The black, sloping façade follows the pattern of the area and, at the same time, achieves a sense of unity thanks to its grid shape, creating a play of perspectives. The hotel features semi-reflective materials thanks to the black metallic aluminium in honour of the vitality of the neighbourhood. Handcrafted materials such as terrazzo walls, wood and wrought iron inside the hotel welcome visitors.
ASAI Sathorn by ASWA. Photograph by Panoramic Studio.
Description of project by ASWA
ASWA designed a new hotel located in one of the most vibrant areas of Bangkok, surrounded by high-rise buildings, traditional houses, embassies, cafes, street food vendors, etc., with the black facet facade of each room in a grid pattern, conceptually aimed toward the Sathorn street on its right. At the same time, the main ground floor welcomes all guests to engage in the warm vibe from localized materials such as wooden trim, terrazzo walls, wrought iron, and tiles.
ASAI Sathorn started from the proposition of designing a new lifestyle hotel to fit on a long, narrow site of approximately 45 x 18 square meters with an oblique front along Sathorn 12 Road, the most vibrant and bustler area in Bangkok, where there are residential buildings, restaurants, offices, spas, schools, religious places, and various stalls, al including the way of life of people on this area, which the project wishes to blend in with the community context by increasing the space for eat/work/play activities with its neighbors.
The space planning of the project is rather complicated since the central functions are the lobby/restaurant, 106 guest rooms, and automatic car parking lots, including the back of the house of the project. With eight floors high and two underground floors for the entrance and exit of the automatic car elevator. The first above-ground two floors are the public area of the project, which welcomes people from the street, with a long bar that serves coffee and drinks at first glance, leading to a self-check-in lobby by another side of a counter bar provided a semi-outdoor double volume to increase airy space for the bar and the Thai restaurant on the second floor. Then, 106 guest rooms are on the third to eighth floors. Regarding the structural design, the architect wants to rotate some columns to avoid the effect of the functions on the third and second floors to meet the most space utilization needs.
The slanted black frontal tilted facade follows the site's shape along Sathorn 12 Road, and all in the grid pattern tends to magnify the concept of a sense of unity, in which all the rooms are visionary aimed toward the main attraction of Sathorn Road on the right side. Somehow, it still conveys the fun of the Sathorn area with the folding dent pattern from the edge of the grid line frame toward the window, in which the size and proportion coordinate with the interior space to convey the inside-out outside-in space. Meanwhile, the selection of materials represents the area's dynamic in the top part of the building - the 106-guest room; therefore, choosing semi-reflective materials like a black metallic aluminum composite can blend the color with its context and is also distinguished since walking into the Sathorn soi 12. While, in the common area at the bottom part of the building - bar, and restaurant; represents contrasting craft materials to convey the craftsmanship of the Sathorn area by using terrazzo stone walls, wood, and wrought iron like the entrance canopy to invite everyone to come to experience ASAI Sathorn.
