O-Art-Im House is located in the Sri Nakorn housing estate, which was established in 1969. The client has been living in this village with her family since she was young, and later on, her father bought the adjacent land for her new house after marriage.

The site clearly defines a distinct neighbourhood. The access road is only 4.5 metres wide, which dictates one-way traffic, and every house was built with an eight to ten-metre setback for a front yard with a large shading tree. Seen together, these yards create a green corridor where one can typically find neighbours gathering

and kids playing under the trees.

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The owner decided to keep an open green space at the front of the house. The whole setback area is designed as a multi-purpose space that can accommodate up to four parked cars. Grass pavers are installed to absorb rain water. Next to the parking, a sliding lath fence invites a friendly atmosphere by allowing ‘eyes on the street’ to maintain a visual connection between inside and outside.

The first floor of the house is used as a food design studio that consists of a large kitchen, a baking area, and a multi-purpose area for teaching a cooking class. These spaces are primarily placed to the north so the southern part of the house can be used for growing organic plants.

The second and third floors are similar to one-bedroom condominium units in their arrangement of a living space, a bedroom, a closet, and a bathroom. This provides flexibility for future expansion.

Steel structure and most of materials are dry system. Renewable materials such as Fiber Cement Board were applied, for adaptive purposes and also to be capable for reusing process rather than wasting.

A gable roof and a wooden wall imitate the old house’s style, but the massing reflects a more modern aesthetic. By shifting each floor horizontally, the space becomes wider to accommodate a terrace, and the resulting overhangs can be used to protect the lower floors from the rain.

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