A Chiang Mai Native Thailand, Ekaphap
Duangkaew is the Founder of EKAR Architects and also the co-founder of NOTDS
with architectural design experiences in various typologies both public buildings
and residential projects. The latter which embodies simple and clean form and
space design are the focus for user experiences and lifestyle requirements.
EKAR enhances architecture with 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. EKAR
creation is like a research of combining 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. Ekaphap Duangkaew shared with us a few of his
projects from thailand which brings a very significant perspective to
contemporary architecture.
Ekrar is more towards understanding the
culture of a society for instance he tries to combine thailand living habitat
with western ideals and a little bit of a mix of tropical architecture with
modernity, to produce and outcome which is simple yet elegant.
" EKAR believes that architecture is the place
that originated from a divisible mix of human usabilities occurred through
thinking process, analysis and connections based on different conditions and contexts which
are surrounded in every dimension of each specific location. Nature, society,
culture, behavior, taste and time are reflected in a unique architectural work
as beautiful aesthetic senses. Every piece of EKAR creation is like a research
combining science and art together to bring out proper design efficiency to
create a sense of place which will lead to positive changes and expand the
boundaries of design to the whole society.”
Ekar architects – 2008
PROJECT 1 T-HOUSE
T-house
is actually a combination of a home,an office as well as a warehouse. The very
sound of it sounds unusual to the touch however, the brief calls for such a
combination of spaces as the client wanted 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 structure 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.
To aggregate the owner’s aspiration with a
design, 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
wholesaller of the undergarment, this cloth line was designed to be simple and
monochrome mainly using white, grey and black. Because of holding a believe
which the underwear needed to be shown focusing on its cutting and fabric more
than its striking patterns, thus NOTDS introduced this characteristic through
the house with an idea of minimalism.
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.
The
cotton strands, while creating this translucent effect, clarifies the zoning of
the house. A separation between private and public spaces. The 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. Overall, the house has a splendid harmonious blend between the
traditional Thailand design and a hint of western designs. The charming simple
style without the superfluous shows the philosophy of the firm where the
clients comes first while addressing the context of the area.
As for the design itself, it was planned
that the house would put a focus on energy saving. This is shown to be apparent
as EKAR placed 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, the circulation which considered to be the least usage area
of the house.
PROJECT 2 - MULTI PLACE
According to Mr. Ekahap, the question that
rang in his head were “How could I transform something in the middle of
pollution, noise and messy context to be a home?” The answer was Multi-place.
The clients of the building were siblings with backgrounds of being a
pharmacist and a veterinarian. The aim was to mix both their work life as well
as living there under a single roof (figuratively). The structure portrays
something akin to a semi detached house clad in porous ventilation block
facades.
The real challenge of
this project was to maximize the space given only 480 square meter land to
fiddle around with. Spaces include pharmacy, veterinary clinic, pet shop,
hostel, cafe and rental meeting rooms. In regards to the by-laws within the
area, the length of the building could not be over 20 meters. What they (EKAR)
did was to split apart the building block into 2, creating a peaceful garden in
between which serves as a boundary between the 2 distinctively different
spaces.
As for the facade,(Manufactured
from local factory) they were designed with a a sort of ventilation blocks to
conceal their privacy from the curious public onlookers as well as dust and
noise pollution. The composition of multiple patterned concrete screen blocks
together resulted in reducing the pollution yet allowed air to flow smoothly at
the same time. Along with the garden design, the lighting from the interior
could pass through the combination of the concrete screen blocks to cast
playful shadow effects within the space.
There 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.
PROJECT 3 – (MENA RESIDENCE)
After
living with his parents till the time he has his own family, our client moved
out to his own house located opposite his with an effort to create a place
where he can live with his child Meena till the time when she has her own
family.
Ekahap Duangkaew – EKAR design
During his talks, Mr.
Ekahap had talked about the design philosophy of the building by integrating
styles of traditional Thailand houses. A traditional Thai house in general is
composed of a variety of small detached-houses in which each small family
lives, and a patio in a middle of the houses, where connects each family
together. By using this as a principle, the re-generation house was created
with a modern contemporary twist.
The design had shaped
an L-shape building, lifting all residential spaces to the upper
floors leaving ground floor free for storage and parking area. The wall
between the parents’ house and the new one is eliminated and filled with a new
big garden along the existing garden of the parents house to create consistency
of space. Literally putting the same kind of space into another, enhancing the
quality of space within the garden.
The
core idea here was a divide of the floor planning into a four-storey house. The
second floor for the client’s family, third floor is for his daughter’s future
family. Hence, in order to gather everyone in the family (and his daughter’s
future family) together, the first floor is a focal point, there is an
entertainment room and a grand patio which become the common area for the
client’s family (and the future family inspired from a traditional ground level
in which natural elements are closely surrounded). In a sense, this building is
catered to a giant family, expanding and living together under one roof.
REFERENCE