscious canopy right away that might not last very long.

White steel louvres cover the street-facing side of the house to create privacy while allowing the owners to keep windows and glass partitions open at night and reduce the need for air-conditioning.

Behind these barriers, narrow balcony spaces fringe the house, which Napawongdee says are essential given the house's tropical setting.

"It's important to have an overhanging roof to reduce the chance of rain getting into the room during monsoon season," explained Napawongdee.

"In each room, the balcony fulfils a different function depending on the owner. In the master bedroom, for example, it is filled with a variety of potted plants, which thrive really well in this microclimate."

Napawongdee believes that plant-covered buildings can help to mitigate many of the effects of climate change, which Bangkok is already experiencing.

This includes not just flooding and rising temperatures but also the third-worst air quality of any city in the world.

"Greenery can help produce oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, trap pollution, slow down and purify rainwater, provide a place for respite and even produce food," said Napawongdee.

"Although people generally agree on these benefits, many wouldn't want to integrate it into their house because they fear the long term maintenance. So our experiment with this house was to find a sustainable way to integrate greenery throughout multiple levels while creating a simple way of caring for it."

According to Napawongdee, Forest House alone creates enough oxygen in a day to supply 240 people. Adopted at scale, this type of architecture could help to keep our cities habitable in the future.

"If we could live in a city where nature thrives alongside urban developments, it would be a good place to live. Greenery can improve our wellbeing in many ways and also protect our planet's biodiversity and other species in the long run," he said.

Forest House has been shortlisted in the urban house category of this year's Dezeen Awards.

Several other projects nominated in the category focus on bringing nature close to city dwellers, including Thang House and Sky House in Vietnam, as well as Daita2019 in Tokyo, which is connected to its garden through permanent scaffolding.

Photography is courtesy of Jinnawat Borihankijanan unless otherwise stated.

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Thai architecture studio Enter Projects Asia has used rattan to enclose a series of studios for yoga brand Vikasa at its headquarters in Bangkok.

Enter Projects Asia used rattan – a type of climbing plant with a flexible woody stem – as the main material to break up a 450-square-metre space in a triangular-shaped block in downtown Bangkok into a series of yoga studios.

The studio is shortlisted for leisure and wellness interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.

Supported on a frame of Thai timber, the material was used to partition two public yoga studios and fully enclose two smaller, private studios.

The architecture studio wrapped the spaces in the natural material to create "an urban oasis in the chaos of Bangkok – a retreat from the grind".

Rattan was chosen as it can be found on the island of Koh Samui of the east coast of the country, where yoga brand Vikasa had a retreat.

"All elements of the project were made from natural, local materials to be a hub or a portal for their existing location, which is based on a hillside in Koh Samui: Thai hardwood, local black slate, bamboo and most notably, rattan," said Enter Projects Asia design director Patrick Keane.

"The result is a space of captivating calmness, cloaked in quiet contentment – an oasis of tranquillity amongst the chaos of Bangkok," he told Dezeen.

Along with the pods, rattan was used to create light fittings in the studios and a large, sinuous desk that dominates the reception area.

The desk becomes a bench for those waiting for classes and turns into a light feature that winds its way above the reception area,  ending in a woven lampshade above the main staircase.

The three-dimensional rattan forms were created in collaboration with specialist furniture designer Project Rattan by combining traditional weaving techniques with digital design.

"We facilitated the fusion of 3D technologies with local Thai craftsmanship to bring nature to an urban context," explained Keane.

"We worked using 3D software, special effects modelling namely Maya and Rhino. Frames and templates were all printed on giant templates for the craftspeople to use as guides for their weaving techniques."

Overall, Enter Projects Asia hopes that it has created a space that communicates a sense of spirituality

"It embraces all five senses, with soft geometry to counter hard urban edges, tactile materials that are touchable and natural, the smell of nature, and the technical acoustics – as good as a radio station – and the food and beverage Vikasa provides," said Keane.

The studios occupy the first floor of Vikasa's headquarters, which has a cafe area on the ground floor, with the rattan forms designed to be visible through large glass windows from the street.

Previous yoga studios on Dezeen include a bamboo pavilion nestled in the jungle in Tulum designed by CO-Lab Design Office and a muted studio with a textured sisal ceiling in Melbourne.

Photography by Edmund Sumner.

Project credits:

Interiors architecture and design: Enter Projects Asia
Design director: Patrick Keane
Design team: Tomas Guevara, Azul Paklaian, Archana Ramesh, Sergio Lissone
Local craftsmanship: Project Rattan
Builders: Enter Projects, Ian Sykes
Engineer: Lincoln Scott
Consultants: Ian Sykes Builder
Collaborators: Project Rattan

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Dezeen promotion: the interiors of the Scope Langsuan residential building have been designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen, his first project in Thailand.

Located in the heart of Bangkok's city centre, the soon-to-be-completed development for Scope is situated on a piece of the most expensive freehold land in the city.

Danish designer Thomas Juul-Hansen was behind the interior design for Scope Langsuan, which will feature a calming colour palette of warm, sandy hues and muted pastel tones.

Juul-Hansen has selected fittings and furniture to complement this colour palette from brands such as Minotti, Walter Knoll and Poliform, as well as designing some bespoke furniture pieces for each unit in the development.

The Copenhagen-born designer was previously responsible for the interior design of New York's 75-story skyscraper One57, nicknamed The Billionaire Building, which reached completion in 2014.

Global architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) was design consultant for the building itself, which will accommodate 158 residences across 34 floors.

"We're a disruptive developer, focusing exclusively on designing and building top, international standard premium homes," said Scope CEO Yongyutt Chaipromprasith.

"We cater to a new generation of homeowners who seek design and build quality that match the very best available in New York or London," he added. "So, we've teamed up with the best partners in the world."

Scheduled for completion in early 2023, the block will have one-bedroom residences sized at around 83 square metres, while two-bedroom apartments are sized at 153 to 162 square metres. Penthouse residences will be between 419 to 443 square metres.

All apartments will have floor-to-ceiling windows and ceiling heights of 3.5 metres, with four metres for the penthouses.

A wine cellar, cloakroom, cigar storage, piano room and 25-seat auditorium will be found on the third floor of the complex, while a fitness centre, temperature-control pool, business lounge and kids room will be located on the fourth floor.

Thirty levels up, on the 34th floor, is a sky lounge, private kitchen and dining area and a barbecue deck.

In the living spaces, the kitchens feature furniture by German manufacturer Bulthaup, as well as kitchen appliances from Gaggenau and Sub-Zero.

The bedrooms also include built-in closets by Italian furniture manufacturer Lema, and luxury bathrooms designed by TOTO.

Scope Langsuan will also offer a range of lifestyle facilities and five-star services, including maid and cleaning services, receptionists, 24-hour comprehensive security, and valet parking.

"Scope Langsuan will be one of Thailand's highest quality condominium developments with its clean and open simplicity, functionality, international good taste, and searingly close attention to details," Chaipromprasith added.

Located at the centre of the city on Lang Suan road, Scope Langsuan is 140 metres – just a two-minute walk – from the city's BTS Skytrain and rail transit system.

The complex will be positioned within minutes' walk of Bangkok's most prestigious retail avenue, Ploenchit Road, as well as the Central Embassy, Siam Center and Central Chidlom.Bangkok's popular central Lumpini Park is also "only a straight-line jog away" at the end of Langsuan Road.

For more information about Scope Langsuan can be found on the company's website.

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In this week's comments update, readers are impressed by Foster + Partners' latest Apple Store and sharing their views on other top stories.

Apple Central World in Bangkok, Thailand, is the newest Apple store designed by Foster + Partners and is situated in the capital city's largest shopping centre.

The architecture studio designed the store with "a quiet sculptural presence" to juxtapose with the lively plaza of Central World, adding a timber-clad column and overhanging roof that resembles a tree canopy.

"A breath of fresh air for retail design"

Readers are delighted with the results. "No one does it better," said A Cool Guy.

Felix Amiss agreed: "A breath of fresh air for retail design."

"Foster must keep the A-team for its Apple store designs," added Z-dog. "Always different and always superbly executed."

"The form is quite appealing," replied Benny. "But I think it's because I can't un-see this as a giant cake stand – and I do like cake!"

Do you think the Apple store resembles a cake stand? Join the discussion ›

Commenter says Soft Cabinets "are as useful as cardboard-flavoured sweets" 

Dutch designer Dewi van de Klomp has created squishy cabinets made from foam rubber in a bid to bring more attention to the "overlooked" material, but readers aren't convinced.

"As useful as cardboard-flavoured sweets," joked Rodrigo Galvan-Duque.

Heywood Floyd agreed: "I'm actually morphing and sagging in response to this content."

"I just designed a boat that sinks,"continued JW. "But hey, it's made of foam and nobody did that before!"

Are readers being hard on the designer? Join the discussion ›

Readers "wish there was a hot, steaming plate of meatballs" on IKEA T-shirts

IKEA Japan has released a 10-piece collection of clothing and accessories each branded with the company's logo and the barcode of the iconic Billy shelving system, sparking reader debate.

