Project: T-House
Architects: EKAR Architects
Location: Nonthaburi, Thailand
Area: 5,381 sq ft
Photographs by: Courtesy of EKAR Architects
T-House by EKAR Architects
The T-House combines an office, a garment warehouse and a family residence in two buildings on a same plot.
It was designed by EKAR Architects in Nonthaburi, Thailand and it is a blend of Thai living habitat and western ideals. It is a mixture of tropical architecture with modernity, resulting in a simple form.
The heart of the house is located perfectly in the center of the main structure. It is composed of two staircases that cross each other, connecting all of the rooms.
An office, a warehouse, plus a residence for family expansion.
According to an initial requirement of the project owner, Khun Noppawarat Pornputhakul, the main functions of T-House were created to support her family business, a cloth wholesaller from Pratunam District. To maintain 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.‘Jai Baan or a heart of the house’ locating perfectly at the heart of this two-storey dwell. This centered piece is composed of 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.
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. Both are connecting together with the bridge, thus the owner is able to see the working area down below at all time. 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 transformation of cotton is also brought to apply with the ceiling pattern to make the house more unique.
