Overview
The project’s location is set in a well-preserved historical area of Bangkok, near Bangkok’s Chinatown (Yaowaraj). This area has historically been the center of trade for used auto parts and metal parts. The construction site comprises three consecutive units of a two-storey shop-house building, set on a 9 x 60m piece of land. The front section is approximately 15m deep, and the rear section is left empty and used as storage space. The owner would like to renovate the building into a gallery but also keep its original function as a showroom and service center for motorcycles, as a remembrance of the place’s history as Thailand’s first dealer for Honda motorcycles.
Design and Construction
As the site’s location is in a designated preserved area of the city, we were required to keep the building’s façade intact. This requirement turned into a logistic limitation, as we were forced to move the construction materials through the front section’s 2.8×2.4 m. opening. To overcome this limitation, the design emphasized the use of small metal parts or pre-assembled parts from factory, which we could move individually through the front passage, then assembled them once already inside the building (similar to assembling a motorcycle). By doing so, we also minimized any adverse impact to the building’s neighbors.
Air ventilation was another factor that we considered in the design, as the building is particularly narrow and deep. We decided to create an open court in the middle of the interior, in order to help with the ventilation and minimize the noise during any repair activity.
The design also pays particular attention to the use of natural light, by constructing an open court between the old and new sections of the building. This open space doubles as a recreational area for employees. As for the rear section of the building, we left it as open space for storage. The walls were left bare, to display the texture of old bricks from the neighbor’s buildings. A metal structure was used to help reinforce the walls