PAM Talk - Chin Yi Hong 1001542729

MR. Ekaphap Duangkaew —— the founder of EKAR ——

Born in Chiang Mai —— Thailandthe Founder of EKAR & the Co-Founder of NOTDSDesign Style : Embody the simple & clean formFocus on space designFocus on user experiences and lifestyle requirementsGraduated in Architecture courseGraduated from Chiang Mai UniversityPrincipal of EKAR

Believes the architecture is originated from a perfect mixture of beautiful aesthetic senses and functional usabilities .Nature , society , culture , behavior , taste and time are reflected in a unique architectural work .Combines science and art together to bring out proper design efficiency .Creating a sense of place which will lead to positive changes and expand to the whole society .




In the talk holding in Black Box , Publika ,  Mr. Ekaphap Duangkaew shared us his experiencing on his journey of architecture . He is one of the Thailand architects who pursuits of creative design but still remains the nature and culture of Chiang Mai . As he said people living in Chiang Mai love the nature and culture of the city , it is good for them to be living in Chiang Mai . He aims to encourage the beauty of the city instead of destroying it .He shared us several of his projects to give us some motivations and inspirations .
T - House

The first project he shared for us is T - House located in Tha Sai , Thailand , designed in 2010 by a company named NOTDS . It received an award winning in UK ." Minimalism, modernism, comfort and elegance – this is what the T-House is all about ， " from a reference , we can see that the appearance of the house is designed in simple and organized way instead of having a complicated shape . T - House , the name derived from " T - Shirt House " , which created for a close wholesaler from Pratunam District to support her family business . 

The owner maintains the circulations and routine of the old house in Nonthaburi Province, a new built needed to be not just only a residence for an expanding family plus a small garment storage, but also needed to include an additional space for a new office and prepare an area for a further phase of family extension .
<< a new office created in a bright area 

NOTDS pulled out the essences of Pornputhakul family and blended them together with Thai living habit and Western ideal ; a mixture of a Tropical Architecture with Modernity , to result a simple-formed structure . As a wholesaler of the undergarment , this cloth line was designed to be simple and monochrome mainly using white, grey and black . 



space using monochrome colors >>

At the center , there are two crossing staircases functioning to connect all rooms on the second level . One performed itself laying on a T-shaped layout . It ties the working spaces between two floors together ; the main working area on the ground floor and the executive office on the second floor . Meanwhile , another staircase is working to connect the private spaces ; living area , bedrooms , kitchen of the first floor , and two bedrooms on the second floor .




<<< spaces connected by staircase

At Jaibaan , architects carefully concerned an issue of energy-saving . There are three small overhead skylights on the rooftop in order to limit the amount of heat accessing the house . The heat will reach only the top volume of the staircases . 


skylight from above >>

multi-functional cotton weaving

Numerous cotton stripes weaving being put above the stairs. With its material profile ; translucent but transparent , it helps screening the direct sunlight to achieve the lower volume . In the same time of representing itself as the iconic of this house . The layers of the cotton shadings attempt to separate the public and private space apart , meantime , give the sense of the occupancy between the outsiders and the inhabitants .

By stacking two T-shaped staircases, the designers intended to create the crossed circulation between two zones , the public zone and the private zone . As a result , an executive room on the second floor is able to view the activities of the habitant happened on the ground floor through the double-volume space . Two bedrooms on the second floor were also placed facing each other on the opposite sides . The owner is able to see the working area down below at all time . 



<< connection between spaces 

Living space on ground floor was planned despite the criteria of owner’s mother who would like to have a traditional Thai living room , one that consisted ‘Tang or big wooden sofa bed .’ The designer , therefore , transformed the form of the olden Tang using the western-styled sofa to form a new different shape with multi-functions of sofa bed . 

<< the combination of old and modern

The exterior appearance is shaped despite the pure geometric form to reflect each function straightforwardly inside out . The finalized design turned out to be simple and literally symmetry . The building shape is swirled following to the weather condition ; to protect the house from receiving the direct sunlight and heat from the West , a high-pitched roof above Jaibaan boundary to express how to avoid and retain the natural light . The position of 30 windows composited around the house were integrated thoughtfully according to human scale and responding to human functions of which creating the unique views and new dimensions for this house . 

The design of long roof eaves were derived from Thai traditional element , although the architects had re-designed them to be able to fold and extrude when in need . It creates the pure clean appearance for the house exterior .

space planning of T-House

concept of space planning

Overall , there are many elements being put into T-House . Mixing the modern elements and remaining the traditional Thai-style . That's quite interesting and inspiring for me to study on T-House . 

Typical shop houses in Thailand

Before getting in introducing the second project , Mr. Ekaphap Duangkaew had briefly talked about how the typical shop houses look in Thailand . He mentioned that , especially the Chinatown in Thailand , the facades have been covered by signages in order to show the business types . He thinks it has ruined the aesthetic effect of architecture and also the facades design . 

Multi - Place

A mixed-used building that included homes for their families and spaces for their businesses has been designed for two siblings —— one a pharmacist and another a vet .

Although sharing the Multi-Place building , the clients wanted their spaces to feel separate from one another , prompting the architects to place a long wall down the middle .

" The separated residential areas for two families needed to portray a detached house-like feeling to this mix use buildings ," said the architects .

From the sectional drawing , we can clearly see that the building been separated into two parts for two different families . 

One side is three-storey high ( left ) and includes the veterinarian's home , veterinary clinic and pet shop . The other side ( right ) reaches four storeys and houses the pharmacist's residence , pharmacy , a hostel and cafe , and meeting rooms .

A mono-pitched roof bridges the different heights of the two parts , while a narrow gap in the centre of the facade marks the separation .

