Out of Doors
Situated in the heart of Bangkok, a Thai family find solace in a minimalist home design by renowned architect Duangrit Bunnag, which embraces the nature that surrounds it
Residence Panya 37 is a two-storey family house built on modernist principles, and a narrowly angled plot of land. Influenced by the many years he spent studying and living in California, the owner – Chalermpong Srirojanant – sought out the design talents of Duangrit Bunnag, who he felt could do justice to his vision of a modernist dwelling in complete harmony with the site's numerous large, established trees.
According to Bunnag, the founder of practice DBALP, although the house appears at first glance an ordinary white dwelling, the shape of the site is not really a simple, platonic form. “The main plot of land to build the house on had an acute angle on the east of the site, while the entrance piece of land is rather narrow compared to the rest of it, therefore, the site plays such an important role on the layout of the house. The architecture is designed at full capacity of the site, but integrated into the landscape.”
So why did Srirojanant feel Bunnag was the person he wanted to design his dream home? “When I was living in the US, I fell in love with the minimalist architecture found around Los Angeles, especially on the hillsides of Hollywood and around the cliffs of Malibu. I loved this minimal box style that used glass and steel as the main materials, and started to do research on this type of architecture, and finally ended up studying the works of [famed architects] Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.” When he came back to Thailand and planned to have his own house built, Srirojanant used these two and others as reference points, and did extensive research on local firms.
The Farnsworth House designed and built by Mies van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951
“Though there are a lot of Thai architects whose styles claim to be modernist, there are only a few who truly understand the essence of the minimalist architecture style, and among them Duangrit Bunnag is number one in my opinion.” Srirojanant had initially gotten to know him from Bunnag’s award-winning design for retail space H1 in Bangkok's chic Thong Lor district, which had received much acclaim at the time.
Architect selected, Srirojanant specified the use of glass, steel and concrete as main materials in his brief to Bunnag. “I feel that this minimal style using these elements for the structure leads to the creation of a simple but neat look, which can be considered timeless.” Another main reason is the connectivity he feels they give between inside and outside spaces: “The space is not restricted, it gives me a feeling of freedom.”
In the design, the existing trees on site were not only saved, but given room to grow. “The main requirement we provided to Bunnag was to keep all the big trees on the land and to design the house to get along with them,” says Srirojanant, whose parents bought the land more than two decades ago. “There are many big and old trees on my land, and this size of tree can't be bought, especially the 30-year-old 'rain tree' in the heart of the property. If I wanted to grow a new one, it would take another 30 years. I love them and decided to live around them, though it's not easy to live with nature.”
Enforced design modifications had to be made to accommodate the trees, including adding holes to the roof. “They had to make space for the rain tree to continue to grow, and even during construction we needed to enlarge the hole to make sure that when the wind blew, the branches wouldn't hit the roof. Living with nature comes with problems and expenses, but I love it and would do it exactly the same again.”
By necessity, the challenging site led to the house's stretched shape, but Srirojanant wasn't worried about its functionality. “The fact that the house is long and narrow doesn't create any problems for us at all. We admire the architect for his solution. The land is not that big, but he designed the layout of the house to be parallel with the perimeter of the property, which made the space open up.” The Bunnag design created a long approach starting from the garage, which leads to an open wooden deck, then steps up to a stone deck, which serves as a 'picture frame' for the whole house. “The house is not big, but we love it,” says Srirojanant. “Everyone who visit us loves it. They all think the house and the land is very big, but the fact is it's just 800 square metres.”
Bunnag designed a house that flows perfectly, creating a truly connected space for the family. Every room is joined, and the entire space can be transformed into a one large room by leaving the swing doors open. No matter whether they're in the bedroom, living room or courtyard, family members are able to see each other from almost anywhere in the property. “This connectivity is the thing we love the most about this house,” says Srirojanant, albeit each room can have its privacy by closing curtains.
What have been the reactions to the house from friends and family? “Family members love it, and friends love to party at our house,” relates says Srirojanant, “We have at least 50 people come here to see in the New Year, every year.” Of course, there is a price to be paid for living in a minimalist dwelling. “We do have to accept one fact about living in a 'minimal' house, the limited storage space.” After a few years living on site, the family had accumulated many belongings, and so a small additional storage room was built outside the house, but done to fit in with the original Bunnag design.
“That's the only thing we changed. We are very happy with our home, and I thank the designer. He did what he promised, and we now live in the house I always dreamed of.”