"I like the bar-code graphics," said Benny. "But instead of the IKEA logo I wish there was a hot, steaming plate of the meatballs, gravy and lingonberry jam."

"Does it come with its own thread, needles, fabric, and instructions on how to sew it together?" asked Apsco Radiales.

Puzzello was less comical: "I appreciate that the items are made of recycled material but there is no real sense of design or fashion here. The pieces look like they were giveaways at a retail convention."

Are you sold on the designs? Join the discussion ›

"What could go wrong?" with transparent public toilets asks reader

Commenters are amused by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban-designed public toilets in Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park, Tokyo, which feature transparent walls when not in use.

"What could go wrong?" asked Margot.

"What if the mechanism malfunctions?" continued Igor Pismensky. "Would anyone inform the authorities or just sit back and be entertained, like me? LOL."

"My idea of a perfect public toilet," concluded Rastermadre.

Does the idea of using a transparent toilet make you flush? Join the discussion ›

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Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.

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A timber-clad column and overhanging roof that resembles a tree canopy characterise Foster + Partners' latest Apple Store, which it has completed in Bangkok, Thailand.

Named Apple Central World, the store is designed by Foster + Partners with "a quiet sculptural presence" to juxtapose with the lively plaza of Central World – the capital city's largest shopping centre.

It is wrapped in floor-to-ceiling curved glass facades that provide passersby uninterrupted views inside and frame the tree-like interiors, referred to by Apple as the Tree Canopy.

"Located in one of the city’s iconic urban centres, the new store establishes a quiet sculptural presence at the heart of the bustling Central World Square on the intersection of Rama I and Ratchadamri roads," explained Foster + Partners.

"It forms a new social focus for the city and an inviting backdrop for the city’s famous New Year celebrations and numerous other annual festivities."

Apple Central World was designed by Foster + Partners' Bangkok office in collaboration with Apple and local studio Architects 49.

It is the second Apple Store by Foster + Partners in Bangkok, following the completion of the tree-lined Apple Iconsiam store in 2018.

Apple Central World's setting is described by Foster + Partners as a "dizzying urban spectacle", overlooked by multiple vehicular and pedestrian routes around the site. This presented the opportunity for multiple entrance points to the store.

Guests can enter from either the ground level or the first floor, which is directly connected to the shopping centre and Bangkok's Mass Transit System via a new bridge and walkway.

The store has a diameter of 24.4 metres, with the sculptural column clad in 1,461 slats of European white oak placed at its centre.

Where the column meets the ceiling, it fans outward to merge with the roof of the store. It then extends beyond the store's perimeter to form a three-metre-long cantilever that shades the glazing.

The floor-to-ceiling glazing that envelops the store was chosen by Foster + Partners to dematerialise the boundary with the outside – similarly to many of the studio's other Apple Stores including Apple Sanlitun in Beijing.

In the case of Apple Central World, the glazing is intended to address the "public plaza and the famous Erawan shrine located across the road".

The store's sales areas are split over two levels, and there is also a basement level that contains a private boardroom for business customers.

The floors are connected by a spiral staircase that cantilevers from the central column, with treads made from solid blocks of polished stainless steel chosen for a "reflective, sculptural quality".

Foster + Partners has also incorporated a cylindrical elevator that is clad in the same polished stainless steel, resembling a minimalist sculpture that spans the shop floors.

Externally, Apple Central World is complete with benches and large Terminalia trees to offer a quiet place for the locals and visitors to rest.

Foster and Partners was founded by Norman Foster in 1967. It has offices internationally but its headquarters remain in London, UK. The studio is behind the design of all the latest Apple Stores, including Apple Marunouchi in Tokyo and Apple Aventura in Miami.

Other recent projects by the studio include a proposal for an over-station skyscraper in central Sydney, the masterplan for One Beverly Hills and Dolunay Villa in Turkey.

Photography is by Bear and Terry unless stated.

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A glass-walled garage and courtyard form the focal point of Basic House, a residence by Brownhouses in Bangkok that is designed to be deliberately simple.

The slender white house was completed for Korn Thongtour and Nartrudee Treesaksrisaku, founders of Thai studio Brownhouses, to accommodate their growing family.

It is distinguished by bright white finishes and simple form, with the only ornament being their own possessions including a car collection housed in an indoor garage.

"[Thongtour] wanted to pick the most mundane materials but make it look beautiful and elegant," explained the studio's architecture assistant Kyrah Chotitawan.

"He wanted to show the beauty of how simple and ordinary materials can work together to create beautiful forms," she told Dezeen. "The basic house is an ordinary home with special and unique qualities tailored to its inhabitants."

Basic House has two storeys that slot into its slender site. It measures nine metres on its smallest side, and has a length of 30 metres.

The external shape of the house is modelled on a typical child's drawing of a house – a square with a pitched roof.

"The design of the building came from the simplest childhood inspiration of how children draw a 'basic house' – the triangle roof, rectangular door and the windows alongside it," said the studio.

Teamed with a bright white finishes throughout, Brownhouses said that this ensured a "clean-cut" finish that was "true to [their] minimal roots".

Inside, the pared-back aesthetic is enhanced by disguising all of the dwelling's functional and storage areas behind walls. Similarly, circulation is positioned along one side to negate the need for corridors and help create open and uncluttered interiors.

The home's focal point is ground floor, which contains an open courtyard and the internal glass-walled garage. Brownhouses designed the garage to exhibit Thongtour's vast collection of cars, and provide views of it throughout the home.

"The exposed garage allows [Thongtour] to exhibit the beauty and elegance of his cars," explained Chotitawan.

"But it is also for a feeling of constant interaction with his personal collection throughout the home, as he goes about his daily routine."

Meanwhile, the courtyard is intended to encourage the family to interact wherever they are in the house by allowing them to see each other from either end.

It is also establishes a connection with nature and the outside, featuring a large tree that extends out of the house through an open roof that floods the space with natural light.

Also on the ground floor is a work space, positioned adjacent to the garage and a staircase that leads to the first floor.

The first floor hosts an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, alongside a playroom for the children that hides a second staircase leading up into a small attic space. It is complete with one giant bedroom shared by the family.

Similar projects to Basic House on Dezeen include a white bunker-like residence in Takamatsu, Japan, which has limited openings to draw attention to the owner's sports car.

In Barcelona, Cadaval & Solà-Morales transformed an old theatre into a home that features an indoor parking space where inhabitants can openly display their classic car "like a sculpture".

Photography is by Wison Tungthunya unless stated.

Project credits:

Architect: Brownhouses
Lead architect: Korn Thongtour
Interior designer: Nartrudee Treesaksrisakul
Project architect: Kasideh Hoo
Design team: Brownhouses
Clients: Korn Thongtour, Nartrudee Treesaksrisakul
Engineering: Ronnarit Kongkiatikul
Consultants: Brownhouses

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Dezeen promotion: developer Scope has revealed designs for a new 2,500-square-metre clubhouse located inside its Scope Langsuan development in Bangkok, Thailand.

Situated in Bangkok's city centre, the 34-storey Scope Langsuan condominium development is being built on the most expensive piece of freehold land in the city. It is scheduled for completion in early 2023.

The most recent addition to Scope's plans for the site is a clubhouse designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen, who also created the interiors for the apartments in the development.

Designed to cater to "a new generation of homeowners seeking an international-standard premium lifestyle", the Scope Langsuan Clubhouse will have facilities that focus on health and pleasure.

It will include a fitness centre with Italian marble hot and cold-water springs, rain rooms, a Swedish-style sauna, steam rooms, private massage rooms and a 30 by seven-metre ozone swimming pool.

The space will also have a range of entertainment facilities including a 25-seat private theatre, a barbecue terrace and a private kitchen and dining area.

A rooftop terrace, called the Scope Langsuan Sky Lounge and a club lounge with a conference room will also be in the clubhouse. A fitting and grooming atelier, a kid's recreation club and a private storage facility will also be included.

"This unique facility is a place for relaxation, entertainment, physical activity, and culinary pleasure," said Scope CEO Yongyutt Chaipromprasith.

"It elevates the standard of common facilities of a residential development to an unprecedented level and reinforces Scope Langsuan's position as one of most special, international premium standard residences in Bangkok."

Scope is investing around $42 million (1.25 billion Baht) in the 2,500-square-metre-space to give residents the best quality facilities.

According to Chaipromprasith, the clubhouse will offer Scope Langsuan residents "the most extensive and luxurious common area facilities that rival the best in any condominium, anywhere in the world".

Architecture studio Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) worked with Thomas Juul-Hansen as the design consultant on Scope Langsuan.

The clubhouse adopts the same colour palette as the residence's 158 apartments, with warm, sandy hues and muted pastel tones used throughout.

The development contains one-bedroom residences that will be around 83 square metres, two-bedroom apartments that will be between 153 to 162 square metres and penthouse residences that will be between 419 to 443 square metres.

"What I want to say is that me and my team, especially KPF and Thomas, initiated many new concepts for this condominium," added Chaipromprasith.

