Baan No.58 Sukhumvit36
Bangkok, Thailand
“We want a relaxing corner in the outdoor garden that we can use all day, with enough functional space and plants and flowers with nice fragrances.” Following a site inspection before the major renovation of their home began, the owners expressed their desire to the landscape architect.
The two-story residential building was on Soi Sukhumvit 36 Street, surrounded by high-rise buildings. The house embodies the architectural style of the modernist Bangkok home built in the 1960s and 1970s, with evident influences from master architects of the time such as “Frank Lloyd Wright” and “A. Quincy Jones”. The original architect of the house is thought to have adopted westernized design concepts and ideas and applied them to the site’s surrounding context and local climate. The influences can be seen in various architectural components such as the three round columns at the front of the building, the sun protection fins, louvre windows, and aluminum frames, as well as the red ceramic tiled walls, all of which were popular architectural elements at the time. Leading up to the renovation, the house was in a completely deteriorated state, with the outdoor area surrounding it flooded, all as a result of being deserted and unlived for an extended period of time.
The renovation was carried out in accordance with the owners’ and design team’s desire to breathe new life into the house. The architect renovated the structure while retaining all of the original structural elements, collaborating with the structural engineer to resolve the issue with the house’s original ground level. It was later decided that the house was to be raised 1.20 meters above the original ground level. The process was done with the structural engineer’s consultation and supervision, resulting in the house’s ground level being raised from when it was originally below the road’s level, causing the house to be flooded whenever there was a heavy rain fall. Behind the fence, the landscape architecture occupies the outdoor space within the house’s periphery. The green space is intended to protect the living spaces from the chaos of the surrounding roadways, creating an ideal living environment as well as a relaxing transition space leading to the house’s interiors. Meanwhile, residents can see the green space through the windows and openings in every room. Because of the close collaboration with the architect, the landscape also corresponds with the layout of the exterior functional program, which includes the wood deck and the swimming pool. This allows the circulation to flow and the transition spaces to be fully used. The living room and entertainment room are linked to the walkway and the roofed wood deck, enabling the residents to use the space throughout the day. The residents spend their free time together swimming and lounging by the 4-by-8-meter swimming pool. While the pool’s size is limited by the small space, the swimming jet installed allows for long distance swimming if the owners want to get some serious exercise.
The plants are chosen based on three criteria; The first group of plants includes evergreen trees and shrubs that are easy to maintain in the long term, such as those growing near a swimming pool. Evergreen trees are used because they shed relatively fewer leaves, so not many fall into the pool, preventing any problems with the swimming pool system. Shrubs and the groundcover plants are species that can thrive in the shade of large evergreen trees and have naturally beautiful leaf shapes that reduce the need for trimming. Another criterion of the house’s landscape design is the use of trees with auspicious names. Trees with positive Thai names, such as “Boon Nag” (Mesua ferrea) or “Gun Grao” (Fagraea fragrans), are chosen because it is believed that planting trees with blessed names repels evil spirits from the house. The final criterion is the use of plants with pleasant smells. Over ten plant species have been chosen to grow in various parts of the garden, with some emitting nice fragrances during the day and others at night. The landscape design also takes into account how each species of plant reaches its full bloom period at different times of the year. For example, Michelia alba’s flowers usually blossom and emit their beautiful scent between August and November, while Plumeria obtuse’s full bloom period is between February and April. In the meantime, flowers of plants such as Citharexylum spinosum, Murraya paniculate, Osmanthus fragrans, and Hedychium bloom with fragrant scents all year. Fragrant flowers not only add beautiful visuals to the outdoors, but their lovely scents can be detected throughout the house’s green space, especially when walking around the garden.
Client :
- Mr. Jukr & Mrs.Kamolrat Boon-Long
Architect &Interior Design:
- Arsomsilp Community and Environmental Architect Co.,Ltd
Head Designer:
- Miss Nuttanun Pokinpitak
Landscape :
- Kaizentopia Co.,Ltd.
Structure Engineer:
- Mr.Sakpan Sichawakul
Main Contractor:
- Baan Sangsan Construction Co.,Ltd.
Photographer:
- Mi Minoru Metipat
Location :
- Sukhumvit36, Bangkok
Year:
- 2019-2022