/Number Eleven the Second/

The first House #11 was the childhood home of the architect-owner of #11 II. The modest two-bedroom, two-storied detached house with a two-car garage housed the family of five, which later moved out due to the need for more space. The structure was then demolished, and the property emptied, for nearly two decades. One of the siblings has recently returned to the neighborhood to re-build on the old family lot.

The architect superimposed #11 II –a new three-bedroom, two-storied house—on top of the approximate L-shaped footprint of the first. Over the old lawn where mango trees grew, at the southwest corner of the lot, now sits an addition –a double-storied building that houses the architect’s office. Connecting the residence and the office with outdoor terraces on both levels, in effect, makes an architectural compound of nine quarters demarcated by four lines (#) —a nod to the classic nine-square-grid pedagogical instrument.

On the small plot of 480 sqm, the additional programs necessitate minimizing perimeter setback on all sides, which, in turn, results in the spatial configuration that internalizes gardens and open spaces. Two green courtyards occupy two of the nine quarters, while the center is left entirely open to the sky.

Bedroom and office pavilions on the upper level are high ceilinged, arranged in separate corners, and enveloped in black latticed facades. Open terrace, verandah and walkway connect the pavilions. The spatial characteristics resemble that of the traditional Thai house (Ruen Thai), in which individual pavilions bedrooms (Ruen Non), living + dining area (Hor Nang), kitchen (Ruen Krua)— are clustered around an open terrace (Charn) on an elevated platform. The ground floor of the office building is multifunctional and airy, with ample openings and sliding partitions, mimicking the versatile ground floor space underneath the platform (Tai Thun) of the vernacular Ruen Thai.

The black latticed facades are prefabricated panels made of wood plastic composite. While their (pre)fabrication method references that of the patterned wood panels (Fa Pakon) that constitute ubiquitous Ruen Thai’s walls, the pattern is abstracted, the color desaturated, and the aesthetics contemporized. The black skin, wrapped over both the solid walls and the voids, unifies the entire upper floor and forms an elevated cluster of seemingly monolithic masses that appears in stark contrast with the monochromatic white components of the ground floor.

Nostalgia plays a significant role in the rest of the material palette. New materials —most prominently the facades’ wood plastic composite—are deliberately countered with the old set of materials from the first #11: terrazzo, local Thai marble, wooden doors and windows, textured cement render, weathered brass hardware and fittings. Memories of the old are preserved within the physicality of the new.

Description

Status: Completed
Area: 550 sqm
Structural Engineer: Next Innovation Engineering
MEP Engineer: Next Innovation Engineering
Interior Design: Beautbureau
Lighting: Atelier 10 Bangkok
Contractor: Siam PYC Engineering
Photographs: Spaceshift Studio