Project Background

PTT Station Du Tai branch is located on Yantrakit Koson Road, approximately 6 kilometers from Mueang Nan District. The physical environment of the site consists of commercial buildings, residential housings, and hospitals, etc.

Existing buildings within the project site include: Ko Jai station building and auxiliary business buildings, which are 7-Eleven store that are still in use. Other existing buildings have been demolished. The newly built structures including auxiliary business buildings with inline restrooms, an office building, a Café Amazon building, a covered walkway, and a Kiosk building.

Design Concept

The project site is located on the main route before entering Mueang District of Nan Province. The users are from surrounding communities and Mueang District, where the way of life is simplicity without cluster and chaos. This is reflected in the architectural style of the building where the scale of the building isn’t very large, especially in the style of a 2-story house with a gable roof. There is also a housing design that has been influenced by the characteristics of Thai Lue houses. The design concept is using the components of Tai Lue houses in Nan Province to develop the fundamental aspect of the project.

The architecture style of Tai Lue houses has a distinct identity of roof and overhanging eaves to protect the house from rains. When looking from the outside of the house, one will only see a large roof covering the house and the cellar without the exterior wall, which is a clear identity of Tai Lue houses. (Reference: Topic: “Habitat and lifestyle of Tai Lue in Loung-Nuea Village”, Atsawin Rojsanga, Lecturer, Department of Interior Architecture, Faculty of Architecture, Bangkok University, The 2nd National Fine Arts Conference; The Art 4.0 creative Art and Art Education)

The roof of the traditional Tai Lue house is a gable-on-hip roof. The overhanging eave covers the stoop leading to the veranda of the house. At the end of the overhanging eave, there are stilts supporting the roof extension. The walls of the house are mostly vertical wooden panels, using dowels and wedges to assemble the house. The roof is made of wooden shingles.

In the concept of bringing elements that reflect the characteristics of Tai Lue house, the wall decorations were designed in shape of a gable roof. The proportions of the wall were divided using new type of building decoration material, namely Aluminum Composite Panels. The panels were arranged vertically and folded into pleats along the wall, creating different tones of light and shadow, similar to vertical wooden panels for walls. After the time has passed, the color of the panels will pale, light, dark and uneven overtime

The lower part of the wall is decorated with box steel frames that arranged in a straight line at an equal interval to mimic the floor girder beams or wooden joists that is a component of the Tai Lue house.

The front of the building is designed to have a roof with extended louver panels to reflect the large roof pattern. When looking at the overall picture, one will see the harmony of the combination of traditional and modern materials that still reflect the essence of Lanna architecture in the present day