"For example, we spent two years with the design and development. Other developers don’t spend as much time because interest will be collected for leaving a piece of land vacant. Our priority is attention to details, and we want to make sure that Scope Langsuan condominium can proudly and perfectly stand on a global stage."

More information about Scope Langsuan can be found on the company's website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Scope Langsuan as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.

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A house wrapped in wooden shutters on the outskirts of Bangkok by IDIN Architects has space for a couple to coexist while pursuing their separate activities.

Called JB House, it was designed for a couple who wanted distinct yet connected spaces that would allow them to focus on their hobbies of photography, baking, writing and drawing.

With only a small site to work with, IDIN Architects divided the home vertically.

On the ground floor is a large kitchen island for his baking surrounded by living spaces, and above is a large workspace surrounded by bookshelf-lined walls for her writing.

The writing room's desk and the kitchen island have been aligned vertically, with the glass desk covering a void that looks directly down to the kitchen below.

"A huge piece of glass is used for the top of the woman's working table, which creates a visual connection to the kitchen island below, allowing them to see each other while doing their own activities," explained IDIN Architects.

The upper floor steps upwards on one side, and glazed strips have been inserted beneath these steps to allow further glimpses between the floors, allowing the owners to "privately keep in touch."

To provide privacy, the master bedroom occupies the highest point of this upper floor.

The guest bedroom is at the lowest point, but when desired the whole floor can be transformed into a single large space using full-height sliding doors at either end.

The shutters that surround this upper level also contribute to this play of open and closed.

Built as a double skin, the wooden shutters sit alongside glazed screens that can remain closed to allow light in or be opened to allow the home to be naturally ventilated.

When open, these shutters double as vertical brise soleil that prevent overheating at certain points during the day.

When these shutters are closed, skylights along the staircase provide natural light for this upper level.

The staircase is also been lined with large timber bookshelves, intended to be filled over time.

Similarly, storage areas in the living and kitchen spaces have also been built into large cupboards that can be concealed by folding wooden doors.

Two layers of large curtains allow light and views through the glazed envelope to also be controlled.

Many architects and designers incorporate shutters into the envelopes of buildings to prevent overlooking and control light levels.

In London, MATA Architects used mechanical shutters for an extension to a home, and in Lithuania, Aketuri Architektai designed a lakeside retreat that can be completely closed using a series of large shutters.

Photography is by Ketsiree Wongwan.

Project credits:

Clients: Bodin Khampu, Chernporn Kongma
Architect: IDIN Architects
Team: Jeravej Hongsakul, Saralee Sittigaroon, Supachai Phiromrach, Sakorn Thongdoang
Interior architect: IDIN Architects
Team: Pakanut Siriprasopsothorn
System engineer: Eakachai Hamhomvong, Panot Kuakoolwong
Contractor: Art Con, DIIDIA Interior Service

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ASWA Studio has designed as its architecture studio in Bangkok around a fully glazed internal courtyard that brings daylight into the building.

Thai studio ASWA built its office, which contains working spaces for up to eight staff members, a meeting area and a model-display zone, on a 100-square-metre plot that was previously used for car parking.

The office is built around a six-square-metre courtyard, which is surrounded by glass walls. Workspaces and a model making space are wrapped around the courtyard, which has been inhabited by birds, squirrels and frogs.

"The natural light contributes beautiful shade and a great view for the studio," explained Phuttipan Aswakool, co-founder of ASWA.

The exterior of the studio is clad with dark green corrugated metal sheets. Each of the external facades has no more than two openings to limit views out and creates a contrast with the fully glazed walls facing into the courtyard.

The character of the studio was the reasoning behind the mostly internal views, explains Aswakool.

"Personally, we are a bit introvert," he told Dezeen. "We love to concentrate in our own space and don't like to expose everything to everyone."

The asymmetric hip roof, which is also clad with corrugated metal, has been designed so that it is highest above the office space where the team works.

The roof has a steep slope to help the functionality of a rainwater drainage system, which collects  natural water that is fed into the courtyard.

Inside the office the working areas are located in the area with high ceilings underneath the roof's point.

Storage and shelving displays for models are located where the ceiling height is lower as team members frequent this space less.

Black window frames and chairs highlight the all-white interior, designed by the studio as a blank canvas for their activities and work.

ASWA, which stands for Architectural Studio of Work Aholic, was founded in 2013 by Aswakool and Chotiros Techamongklapiwat. The duo explained to Dezeen their previous office space was a small apartment room, which their growing team eventually outgrew.

In Chicago, Moss has also self-designed a studio, which is also organised around a central courtyard.

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Architecture practice Studionomad has built a block of five apartments in Bangkok with trees growing through the louvres of its facade.

Called Lom Haijai, the project in the city's Lad Phrao district was designed as an alternative to what Studionomad called "boxed air-conditioned building blocks" that dominate Bangkok.

Instead, the units overlook a central courtyard and face the street through a screen of thin wooden batons to maintain privacy.

"The project is a showcase of possibility. It aims to rebel against the norm, an antithesis to the most dominant type of residential architecture in the region," explained the studio.

In plan, the three-storey apartments are U-shaped and engage with the courtyard at every level.

There is direct access at ground level alongside the dining room and kitchen, and Juliet balconies above in the living rooms and bedrooms.

"The courtyard of the building is strategically placed to allow the building to have many 'fronts', facing outdoor spaces in a dramatic departure from a regular townhouse building," said the studio.

This U-shape allows for light and natural ventilation to travel through the entire plan, with each room given two or more openings to maximise air flow.

At the front of the home, this air flow enters through the screen of wooden battens, creating a buffer zone which also provides space for balconies and plants.

A small parking space at the front of each unit leads into the dining area, which connects to the kitchen via a corridor alongside the courtyard.

Above, a large living room occupies the front area of each home, with a small terrace space sitting in between the facade's two layers.

Here trees have been planted and allowed to grow through small openings.

The top floor is more compartmentalised, housing a bedroom on either side of the courtyard, with adjacent bathrooms.

Where spaces of the Lom Haijai apartments face inwards, the full-height windows have been left uncovered to fill the living spaces with light and give views across the green courtyard.

High-ceilinged interiors have been finished with wooden floors and the bedroom areas have been lined with wooden panels.

Facades allowing for natural ventilation are often incorporated into schemes in Bangkok's climate.

A recent home by practice All(zone) featured a perforated concrete facade to provide both breeze and shade, and practice Anonym designed a home covered by a gridded screen planted with olive trees.

Photography is by Supee Juntranggur.

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Bangkok architecture studio Archismith has built a garden enclosed by 20,000 glass bricks as part of a sales office for a residential development in Bangkok, Thailand.

Named The Glass Fortress, the sales gallery has been longlisted in the Dezeen Awards 2019 within the business building category.

Archismith designed the space to be largely disconnected from its site as a rival developer's sales gallery is located nearby.

The main building is set back from the street with a protruding block constructed from glass bricks acting as an entrance pavilion and enclosing a garden.

"Eight-metre-high walls cut off pollution such as traffic noise and the untidy scenery of the MRT line construction in front so that a serene atmosphere can be created inside the building," said Jirawit Yamkleeb, co-founder of Archismith.

"To reduce the claustrophobic feeling of the space, glass block was chosen as the main material since it serves the purpose and natural light can still get through," he told Dezeen.

Within the glass brick walls – which are supported on a steel frame – is a secret garden with trees planted on either side of a central path. A water-misting system has been installed to help control the temperature of the garden on hot days.

According to the architect, this space is meant to represent a large garden that will be built as part of the apartment development.

"There is a big garden provided at the main development so the garden at the sales gallery is created to demonstrate the feeling of 'living with nature'," said Yamkleeb.

The glass-brick walls continue inside the main building where they enclose a seating area.

Alongside this light-filled space is a room containing models of the development, which leads onto two show apartments and offices for the sales persons.

In total 20,000 glass bricks were used to create The Glass Fortress. Each of the rectangular bricks used has edges that extend to partially conceal the grouting. This detail reduced the visible grouting from a standard 10 millimetres to two millimetres.

"This detail is important for the aesthetic of the project as it helps to create a more continuous look of the glass facade," added Yamkleeb.

Although the sales office has been built on rented land, there is an agreement in place that the glass-brick structure will be retained when the land is returned.

"We are unsure of the future program of the building in the landlord's mind but it could be used as a cafe with a nice garden inside or an Airbnb since there are already two rooms with attached bathrooms available. The future MRT station is very near so this holds great possibilities," explained Yamkleeb.

The Glass Fortress is one of 267 architecture projects that has been longlisted for Dezeen Awards 2019. Other projects on the longlisted include a pastel-pink church hall and a house on the Great Wall of China.

Photography is by Spaceshift Studio, except main image by Sky Ground and unless stated.

Project credits:

Architect: Archismith
Team: Jirawit Yamkleeb, Sukonthip Sa-ngiamvongse, Takol Pattanopas, Thanaphon Phumipanchaphak
Client: Sansiri PLC
Landscape designer: Landscape Studio by Arsomsilp
Interior designer: Six Seven S
Structural engineer: 2-R Engineering
Mechanical engineer: V Group Engineer
Main contractor: TTS Engineering

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Studiopepe has completed a Bangkok boutique for Thai fashion chain Jaspal, using locally sourced materials that include handmade ceramics and rattan.

