making art

This eco-friendly art studio in Rayong, Thailand, is inspired by Thai Buddhist cosmology.

- Michele Koh Morollo.

Architect Kantinan Na Nakorn of Bangkok-based firm 11.29 Studio recently completed his firm’s first project – a 144-sqm art studio in Rayong for Puntita Meeboonsabai, a talented Thai surrealist oil painter.

As Meeboonsabai works with oil paints, which have a strong smell, one of her key requirements was for her studio to have adequate ventilation. She also wanted open spaces that would promote air circulation, as well as a high level of visual connectivity to the outdoors so she can be inspired by the multiple perspectives that she is able to draw from her surroundings. The plot that the studio sits on is surrounded by farmland, and to the northeast of it is a pond, where the evaporation movements of the pond water create a cool breeze that provides further respite during hot spells.

honouring thai culture

When conceiving the design for the studio, Na Nakorn wanted to convey the essence and identity of the Thai people and Thailand as a whole. He did so by honouring the Buddhist theological worldview, which sees the world divided into three realms – the world of the senses, the world of form, and the formless or spiritual world.

“We came up with a mostly square-shaped floor plan where every side of the studio is almost the same length. But it isn’t just the square shape that informed the design. We also looked at the cross axis of the interiors and how to best plan the programme within the space. This approach to planning allowed us not only to easily manage the construction, but it meant we could also create the best conditions for airflow and draw in the right amount of sunlight,” says Na Nakorn.