The external wall is made of concrete blocks sourced from a local factory , acts as a barrier to the dust and noise from the busy street in Surat Thani , a city on the Gulf of Thailand .

Its perforations , some of which are filled with glass blocks , also allow the artificial light to seep out at night and reveal sections of the spaces behind .

As there are few openings on the exterior , the architects created two voids on either side of the building . A tree grows up the larger courtyard , on the side of the hostel , which also features blue-painted steps and wooden decking .

These outdoor spaces separate public spaces set to the street-facing side , and the more private living areas located at at the rear of the house .

"According to clients' need which was to separate their residential space from one another , the architects added this garden to be a relaxing linkage between two detached residential spaces ," the architects said .

The split area was converted into a peaceful garden in which brought a natural sunlight into the massive architecture and acted as a natural boundary between public area and private area .

On the ground floor , the rooms surrounding the each outdoor space feature large windows into it . On the upper levels , these step backwards to create outdoor terraces .

Inside , neutral finishes of white-painted walls and glossy flooring , are offset by wooden touches and the black handrail surrounding the voids .

In terms of concealing their own privacy from the prying eyes as well as dust and noise pollution , concrete screen blocks became the best solution for the facade . Composing the multiple patterned concrete screen blocks together screened the pollution yet allowed air flow smoothly ; meanwhile , created privacy for people inside without feeling cramped . Align with the garden design , the lighting from the interior could pass through the combination of the concrete screen blocks meaningfully casting countless shadow effects on the architecture .

The impressive design of the concrete screen blocks makes it become an important elements within the building .

Part of the concrete wall that remains exposed inside runs along a staircase and features wooden blocks that form hooks for hanging bags . However , Mr. Ekaphap Duangkaew mentioned that in his initial design of the blocks has not considered this function . Thus , he also smiled on how creative the owner of the house is .

Concrete blocks also make partitions between reading nooks in the hostel area .

For me , this is the most interesting space that I hope to be being there . I like how he used the voids of the blocks to attach book shelves to create a reading area .  

Overall , the Multiple-Place is creative in separating into two spaces by using different interesting elements which includes the facade of the appearance , the concrete screen blocks & etc . I like how he solved the issues of the site by using the concrete screen blocks and applied the needs of his clients .

ReGen House

The name ReGen House , derived from Regeneration House , is designed for a big family included three generations . Client asked for his need which the house is separated into three parts for his parents , he himself and his daughter . 

From the rendered pictures shown above , we can see that the building is a combination of tradition and modern . It is using different kind of materials to display different textures in order to create a good visual effect . 

Within the building , I have found an interesting element which is the breathable solid fence for privacy without blocking ventilation . (data from EKAR official facebook)

It is functional and without losing its aesthetic effect .

Study models  

Although lacking of data of ReGen House , I can still feel that it is an another good project being designed . The building looks modern but also remains the natural elements . That's what I need to learn from the architect .

Temple & Toilet

The last project he showed us is a temple . Instead of saying it is a temple , I would like to say it is more focusing on the toilets . Toilet is the specific element for this temple as it is accessible for public use .

Mr. Ekaphap Duangkaew thinks that toilet is important to be considered within any building . It has to be accessible and convenient . 

The environment of the temple is related to the nature . There are trees planting for privacy purpose . 

Conclusion

In a nutshell , among the four projects of the architect , Mr. Ekaphap Duangkaew , I can see that they are all related to the tradition and nature but combined with the modern elements . Architect designed them creatively by not losing its initial concept , that is really what I need to learn from him . People nowadays have always forgotten to remain the beauty of tradition and nature , they are just focusing on aesthetic effect and in a competition of creating outstanding or complicated form . As time goes by , people have forgotten the beauty of being simple and comfortable . It is time for us to keep the tradition and nature instead of using other elements to replace them .

At last , a big thank to Mr. Ekaphap Duangkaew for his selfless sharing .

Q & A

Q : How do you start up your work when you are new to architecture ?

A : I started it in a competition . My idea was idealistic but I have to make it real . The passion of me in architecture pushing me forward to make me become more successful . My work was then published in a magazine . After that , I have my project which is the T-House . T-House had won an awards , as finalist in a competition in UK . After this ，I receive more jobs . 

Q : What is the progress of your design ?

A : When I start designing , I always find out the purpose of the architecture . For example , the toilet , how to make it usable and related to the specific area . By solving the issues , it has to be reacted to the public .

Q : What is your advice to the young architects at here ?

A : Don't be afraid and be brave to try everything . Make thing simple when you are stuck . Practice more to improve the skills .

Q : Is weather of Thailand influenced your architecture ? Is it a big factor ?

A : There is chill season in Chiang Mai . For me , I am more concerned about the culture of the city . People in Chiang Mai are different from the city , they love nature and response to the context . That is what I consider in my design .

Q : Which architect influences you the most in your design ?

A : Three or four years back , I was influenced by a Vietnamese architect called Vo Trong Nghia . But for now , I am finding a way for my own .

Q : How do you differentiate you and your partner’s work?

A : There is no specific role for each of us . We share our ideas and knowledge with each others .

Q : Do you incorporate the elements of Thailand into your design ? Or it is just a contemporary modernist architecture ?

A : I try to remain the elements of Thailand and combine it with my own design . For example, the Thai stool in T-House. Once you look at it, you will know it is from Thailand.

References :

http://myfancyhouse.com/2014/10/31/gorgeous-t-house-in-tha-sai-thailand/

https://architizer.com/projects/t-house-10/

https://architizer.com/projects/multi-place/

https://www.dezeen.com/2017/05/21/multi-place-house-ekar-architects-thailand-siblings/#/

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ekar.architects/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1599275176991675