Located within IconSian, one of Thailand's largest retail complexes, the 460 square-metre store is designed to feature an array of contrasting surfaces.

Studiopepe's artistic directors Arianna Lelli Mami and Chiara Di Pinto looked to Thai heritage and culture when selecting these materials. As well as handmade tiles and rattan, they worked with linen and wood.

These are used to create a range of different spaces, defined by a tubular metal display system.

"The concept is based on the interpretation of the free plan, a fluid and continuous design that incorporates different spaces without setting any barriers," the studio explained.

"The repetition of vertical lines contrasts the soft forms of the furnishings, while rough materials are juxtaposed with glossy and lacquered surfaces."

To complement the natural materials, a soft colour palette was chosen, featuring shades of grey, beige, gold, pink and green.

"The overall colour palette revolves around the neutral tones of powder, nude, terracotta and celadon green, alongside natural materials such as rattan, linen and wood," said the designers.

Mannequins appear to have climbed a circular display of ladder-like shelves in one area. Meanwhile, in the dressing room area, diamond-shaped natural wood blocks cover the walls to create a graphic 3D look.

Rounded forms feature throughout, whether on the natural wood countertops, the brass shelves or the rattan screens. These are complemented by a backdrop of rough concrete walls and terrazzo floors.

Studiopepe also incorporated some of its own objects and pieces of furniture in the shop, alongside a few Nordic pieces from 1950s and lamps by the late artist Isamu Noguchi.

Jaspal has over 30 branches across Thailand. This is the first that Studiopepe has worked on, as well as its first project in Thailand, but the design studio has already been signed up to design two more.

The studio's other recent projects include a pop-up club they created at Milan design week in 2018, featuring retro furniture, intimate music performances and cocktails made by disembodied bartenders.

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New York firm SHoP Architects has designed an irregularly stacked office building for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. 

SHoP is designing the New Office Annex (NOX) for the United States Embassy in Thailand for the US Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations.

NOX is designed for the Embassy's 11-acre (4.4-hectare) property in the Bangkok's Pathum Wan district, replacing a smaller office building that functioned until the mid-1990s.

The lush site is filled with rain trees and storm-water ponds known as 'klongs'. In response, SHoP proposes elevating the office building three feet (0.9 metres), with sloped pathways, stairs and ramps connecting it to street level.

The building will comprise tiered glass volumes that are covered in slats as a way to mitigate Bangkok's hot and humid climate, while also maintaining views to the landscape.

Portions of the lower level jut out in different directions to provide shading to entrances on the lower level. These would also be topped with rooftop gardens.

"The volumes of the lower floors shift away from the core building, extending outward towards the three main Compound Access Control buildings, creating a terracing of the lower half of the building to greet staff and visitors at a human scale," said SHoP.

Inside NOX, the common areas will be distributed through the volumes on the lower level. Offices will be placed on the upper floors.

"The building's interior programme is guided by its connection to the outside; the common spaces afford views of the lush green landscape and tree canopies, while the upper floors offer unparalleled views of the Bangkok skyline," said SHoP.

SHoP'S NOX is slated to break ground in early 2020, and to welcome its first occupants in 2024.

The project is among several that SHoP has designed for the US Department of State's Office of Overseas Building Operations, including a coppery embassy in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and another in Seoul.

SHoP was founded in 1996 in New York by Gregg Pasquarelli, his wife Kimberly Holden, twin brothers Christopher and William Sharples, and William's wife Coren Sharples.

The firm's recently completed works include a sprawling complex in Brooklyn's Williamsburg and bent, copper towers in Manhattan. Its other projects underway are the world's skinniest skyscraper in New York and Detroit's tallest tower.

Rendering is by SHoP.

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Architecture practice All(zone) used distinctive criss-crossing of concrete blocks to provide breeze and shade to Phra Pradeang House in Bangkok.

Phra Pradeang House is arranged as a series of layers. At its centre, a triple-height concrete core encloses a void that circulates air from the series of rooms that surround it, which in turn are wrapped by an open concrete facade.

All(zone) arranged each space in the house so it has a different relationship to this void. Some open directly onto it, others overlook it through internal windows, and some are divided by a metal grid, which allows for ventilation but prevents access.

"Activities are arranged around the central well, modelled after the tropical shophouses of Southeast Asia to allow ventilation and gentle sunlight to enter every room," said the architecture studio.

At the base of the void sits a small swimming pool, alongside a living space. A staircase on the western edge of the building provides access up to study and bedroom spaces, all of which benefit from views down into the void as well as to the outside.

White finishes to almost all interior surfaces help bounce and diffuse sunlight throughout the home.

At the top of the void a skylight allows more light to enter. A series of vents can control the extent to which the stack effect will ventilate the surrounding rooms, and provides a contrast to the rough concrete finish of the central void.

The latticed facade itself comprises different elements, some open and some closed, which are arranged in a pattern on the facade in accordance with both the openings behind and the surrounding buildings.

"The concrete blocks wrapping around the perimeters are especially designed for the project to interact with the adjacent buildings with a variation of manners, to keep privacy in different degrees," said the architecture studio.

Single storey extensions at the front and rear provide a small garage and an entrance space.

Latticed facades provide a practical and visually appealing as a natural ventilation strategy in warm climates.

In Kenya Urko Sanchez Architect used white mashrabiya-style screens cover an apartment block. In Mexico City  architects Felipe Assadi and Francisca Pulido wrapped a house in a hexagonal wooden lattice.

Photography is by Soopakorn Srisakul.

Project credits:

Architect: all(zone)
Project team: Rachaporn Choochuey, Sorawit Klaimak, Tharit Tossanaitada, Isara Junpoldee, Asrin Sanguanwongwan, Thanapat Sangkharom
Concrete block designer: Tanatta Koshihadej, Asrin Sanganwongwan
Engineering: CM One Co

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Indigenous trees and wooden workbenches line the inside of Apple Iconsiam in Bangkok, the first Apple Store to open in Thailand, designed by Foster + Partners.

The store forms part of the new Iconsiam shopping complex that opened in November.

Fronted by two expansive glass facades, it is designed as an extension of the plant-filled plaza it sits on and offers views over the Chao Phraya River.

"The design provides a direct visual connection to the river, which has a special significance in Thai culture," said Foster + Partners.

"Glass surfaces accentuate the natural beauty of its surroundings while creating an open, airy atmosphere that blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior."

A large overhanging roof lined with timber panels is supported by just four columns, creating the spacious, open-plan interior typical of Apple Stores.

Loose partitions in the open-plan space are defined by rows of local trees planted in bulbous pots, designed by Foster + Partners to act as a continuation of the greenery on the plaza outside.

The divisions created by the trees are subtly differentiated with a mix of light, wooden workbenches and stools that double as help stations and product displays.

Central to the space is a workshop area, defined by a set of moveable cube-shaped stools that double as storage. These can be neatly assembled behind the screen when not in use.

There is also a roof garden on the top of the building that provides another viewpoint and activity space for the tech store.

Foster + Partners is behind the design of all the latest Apple Stores. Apple Iconsiam is not the first to incorporate plants.

The most recent renovation of the London Regent Street store saw the introduction of tree-filled planters that double up as seating, while the recently completed store in Macau, China, boasts tall shoots of bamboo that rise up through its central atrium.

Photography courtesy of Apple.

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The opening of the glass-floored observation deck atop Büro Ole Scheeren's MahaNakhon skyscraper in Bangkok marks the completion of the second tallest building in Thailand.

The 77-storey MahaNakhon – a name that translates as "great metropolis" – is defined by a pixelated form with cuboid cutaways that spiral up its facades.

"The idea behind MahaNakhon was to take the life of the city and bring it up the tower in a dramatic, spiralling movement," said Ole Scheeren, principal of Büro Ole Scheeren.

At a height of 314 metres, the skyscraper was the tallest building in Thailand when it topped out in 2015, although it has since lost the title to a residential tower that is one metre taller.

The building is topped with an observation deck that offers 360-degree views across the city.

"Even the very top of the tower is surrendered to the public, so there is not only a public square at the ground, but human activity rises along the pixellated shaft to the top floors of the building which are given back to the public domain," said Scheeren

"It is a project that is strongly embedded in the city and the public realm, and expressively proclaims itself as an active part of it."

The observation deck includes a glass deck that is cantilevered out from the building to give visitors views directly down to the ground more that 300 metres below.

Named the Skytray, the walkable glass platform measures 4.5 by 17.5 metres.

Inside, the tower contains a 150-room hotel and 200 serviced apartments, with several restaurants and luxury shops on the lower levels.

According to Scheeren, the building and its numerous cutaway balconies were designed to encourage a connection between the interiors and the city.

"The building is an exploration of bringing the inside and the outside closer together and to create living spaces that float high above the city," said Scheeren.

"You can step out onto the terraces and transition to the open air, as people in the tropics live in a fluid condition between interior and exterior spaces. We are literally carving those possibilities into the tower and make these qualities accessible at staggering heights."

