This office in Khao Lak, Thailand is not your average workspace. A timber building set across four separate volumes connected by decks and walkways, it’s far from a conventional structure of its typology – but then again, its architect, Bangkok Design Studio’s Boonserm Premthada, is known for his highly imaginative take on building design (his Ayutthaya community restaurant won a Wallpaper* Design Award in 2022).

Past works include a tower built from elephant dung bricks and Premthada’s own house, created in his ’50 per cent design’ philosophy – both critically acclaimed and distinctive in their innovative and sustainable architecture approach. Traces By The Sea, as the office project is titled, is a fitting evolution of his practice’s explorations.

Discover this Khao Lak office by the beach

The project’s name refers to ‘traces’, and this was a purposeful nod to what his project is built from, the architect explains: ‘Some pieces came from an old rice cooperative building in Phatthalung; others from a wooden school building in Phang Nga. Brought together at Matalay in Khao Lak, they retain their original paint, joints and surfaces marked by use.’

Working on understanding the recycled materials used to craft the new building and developing a design that is fit for the new function, as well as its idyllic setting on Thailand’s west coast, Premthada aimed to change only what was absolutely necessary – and keep dimensions and features of the reclaimed elements intact as much as possible.

In such an environment, views out and a continuous connection with the surrounding nature were crucial to the design. Openings and outdoor areas were key to the layout arrangement, both for providing al fresco workspace when weather allows, but also to bring in plenty of natural ventilation and sunlight, for passive illumination and cooling opportunities.

Old and new parts were fitted together in a way that feels effortless, as the entire construction team assessed the best way forward together. ‘The building gradually took shape through decisions shared between the architect, the craftspeople and the conditions of the material itself,’ Premthada recalls.

A particularly interesting example is the application of large woven bamboo trays on the exterior. These features come from northeastern Thailand and are traditionally used in silkworm rearing, but here they serve as sun shades.

The principles Premthada and his team worked with resonate with Thai cultural norms and the region’s wider ways of living: ‘Thai domestic culture is carried forward through ways of living with the climate: connecting buildings with decks, leaving room for breezes and creating shade beneath raised floors,’ he says. ‘This knowledge is developed for a contemporary office, its forms and details shaped by available materials, present-day use and the conditions of the site.’

Premthada continues: ‘Cultural continuity emerges through understanding and adaptation rather than reproducing the appearance of the past. Like the reclaimed timber, familiar spatial principles take on new roles while retaining traces of their origins.’