Mountain Cabin

The pictures below are taken of a mountain cabin in Kanagawa in Japan. So this blog post is not strictly speaking about Thai architecture, but when I saw pictures of the mountain cabin below I immediately thought that an adaption of this design would work brilliantly in a Thai setting. 

The setting on a hill suits many land plots in Thailand which often are on slopes with sea-views. There is a big balcony with the house to take advantage of the view. And the bathroom with sliding doors to open up the bathroom to the outside looks stunning and really compliments the ethos of modern tropical Asian design.

Color in Thai Architecture

Color plays an important part in the first impression a house or villa gives. In Thailand the light is very bright and color makes a strong visual impact. In Thailand as in South America using bright colors is part of the local aesthetic. And whereas using pinks might be considered undesirable in the West the color is not frowned upon in the East.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport Bangkok Innovative Climate Control System

Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok has come up with great architectural solutions to the problem of climate control. The challenge was a tough one for architects and engineers because Bangkok has an average temperature of 25 to 30 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity between 50% and 60%. In short, Bangkok is always hot and sweaty and the challenge was to design an airport with a cooling system that was both economical and energy efficient.

The first thing the architects did was to minimize the effects of solar loads. The terminal sheds on the north side are fitted with fritted glass with a 95% opacity specification that allow diffused light but minimize solar gain. On the hotter south side terminal sheds solid panels were placed on the roof to reduce solar gain to just 1%.

For the main spaces of the airport architects cleverly designed a zoned building. Thus there are no massive open spaces to cool. Instead cooling systems are directed at essential zones of the building. This prevents a lot of waste.

Two types of cooling system are deployed in Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. They are radiant floor cooling which removes radiation striking the floor of the building; and secondly, an air displacement system with a controllable airstream supplying cool air to space at floor level and at low velocity. This is the genius part of the cooling system at the airport. It works on the principal of thermal air stratification. Namely, that cool air is heavier than warm air. So as long as you can prevent the floor heating up then much of the cool air that you pump into the building at ground level will remain cool. It is not necessary to keep the higher reaches of the airport building cool because nobody is at that level. The air heat is stratified so the air is kept at 24 degrees Celsius up to 2.5 meters above ground level and gradually gets warmer the higher up you go, until at roof level the air temperature is basically near ambient temperature.

Finally, the airport building uses an innovative three-ply membrane roof to allow in 1% to 2% diffused sunlight but prevent solar radiation. These membranes consist of Teflon-coated glass fiber, a coated inner membrane and transparent PC sheets on a steel cable and mesh structure. The inward facing side of the inner membrane also has low-e coatings to block solar radiation heat.

All in all, the architects and engineers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok have done a great job at energy efficiency for a very large and potentially difficult building to keep cool.

Balustrading in Thai Architecture

Balustrading is a key component of more traditional style Thai architecture. A Thai wooden house is often very open plan with much of the total floor area taken up with outdoor areas. These areas are often elevated from the ground because of the preference in Thai design to build a house on stilts. This means the edges of the outdoor areas often have considerable drops. This is a safety issue that is best rectified with balustrading.

The same is true for balconies. It is dangerous to not enclose a balcony with some type of balustrading to stop people accidently falling from the second floor. Furthermore, in villa design both traditional and modern it is often the case that the balcony looks out over a sweeping view of a bay with a precipitous drop.

 There are a variety of styles and materials that are used in Thailand for balustrading. Wood can be placed flush to the building or in slats.

The wooden balustrading can be simple with nice clean lines or it can be carved and intricate. Often decorative features such as lanterns are incorporated successfully into a balustrade.

Cheap balustrading can be made from concrete which is then 'beautified' with tiles. Tiles gives the option of playing with colour and design.

A modern and sometimes far from appealing effect can be achieved with welded iron and light aluminium balustrading. The advantage of aluminium is that it doesn't rust or corrode in wet weather. In contrast wood and timber balustrades need constant treatment to maintain.

Sometimes a mixture of materials is used on balustrading in Thailand often with mixed results. Below is an example of marble and carved wood. Expensive materials that just don't work together.

Balustrading can be used to define paths and for handrails over bridges. Here is an example of reclaimed hardwoodbeing used in a path through the grounds of a hotel in Thailand. In these eco-conscious times that we live in using reclaimed wood is an excellent idea.

Finally, balustrading in Thai architecture is sometimes used to define a lower floor open plan space. Rather than walls that restrict air flow, balustrades can be incorporated which provide a degree of privacy while maintaining the delightful sense of openness that is one of the trade marks of good Thai design.