Büro Ole Scheeren was commissioned to design the tower while Scheeren was working at Rem Koolhaas' firm OMA. Since leaving the practice Scheeren has designed numerous towers around the world.

His studio has completed a pair of towers with honeycomb patterned facades in Singapore, and is designing a Jenga-like apartment in Frankfurt as well as a pair of skyscrapers in Vancouver.

Photography is by Srirath Somsawat, unless stated.

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A steel grid containing 102 olive trees fronts this extension to a house in Bangkok, designed by locally based architecture office Anonym.

Called Flower Cage House, the project involved extending a typical, 10-year-old detached house, by adding a new room above a carport.

The predominantly glazed extension is shielded by a robust but visually lightweight screen comprising a grid of steel boxes, which match the gate separating the house from the street.

Openings in the steel grid frame 102 olive trees, in ceramic pots designed by local artists. The plants are intended to create a symbol of peace and also help to soften the facade's appearance.

"The new building represents the owner's character, which is strong, energetic, yet gentle and sensitive at the same time," explained Anonym, which is led by designers Phongphat Ueasangkhomset and Parnduangjai Roojnawate.

"It is reinforced with an aggressive steel structure but it still feels light."

The project brief was to enlarge the house, optimising the dimensions of the site, but also to improve the internal layout and allow more natural light to enter.

The designers began by removing the framework of an existing garage and replacing it with a steel structure, supporting a new multipurpose room on the first floor.

The new carport is flanked by a pair of shallow fish ponds. The pools introduce a further natural detail to the building, alongside plants that spill over from a new first-floor balcony and bamboo used to screen the existing part of the facade.

The house's entrance leads to a corridor lined with steel-framed glazing that looks onto the parking area and pools. On the other side is a bedroom, and the corridor culminates in an open-plan living area.

The architects reconfigured the rear part of the ground floor by removing existing walls to create a single space containing a lounge, kitchen and dining area.

This new living space is also enclosed by glass walls that flood the space with natural light. The room's north-facing orientation prevents overheating, and additional windows provide improved natural ventilation.

A set of iron stairs suspended above one of the ponds connects the covered outdoor space on the ground floor with the multipurpose room above.

Glass walls lining this room can be retracted to open it up to the outdoors, as well as enhancing its connection with the rest of the spaces on this level.

The first floor is intended to form a private, penthouse-like retreat, with the lounge and master bedroom joined by a large dressing room and bathroom.

Anonym has also created a workspace for a Bangkok-based TV production company featuring bold green surfaces and a secluded inner courtyard.

Photography is by Ketsiree Wongwan.

Project credits:

Architecture: Anonym
Design team: Phongphat Ueasangkhomset, Parnduangjai Roojnawate

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Duangrit Bunnag has defended his competition-winning design for a new airport terminal in Bangkok, which detractors claim copies Kengo Kuma's work.

The Thai architect's studio, DBALP, won the competition to design a new terminal for Suvarnabhumi airport, with plans for a canopy of stepped timber arches that some online commenters have likened to Kuma's Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum in Japan.

The comparisons led Bunnag to defend the design. "I didn't copy anyone else's work," he was reported as saying by the Bangkok Post.

"Those who follow my work will know that I created a similar image in my previous designs, such as for a hotel in Sri Lanka."

His inspiration, he said, was the lush landscape of Thailand.

Covered by the soaring timber canopy encased in a glass facade, the design for Suvarnabhumi's terminal two features an indoor tropical rainforest complete with waterfalls.

In Singapore the Moshe Safdie-designed Jewel Changi Airport is due to open next year, featuring a giant dome with a waterfall pouring through the centre to the indoor forest below.

DBALP Consortium's design has a steel structure that will support timber beams, which will form a grid pattern and filter light like a rainforest canopy.

The competition to design Suvarnabhumi's terminal two was already controversial, after original winners SA Group had its contract revoked by Airports of Thailand (AOT) for failing to supply a document quoting the cost of the project.

DBALP Consortium, along with Nikken Sekkei, EMS Consultants, MHPM, MSE and ARJ Consortium, had originally been named the runner up for the competition to design the 35 billion baht (£822 million) airport.

SA Group is believed to be contesting the decision, claiming they did not receive the essential document from the AOT in the first place, and highlighting that its proposal was under the stipulated budget.

Bunnag told local paper The Standard he was "sorry" for his competitor's loss, but insisted that there had been "100 per cent no corruption" in the sealed bidding process.

Suvarnabhumi airport's terminal two, which will have capacity for 30 million passengers a year, is due to open in 2021.

In Mexico, the fate of Norman Foster and Fernando Romero's airport for the capital city hangs in the balance, after the country's newly elected president announced a public referendum on cancelling the $13.3 billion (£10.30 billion) scheme.

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Bangkok studio Femme Atelier's collection of furniture is made up of tables and chairs that take their design cues from traditional door and window frames.

Founded in 2018 by Thai designers Mew Kamonwan and Lalita Kitchachanchaikul, the multidisciplinary design studio experiments with everyday objects in a bid to redefine their original purpose.

In this case, conventional window and door frames are reimagined as pieces of colourful furniture.

Comprised of two tables and two stools, the Framemust collection translates the language and function of the door as a separation between two different areas into items of furniture.

Extruded aluminium profiles form the bases, while an acrylic panel slotted inside each frame mimics the panels of glass that usually rest inside the structure of a window or door.

According to the designers, the ombre acrylic panels were used to represent the "communicative values" of the doorframe, as an entryway into another space.

Frames coloured in mint, coral and dark blue support acrylic panels that have been finished with a gradient effect by way of UV printing, which uses ultra-violet lights to dry or cure the ink as it is printed.

The collection's bright colour palette was chosen to bring character into people's homes. In one instance, a dark blue frame is set against a contrasting light pink tabletop and its frosted pink panel.

The pastel-coloured aluminium components are then finished with a powder coating.

Femme Atelier are not the only studio to use extruded aluminium in furniture design, Dutch studio OS & OOS used the material in the form of pipes to create a range of furniture based on the structure of a sawhorse.

Meanwhile British designer Jasper Morrison employed extruded aluminium to create his deceptively simple-looking furniture series for Emeco, which features simple frames made from recycled, one-inch-square extruded aluminium tubes that were chosen for their strength-to-weight ratio.

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Thai studio EKAR Architects has completed a house in Bangkok for several generations of the same family, featuring stacked volumes clad in a variety of materials that contain living spaces arranged around a swimming pool and garden.

The owner of the house in the Thai capital's Bang Phlat District had initially approached EKAR Architects about renovating his existing home opposite his parents' house to make it suitable for life with his new daughter.

Eventually, the client decided he wanted to be closer to his parents again, so he purchased the plot next to their house with the intention of building a new property large enough to accommodate his growing family.

The design of ReGen House borrows from traditional Thai typologies, where large families lived together in small detached homes around a central patio.

The architects reinterpreted the vernacular approach by introducing an L-shaped plan that encloses a decked outdoor space on the first floor.

The four-storey structure features communal living areas on this level and accommodation for the client's family on the floor above, with the third floor intended for his daughter's future family.

"In order to gather everyone in the family together, the first floor is a focal point," said EKAR. "On this floor, there is an entertainment room and a grand patio which becomes the common area for the client's family and also the future family."

"The house attempts to enhance living quality as well as family relationships," the studio added. "Meanwhile, individuals still have their own private space."

The ground floor provides space for storage and a parking area large enough for ten cars concealed behind a solid wooden entry gate. Trees emerge above the boundary wall and planters lining the pavement introduce some greenery to the urban setting.

The rest of the house is supported by chunky pillars to allow cooling breezes to pass through and ensure the living spaces are protected from the threat of flooding.

On the first floor, rotating floor-to-ceiling panels facing the street can be opened to provide natural ventilation, and closed again if increased privacy is required.

The open-air spaces on the first floor are inspired by the yards at the heart of traditional Thai dwellings, with the swimming pool and large garden introducing natural features reminiscent of a river or forest.

A wall separating the building from the parents' house was removed so the gardens of both properties are now connected and are able to share the central courtyard area.

The garden views from the courtyard and interiors are enhanced by carefully positioned greenery. A tree reaches up through a void between the pool and a concrete frame with a planted roof that extends over a glazed garden pavilion.

Rooms facing the outdoor spaces are lined with glazing, while the east side of the building is predominantly windowless to prevent overlooking from an adjacent apartment block.

A variety of cladding materials including wood and stone-textured tiles are used to distinguish the different levels and features of the house. The different finishes create a collage-like effect and are chosen to complement the architecture of the neighbourhood.

The Bangkok-based architecture office's previous projects include a mixed-use building featuring perorated concrete-block walls and a canal-side house and coffee shop with slanted rooflines that ensure clear views of the water.

Photography is by Chalermwat Wongchompoo.

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Klein Dytham Architecture has completed a sprawling "village" of shops, restaurants and co-working space within Amanda Levete's recently completed Central Embassy complex in Bangkok, Thailand.

