Soe Ker Tie House (Noh Bo, Tak, Thailand)

TYIN tegnestue is a non-profit organization working humanitarian through architecture. TYIN is run by five architect students from NTNU and the projects are financed by more than 60 Norwegian companies, as well as private contributions.

Through the course of the last year TYIN has worked with planning and constructing small scale projects in Thailand. We aim to build strategic projects that can improve the lives for people in difficult situations. Through extensive collaboration with locals, and mutual learning, we hope that our projects can have an impact beyond the physical structures.

from http://www.archdaily.com/25748/soe-ker-tie-house-tyin-tegnestue/

Some traditional thai motifs from my snapshot collection

Japanese Homes and Their Surroundings, By Edward S. Morse

Limited preview at Googlebooks online.

Houses for The Twenty-first Century, By Geoffrey London (2004)

Another Googlebooks find! Includes an article entitled "Recent Thai Houses: Diversity Without Integration" by Pirak Anurakyawachon that discusses (and gives a history of) the balance between Thai and Western influences...there's some really interesting stuff in the essay

Built to Meet Needs: Cultural Issues in Vernacular Architecture, by Paul Oliver (2006)

I stumbled upon this book about the study of vernacular architecture on Google books, so a bunch of it is available to read online. (click here)

Colors (Thai Architecture Elements Series)

These little books are published to make available unused images from Nithi Stapitanonda's book Architecture of Thailand (2006.) In each he focuses on one or two architectural elements with images and some text, this one looks at color. See also Roofs, Doors & Windows, and Surfaces.

Colors hold high significance in Thai culture; most Thais register a deep connection between colors and the ideas associated with them. For instance, each day of the week is assigned a color and the King's color is yellow based on his birthday, while the Queen's is blue based on hers. These bright colors show up in everything from shirts commemorating the King to cloth bunting along the road. This book focuses in on the use of the primary colors in architecture, but it is clear from a quick glance at any Thai street that many vibrant colors are used unapologetically in all manner of buildings.

Some notes from the text:

The color red, or vermilion, signifies power and sacredness. It is part of the Thai national flag and is also utilised for inscriptions on holy cloth that is used as a talisman. Red is also widely used in almost all Thai architectural elements...applied along with other colors to enhance beauty and interpretation, for instance red and gold used together enhances the shine of gold and adds brightness...red can also be applied in combination with opposite colors...such as red-green, red-blue, and red-yellow.

Yellow is significant in Buddhism; the color expresses sacredness and also prosperity and wealth. It is favored both in Thai paintings and architecture...in this book, gold is included in the category of yellow color. Gold is the color that expresses prosperity and wealth more prominently than other colors, therefore, it is favored in architecture of significance or in buildings meant for the higher ranks such as those dedicated to Buddha or the King. Thai craftsmen always use gilded copper plates to cover the principle pagoda, decorate the roof of buildings with gold colored glass mosaics, and apply gold with other colors such as gold on black lacquer, gold-blue, and gold-red.

Dark blue, a cool tone color, gives a feeling of calmness. It also signifies royalty and is another color that is seen on the Thai national flag...blue was imported from China in later times therefore the application of blue was only for high-ranking buildings such as royal temples and the grand palace.

Our Church, Bang Bua Thong

We go to a Thai church in Bang Bua Thong (outside of Bangkok) that rents 3 adjacent shophouses. They run a daycare during the week, and the pastor's family lives on the top floor. (I'm not sure what's going on there with the lack of window on the top floor, far left.) The owners of the building have gotten foreclosed on, so the congregation has been looking for a new space. They decided to build a new building not too far away, which is being funded by the mother-church in Bangkok. I love that it's orange, which makes it easy to point out to taxi drivers!
This is a little oasis of living things just outside the front door...very little space, but enough to add some greenery and fish!
This is the mother-church in Bangkok---the architecture of which is greatly admired by the pastor.
The main floor, used for daycare, church dining hall, meetings, etc. It is 2 shophouse modules, and the partition over the front makes for an interesting feeling in the space. The kitchen is in the back (a narrow sliver between the building and property wall that has been roofed over.) Bathrooms are under the stairs. I think I must have inherited my propensity to stick things to the walls around me from my Thai side. At the very minimum, most Thai buildings feature pictures of the King.
Here is the same space later (looking from the other corner,) when everyone came down to eat:
A classroom off to the side...sorry for the blurriness.
There is a mezzanine between the ground level and the sanctuary level.
This is the sanctuary; it is the only air-conditioned space in the building. It takes up the front of all three modules.
Outside the sanctuary, the stairs lead up to the pastor's living quarters.
Some drawings of the new church building. It will be similar to the current one in that the daycare and meeting space will be on the ground level, and sanctuary/pastor's quarters will be above.
Here is our pastor with one of his sons. There is a church building on his tie, which was appropriate as he had a meeting today about the new building. The congregation seems excited about the change, and really enjoy looking at the drawings.
The view out the front door...some sun-shading, ventilation.

Welcome spaces

Here are some examples of features that mark the transition from public to semi-private space, in a welcoming way:
A bench seat halfway up the entrance stair- a place to meet visitors- some can be invited further in, others perhaps not! Also a place for the householder to watch the world go by.
And a little roof sheltering water jars from the hot sun- offering visitors a drink as they enter the house, and a place to take off their sandals.
How can we maintain this culture of welcome in a modern setting?

Excerpt from "Lost Japan" by Alex Kerr

David, this reminded me of what you described happening in Singapore (and Thailand as well.)

"A Japanese friend once said to me, 'I always associated old Japanese buildings with an image of poverty. When I saw Tenmangu I realized for the first time that one could live well in an old house.' The key o the destruction of the city of Kyoto lies in this comment. In the eyes of the city administration, rows of old wooden houses look 'poor'; they are an embarrassment, and should be removed quickly. This is not only true of Kyoto-the same feeling lurks deep in the hearts of people all over Japan. If this were not so, the rampant destruction which has occurred here would have sparked a strong public outcry; but until recently there has been hardly a peep of protest."

Culture & Conditions image sets

These are some images I put together a while back for a project looking at Thai culture and current conditions .

This first set is cataloging different ways in which mobility and pragmatism are celebrated in Thai culture. People move around a lot here! It used to be on the waterways, but is increasingly on land...and so you see foodstands on motorbikes and all manner of creative solutions for getting the job done. Spaces change from day to night, or based on the weather.
This next set explores some common elements of Thai traditional house architecture that have already been mentioned here.
Looking at the intersections of water and the built environment.
Thinking about possible materials that are very common in Thailand that could be re-imagined as building materials using existing techniques. Billboard tarps, tires, license plates, etc.