Perched 50 metres above Bangkok in Amanda Levete's sharply pointed 37-storey retail and hotel tower, Open House is a 4,600-square-metre, double-height leisure space that comprises fourteen restaurants and bars, an art gallery, a bookstore, a co-working space and a children's area.

"Today's mega cities – especially in Asia – have turned their back on the people who visit, live and work in them," explained the Tokyo-based firm. "People are either working, shopping, eating or in transit between spaces. There is nowhere to pause, take a breath, sit or simply get back in control of your senses, especially in the stifling heat of Bangkok."

"Open House was seen very much as the antidote to this – it is an oasis, a getaway – a place where you can feel at home."

In order to make the space easily navigable, Klein Dytham developed a series of towers for each of the space's fourteen restaurants. Functioning like "totems", the towers make the restaurants clearly visible from a distance, while also hiding messy kitchen hoods and ventilation ducts.

Each tower is clad in a unique timber fretwork pattern, which is reflected in mirrored panels that are mounted on the ceiling around each tower.

Elsewhere, 9,600 leaves have been hand painted onto the ceiling over the course of six weeks to create a huge art work. Inspired by the Central Embassy's leafy surrounds (it overlooks the British Embassy complex on one side and green treetops on the other) the architects came up with the hand-painted mural as a way of bringing the greenery inside.

"We suggested that the whole of Open House stay under a huge canopy of leaves," explained the architects. "To achieve this and reduce the impact of the extensive white ceiling, we devised a pattern of leaves that spreads across the whole space."

Instead of occupying one box-like retail unit, Open House's bookstore weaves its way throughout the entire Open House space. A tall book shelf has been installed at one end of the space, while a large double-height library wall wraps around the other.

Smaller book shelves with integrated seating are scattered throughout, blending into the bar and restaurant spaces so people can browse at their leisure.

"In a world dominated by online book sales, highly curated bookstores like this, which focus on Asian art and culture, are becoming increasingly important and popular now that the physical browsing experience is everything," said the architects.

An "art tower" topped by a tree-lined lookout point is located directly under the building's main roof light. Inside, a small gallery forms an intimate space for art exhibitions.

On the outside, the tower is equipped with illuminated display shelves for future art exhibitions and installations.

A programme of talks, book signings and culinary workshops has been devised to attract visitors up to the space. For these occasions, a stepped seating area provides space for an audience.

Behind the book wall, a quiet co-working space called the Greenhouse offers a suite of meeting rooms as well as secluded space for working. Here, food and drinks can be ordered from the space's restaurants and delivered to your desk.

The 35 storey Central Embassy project, designed by Amanda Levete's studio AL_A fully opened in May 2017.

The aluminium tile-clad tower is set in the former gardens of the British embassy in Bangkok and hosts a luxury shopping centre at podium-level and the five-star Park Hyatt hotel across its upper floors.

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Wedge-shaped chunks are carved out of the marble-clad volume of this house in Bangkok, Thailand, which was designed by local studio Openbox Architects.

Openbox Architects chose white marble panels to clad the upper brick structure of the building, to gives the appearance of a solid volume. It also offers weather protection to prevent overheating in Bangkok's hot summer months.

Appropriately called Marble House, the residence is articulated by a series of openings, including the large indent at the front. Windows are tucked behind the angular fins to face the back garden.

At the rear the volume extends as two blocks – one is denoted by two walls that fold over, while the other has a balcony with a sloped roof.

"The initial idea is to allow inhabitant's behaviour to carve a dwelling space into a monolithic piece of marble sculpture," the architects said.

"The concept of tilting of windows towards more open corner of surroundings... contributes to the form of the house."

Other features include three internal courtyards cut into the block. Each one is accessed by one of the bedrooms on the upper level, offering the residents views of "private skies".

The marble volume is raised above glass walls that open the main living spaces on the ground floor of the house to back garden, with steps leading outside to an L-shaped swimming pool.

A courtyard slotted in the centre ensure that plenty of daylight is brought inside. It is planted with a tree and accessed from the lounge through large glazed doors.

Inside the residence, the upper walls are lined with marble panels, while the lower walls are made up of dark cladding and windows framed with wood.

The treads of the wooden staircase cantilever from the wall, letting light flow through the gaps between. They lead up to a mezzanine hallway placed above the dining room and featuring a balustrade lines with light wooden panels.

In the garden, a swimming pool wraps a guesthouse at the other end of the plot. It features glass walls like the main property and a huge overhanging roof that covers a decked sunbathing area.

Other residences in Bangkok include a home designed by Jun Sekino that features brick grates set into the walls to hide a series of outdoor spaces.

Photography is by Wison Tungthunya.

Project credits:

Lead architects: Ratiwat Suwannatrai
Project team: Nattawan Supanan, Sudatip Pipatthakorn and Nonglak Boonsaeng
Lead landscape architect: Wannaporn Suwannatrai
Landscape architecture team: Chawannuch Jirasukprasert
Lead interior architect: Wannapat Jenpanichkarn
Interior architecture team: Pichaya Sampanvejsobha and Chitchaya Klinkhum
Lighting designer: FOS Lighting Design Studio
Facade technology: Boonthavorn Facade Technology

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Bangkok-based practice NitaProw has used the dismantled structure of a house boat to create this window-covered shop for an organic beauty brand in a lush garden setting in the city.

The transparent structure set in Bangkok's Thonglor district acts as a shop, showroom and 25-seat cafe for the organic health and beauty brand Patom. Its gardens are also used as a space for workshops and a farmers market.

NitaProw's founders Nita Yuvaboon and Prow Puttorngul chose to use glass for the walls of the 100-square-metre store to optimise views of its surrounding greenery, and to allow passersby on the street a glimpse at any activity occurring inside.

The practice was asked to create a multi-purpose space that preserved any existing trees on site and that matched the minimalistic aesthetic of the brand's products.

Its interior plays host to a cylinder-shaped white mezzanine, which the architects said is intended to offer visitors "a privileged view, a hint of intimacy and playfulness". Just below the elevated space is a pantry area where food is prepared for the cafe.

The rounded shape of the mezzanine is mirrored by an adjoining spiral staircase that is wrapped in rattan. After applying rattan to the seating in the cafe below, the architectural duo decided to use the material on a larger scale, favouring its natural appearance and flexibility.

"We were quite pleased by how it could lightly yet distinctively complete the staircase's rigid frame", Yuvaboon and Puttorngul told Dezeen.

On the ceiling, beams of wood intersect in a criss-cross pattern to emulate the slender, moving forms of palm trees that can be seen at Patom's organic farm.

The wooden posts on the store's ceiling and those that form the building's frame are made from reclaimed redwood, taken from an abandoned houseboat that once belonged to Patom's owner.

Describing themselves as having a "high regard for wood as a renewable and sustainable building material", NitaProw was also conscious when it came to choosing furnishings for the space.

The base of the brass display tables are formed from the trunks of fallen trees, while the chairs in the cafe were taken from Patom's owner's unused teak furniture collection.

Other practices using reclaim materials for retail interiors, including Brooks + Scarpa, which applied cardboard fabric rolls discarded by fashion houses to the walls of an Aesop store in Los Angeles.

Photography is by Ketsiree Wongwan.

Project credits

Architecture: NitaProw
Project team: Nita Yuvaboon and Prow Puttorngul
Landscape consultant: Kritsada Aunphim

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British duo Hufton + Crow visited Bangkok to capture these images of Thailand's tallest tower, which was designed by Ole Scheeren and features modular cutaways spiralling around its facades.

The 77-storey MahaNakhon tower topped out in 2015, becoming the tallest building in the Thai capital at 314 metres. As the project neared completion last year, a series of images posted on Instagram displayed its sculptural exterior form.

Scheeren designed the building for local firm Pace Development while still working at Rem Koolhaas' firm OMA, and completed it with his own studio Büro Ole Scheeren following his departure in 2010.

The tower contains 200 serviced apartments operated by hotelier Ritz-Carlton and a 150-room boutique Bangkok Edition hotel run by by Marriot International and Ian Schrager, as well as several restaurants and luxury shops.

Hufton + Crow's images provide a detailed look at the pixelated volumes that extend like a ribbon around the exterior of the building.

According to Scheeren, the apertures carved into the glazed curtain walls are an attempt to create an enhanced connection between the building's inhabitants and the city.

People occupying the spaces lining the voids have access to balconies that will alter the appearance of the facades as their owners begin to customise them.

A freestanding seven-storey lifestyle and retail complex called MahaNakhon Cube situated at the base of the tower was completed in 2013.

The Cube contains an outpost of delicatessen chain Dean & DeLuca, which was acquired in 2014 by Pace Development's CEO Sorapoj Techakraisri.

Scheeren subsequently developed a concept for the brand's chef-led fast food outlets based around a rectangular "stage-like" serving counter.

When Scheeren left Dutch firm OMA he also took with him the project for The Interlace housing development in Singapore, which comprises a series of apartment blocks stacked diagonally to form a "vertical village".

His studio is set to complete two major projects this year; a cluster of apartment towers with concave walls in Singapore, and a building in Beijing with a pixelated base that will contain China's oldest art auction house.

Nick Hufton and Allan Crow are among the world's leading architectural photographers and have shot many significant buildings, including Herzog & de Meuron's Jenga-like Leonard tower and BIG's tetrahedral ViA 57 West skyscraper in New York City.

For job opportunities at Büro Ole Scheeren, visit their company profile on Dezeen Jobs.

Photography by Hufton + Crow.

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Swathes of aluminium tiles wrap around this sharply pointed tower by Amanda Levete's studio AL_A, which is set in the former gardens of the British embassy in Bangkok.

London-based AL_A worked with local architects Pi Design on the 37-storey tower named Central Embassy, which hosts a luxury shopping centre at podium-level and the five-star Park Hyatt hotel across its upper floors.

Broad bands of textured aluminium tiling surround the podium before lifting up to cover strips of the tower's mono-pitched form. Narrower stripes of untextured tiling wrap the tower horizontally to indicate the floors and corresponding staircases.

The raised design of the aluminium tiles are intended as a reference to the intricate patterns found in traditional Thai craftsmanship.

Levete likens the the patches of light and shadow created by the texture of the 300,000 aluminium tiles used on the facade to a moiré motif –where linear patterns are overlaid to create a rippling effect.

"Aluminium is perhaps the defining material of Central Embassy and was chosen because of its lightness and its potential to reflect. Each one of the 300,000-plus extruded aluminium shingles has two surfaces on order to reflect both the chaos of the city and the sky," Levete told Dezeen.

"The facade is clad in just three variations of aluminium tiles, yet it creates a shimmering moiré-like pattern, articulated by the play of light and reflection along the varying profiles, as well as drawing on motifs and patterns found in traditional Thai architecture," she added. "It is a design that is local to its surrounding yet simultaneously redefines the location."

Setbacks provide pockets of outdoor space across the lower levels, while a single cut just below the pinnacle forms a "sky terrace" for hotel guests.

Designed for the Thai department store operator the Central Retail Corporation, the seven-storey podium of the building is home to the shops of luxury fashion brands like Chanel.

The plan reads as a figure-of-eight where the podium-level shopping centre links with the tower, a design intended to provide continuity between the two separate programmes. Collectively, the hotel and shopping centre have a floor plan of 140,000 square metres.

Inside the shopping centre, escalators rise through a series of skylit oblong openings.

A pair of wells channel natural light down through the centre of the tower, and divide the hotel into two parts – private rooms facing the Nai Lert Park, and a series of communal spaces such as the bar, reception and sky terrace that face the city centre from Ploenchit Road.

AL_A is putting the finishing touches to a new entrance for the V&A in London, and will be discussing the project at the museum on 26 June.

Like Central Embassy, and the firm's recently completed MAAT museum in Lisbon, the V&A's new entrance also features bespoke tiling. When it opens next month, it will feature the world's first porcelain-tiled courtyard above a new gallery space.

Stirling Prize-winning architect Amanda Levete founded her firm AL_A with directors Ho-Yin Ng, Alice Dietsch and Maximiliano Arrocet in 2009. She came in at number 179 on the inaugural Dezeen Hot List – a guide to the key players of the architecture and design industry.

Photography is by Hufton + Crow.

Project credits:

Architect: AL_A
Principal: Amanda Levete
Project director (concept to Stage D): Alice Dietsch
Project director (Stage DD to completion): Diba Salam
Team: Ho-Yin Ng, Maximiliano Arrocet, Stefano Bertotti, Alex Bulygin, Filippo Previtali, Bruce Davison, Peter Feldman, David Flynn, Chris Geneste, Alvin Huang, Yoo Jin Kim, Naoki Kotaka, May Leung, Desislava Lyutakova, Cyril Manyara, Monica Noguero, Eoin O'Dwyer, Adam Peacock, Giulio Pellizzon, Fred Pittman, Filippo Previtali, Jakob Pryzblo, Tanya Rainsley, Irene Shamma, Joy Natapa Sriyuksiri, Jurgen Strohmayer, Paula Vega, Michael Wetmore, Claudia White
Architect of record: Pi Design
Client: Central Retail Corporation
Project manager: PPS
Structural engineer: Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick and Arun Chalseri Consulting
Service engineers: MITR

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Skidmore Owings & Merrill has unveiled its vision for One Bangkok: a new district in the centre of the Thai city made up of a family skyscrapers interspersed with green spaces.

One Bangkok will provide extensive residential, hotel, retail, office and public space for an estimated 60,000 people once the district is complete in 2025.

The design by Chicago-based architects SOM will integrate a variety of outdoor spaces in an attempt to establish a sense of community in their vision for the "vertical village".

The practice has placed an emphasis on the ecological features of the buildings, which include a plant-covered skyscraper and a sky garden.

Eight hectares of outdoor space set among the towers will "promote well-being in a dense urban environment, [forming] a new centre of social life in the city", according to the architects.

"Bangkok is one of the world’s most dynamic, energetic cities, with an exceptionally vibrant street life," said SOM partner Scott Duncan.

"Our vision for One Bangkok seeks to capture that energy, extending the vitality of the city's streets through the district and then upward, weaving green, outdoor spaces into the fabric of the towers as they rise," he added.

"Inside and out, places for collaboration, socialising, and relaxation cultivate community in a vertical environment."

The site adjoins Lumpini Park, a parkland developed in the 1920s by King Rama VI and named after the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal.

The 57 hectare park is a centre for outdoor leisure activities in the city, with 2.5 kilometres of paths for walking, running and cycling.

One Bangkok is the first project in Thailand to target a LEED certification of Platinum – a US sustainability rating system.

The architecture and landscape in SOM'S design respond to Bangkok's tropical climate and ecology, using sustainable technologies to reduce consumption and water use and help achieve this rating.

A centralised energy and water management system will also optimise efficiency within the district, maintaining rainwater on-site to reduce runoff and facilitate absorption – helping to replenish groundwater systems.

The project commissioned by the investor TCC Assets (Thailand) Company Limited and developer Frasers Centrepoint Limited claims to be Thailand's largest private-sector development to date.

North American architectural, urban planning, and engineering firm SOM, which was founded in 1936, came in at 119 on the Dezeen Hot List.

Among the studio's past projects is a masterplan for a 70-hectares district around Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, which is currently the third busiest in the US and projected to see a further increase in transit activity.

Photography is by Nick Rochowski.

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PVC sheets provide weather protection for the gridded plywood walls of this rural Thailand bar, designed by Bangkok Project Studio to offer visitors river views while they sup wine.

Located on the banks of Chao Phraya River, Wine Ayutthaya is a tourist attraction for visitors to Ayutthaya, an ancient capital city 85 kilometres north of Bangkok.

"The building was constructed to become a new tourist attraction in hopes of stimulating the economy of local communities surrounding this world heritage site, which was the capital city of Thailand 400 years ago," said Bangkok Project Studio, which is led by architect by Boonserm Premthada.

The Bangkok-based studio wanted the bar to blend in with the surrounding trees and local houses – hence the exposed wooden framework. Local craftsmen built the almost-cube-shaped structure using plywood and steel.

One-millimetre-thick sheets of PVC are draped in front of the tall exposed waffle structure walls to protect them against rain and humidity. The plywood is also coated in resin to provide protection from water damage.

But the sheets can be lifted up on sunny days to allow the breeze to flow through the interior.

"The locally found wooden houses are the inspiration to create this steel-reinforced plywood structure," said the studio.

"The waffle walls can be a light filter that helps cool down the interior atmosphere," it added. "Moreover, wine drinkers can enjoy another depth of experience through the sense of smell mixture between plywood and wine."

Inside, five spiral staircases provide access to four raised platforms that are set at different levels inside to offer a range of vistas.

The stairs twist around the steel structural columns. They also feature a curved strip of plywood that wraps the base of the metal handrail to accent the outer walls.

A wine bar and extra seating is created on the ground floor, where pendant lights hang down from the gridded ceiling.

The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, flowing from Bangkok into the Gulf of Thailand. Other new architecture projects located on the river include a hotel by Onion featuring fluted brick walls that frame scalloped views of the sky.

Photography is by Spaceshift Studio.

Project credits:

Architect: Boonserm Premthada
Design team: Nathan Mehl
Consultant: Boonserm Premthada

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Sections of bright turquoise paintwork and matching furniture offset the otherwise white-washed treatment rooms of this Bangkok spa, designed by local architecture studio Space Popular.

The Infinity Spa is spread across two traditional Thai shophouses, which stretch 10 metres back from the road.

As well as designing the interior, Space Popular also created bespoke furniture for the space, including manicurists' tables, adjustable massage chairs and shelving with niches designed to hold specific nail polish bottles.

"These concrete shells all share the same layout, sizes, proportions and materials; being the most generic spatial typology in the city where all kinds of programs are stuffed," said architects Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg.

"Besides the practical issues that this typology poses, experientially the aim was to visually eliminate the concrete shell with the use of few materials – paint, light and textiles – and concentrate the attention on the nearly 20 custom-designed furniture pieces that would communicate purpose in an otherwise muted space."

Floors, walls and ceilings are painted white throughout. The treatment rooms are draped with back-lit curtains – providing a neutral backdrop for the brightly coloured furniture.

Accents of vibrant paintwork also mark out the lobby, which is set below a mezzanine in a lobby-height atrium.

"The lack of architectural features lets the eye travel from object to object undistracted," said Lesmes and Hellberg. "These furniture pieces are in extreme contrast with the background: whilst the space is monochrome, white, soft and textured, the objects feature a high saturation polychromy with smooth materials such as metal, marble and leather."

"All of them constitute a collective identity through their forms and colours, constructing the identity of the space whilst addressing very important and distinct issues of comfort and ergonomics," they added.

Lesmes and Hellberg are Architectural Association graduates who set up their Bangkok-based studio 2012. They also designed the graphic identity for the spa.

The duo also recently launched the Tools for Architecture unit at the AA in London.

Architect Adriana Hanna also chose a striking colour theme and bold geometric spaces for a Sottsass-inspired salon on Melbourne.

Photography is by W Workspace and Space Popular.

Project credits:

Project team: Lara Lesmes, Fredrik Hellberg, Jariyaporn Prachasartta, Tachapol Tanaboonchai, Suthata Jiranuntarat, Kanyaphorn Kaewprasert, Kornkamon Kaewprasert
Client: René Anant Feddersen, Benji Attiwatt Pearce

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Thai studio ASWA has placed a four-storey atrium with a huge gridded skylight at the centre of this concrete art gallery and studio in Bangkok.

Local studio ASWA, which stands for Architectural Studio of Work-Aholic, designed the building for an artist who wanted a series of galleries and studios that maintained privacy from the outside world.

Made of reinforced concrete slabs, the building features no openings on its street facing side, and only one external doorway.

The architects arranged the spaces around a four-storey-high atrium topped by a large skylight, aiming to bring plenty of natural light into the two levels of double-height exhibition spaces.

The building is named the Solid Concrete Gallery as Living Artwork because the gridded black steel frame covering the rooflight creates changing patterns of shadow and light across the exposed concrete walls.

"The core idea of this private gallery was to illuminate the interior space with a large skylight in the high ceiling chamber, where there is a concrete wall with irregular windows," said the architects.

"By filling the space with natural sunlight creates a living artwork on the concrete wall as a kind of living canvas."

On the first floor, two galleries have windows facing into the atrium. The architects placed these openings irregularly intending to resemble the pictures frames in traditional exhibitions.

The ground floor has a rectangular patch of soil directly beneath the roof light, allowing visitors to stand and observe the changing light.

A sculptural black steel staircase with wooden trends that cantilever from each side dog legs up through the central void.

The steel handrail protects only one side of the staircase to increase the visitor's awareness, while a square platform halfway up offers an opportunity to stop and observe the light shaft.

In the ground floor exhibition space, the tall concrete walls form the backdrop for displaying paintings and sculpture, while a large corner window brings in more light and offers views of the back garden and neighbouring houses.

Also on this level is an entrance hall with wooden flooring and a small kitchen next door.

The concrete structure remains exposed throughout the building, and is complemented by simple materials of concrete flooring, and steel and wood details, which the architects chose to remind visitors of craft works.

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Safety deposit boxes function as display cabinets in this Bangkok shop for Spanish footwear brand 24 Kilates.

Asked to create an interior that exudes luxury, Barcelona studio External Reference designed a shoe store that looks more like a bank vault.

It features a wall disguised as a grand vault door – with a big wheel that frames the shop logo. There is also an array of safety deposit boxes lining the walls.

"The interior looks like an exclusive treasury, filled with safes and safety boxes," said the architects.

The team chose a primarily gold colour scheme, creating the impression that everything in the shop is made of metal.

The golden deposit boxes span whole walls, with some shoes hidden behind closed doors. The doors can be open and closed in numerous different combinations, creating an ever-changing visual effect.

"This helps hide products from customers' view for a while, which invites them to discover products," said the designers.

"All this confers further magic and uniqueness to the items exhibited."

Occupying a 38-square-metre plot, the shop also contains a second space. As well as the display area, there is a seating area where customers can try on shoes and other products, and which doubles as a venue for events and parties.

The store is the second physical space for online brand 24 Kilates, following its flagship in Barcelona.

The brand describes its new space as "not just a common clothing shop, but also a place where clothes are carefully selected and presented as precious art pieces".

Other unusual shop interiors completed recently in Bangkok include Nendo's radical overhaul of the Siam Discovery department store and an Isabel Marant boutique featuring handcrafted woven bamboo screens.

Project credits:

Architects: External Reference
Project team: Carmelo Zappulla, Chu Uroz, Nacho Toribio
Photography: Carmelo Zappulla

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Unused patches of land in a densely populated area of the Thai capital have been transformed into a series of irregularly-shaped football pitches for local residents (+ movie).

The Unusual Football Pitch project is the work of property developer AP Thai, with help from digital agency CJ Worx.

The companies wanted create a space that could change the lives of young people in the Bangkok slum area.

"Teenagers in warren communities need space to express their creativity like other teenagers," said a member of the AP Team. "But their habitats are not suitable."

After seeing the wasted space in between residences, the teams spoke to the local community and brainstormed ways to utilise it.

They came up with concepts for four football pitches, which they claim are the first of their kind.

It was impossible to create traditional rectangular pitches – the four new playing fields had to adhere to the boundaries and limitations of the space. Shapes created include an L and a U.

"It's the first time the football field is not necessarily in the square," reads a statement on the AP Thai website.

Each space is painted in a brick-red colour, and features pitch markings in a contrasting grey.

Other examples of unusual court and pitch designs include a multicoloured court between a row of buildings in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, and a full-sized basketball court with motion-tracking and reactive LED visualisation technology built into the floor to help American basketball star Kobe Bryant teach young players.

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Movie: Oki Sato of Nendo explains the concept behind the Japanese studio's redesign of a 40,000-square-metre shopping mall, in this video Dezeen filmed in Bangkok for retail development company Siam Piwat.

Located on Bangkok's Rama 1 thoroughfare, Siam Discovery is an 18-year-old shopping centre operated by Thai company Siam Piwat. The mall reopened in May this year after a complete interior and exterior refurbishment overseen by Nendo.

At 40,000-square-metres across seven floors, Siam Discovery is Nendo's largest project to date.

However, Sato says that his overall design approach does not change much, whatever the size of the project.

"This is definitely the biggest project that we have ever done," he reveals in the movie.

"But it really doesn't make a big difference to me whether I design small packaging for chewing gum or this huge retail store. It's always about giving small smiles to people in the end."

Sato says one of his main aims for the project was to open up a series of small circular voids in the original mall to create a much larger central atrium.

"When people walk in, I wanted them to look upwards and look through the space," he explains. "In the beginning there were small voids, but we tried to connect them as much as possible so the atrium becomes more like a canyon. It's almost 60 metres wide."

One side of the atrium features a four-storey stack of 220 black and silver boxes containing video monitors, digital signage and merchandise displays, which is designed to function as a directory of what's going on in the mall.

"This wall stacked up with cubes is used like an index," Sato explains. "People can understand what's happening here in the space."

The box motif also recurs on the exterior of the building, which features a double-skin glass facade.

"In Bangkok there's a lot of strong sunlight coming in, so we needed a screen," Sato explains. "We had squares printed in two layers [on the glass]. You feel the depth and get a sense of the cubes in the atrium."

Sato describes Siam Discovery as "a hybrid of a department store and a shopping mall". It features a number of traditional concessions as well as 13 curated retail areas with products arranged thematically.

This approach to retail was conceived by Siam Piwat CEO, Chadatip Chutrakul.

"Instead of presenting products by brand, we present them by storytelling," she says. "Each place in this building has its own story."

Nendo designed each of the 13 individual themed retail points, which are united by Chutrakul's overall concept of creating a "lifestyle laboratory".

"We're not only selling products here," Sato says. "It's about experience, about inspiration and the chemical reaction."

The ladies' fashion area on the ground floor features 20 different pieces of furniture and display pedestals based on scientific diagrams, while the men's fashion zone features flasks and other lab equipment as well as shoe displays based on the double-helix structure of DNA molecules.

Other areas include Street Lab, which sells sportswear, as well as a space for electronics called Digital Lab, which features huge microscope-shaped displays illuminated by integrated lighting.

Previously, Nendo has designed everything from a transparent plastic rocking horse to a line of T-shirts featuring versions of the Hello Kitty character reinterpreted for a male audience.

The Japanese studio's previous retail work has included the womenswear department at iconic Milanese department store la Rinascente, and a women's fashion floor for the Seibu Shibuya store in Tokyo featuring a pastel palette and zigzag patterns.

Chutrakul says that she only ever had one person in mind to refurbish Siam Discovery.

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"I have been a big fan of Nendo for many years, especially Oki Sato." "So when I thought about this new concept, I knew it was only him I should work with."

This movie was filmed by Dezeen in Bangkok, Thailand, for Siam Piwat. Photographs used in this story are by Takumi Ota, unless otherwise stated.

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