Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

Fai-Fah

This is a project by Spark and it is located at Bangkok, Thailand. Project's program: Refurbishment of two shop houses into an art and creative education building housing a multi-function “living room”, art studio, library, gallery, dance studio and a multi-purpose rooftop garden. There are eleven images for Fai-Fah.

: © Lin Ho

Project details

Project name: Fai-Fah
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Program: Refurbishment of two shop houses into an art and creative education building housing a multi-function “living room”, art studio, library, gallery, dance studio and a multi-purpose rooftop garden
Area: Gross Floor Area: 569 m2 (Above Ground)
Year: Completion: 2012
Client: TMB Bank Public Company Limited
Project by: Spark
Team: Principal Designer: Stephen Pimbley • Team: Wenhui Lim, Mark Mancenido, Suchon Pongsopitsin
Others: Client Team: Paradai Theerathada, Sakchai Sriwatthanapitikul, Nopawan Saengteerakij, Thatchakorn Prutnoppadol, Mallika Uswachoke, Radomdej Taksana, Aree Vesvijak, Jumpol Kwangosen, Saranyoo Nantanawanit, Siriporn Lerdapirangsi • Fai-Fah Kids: Master Thanakan Namunmong, Chisanu Kiatsuranayon, Sirinart Naksombhob, Kamolthat Sutat Na Ayudhya • Local Architect: 365COOP Company Limited

Project images

Designer's statement

Fai-Fah, which means “light energy”, is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme initiated by TMB Bank. The programme acts as a catalyst for change in Thai society through working with underprivileged children and teenagers in their community using the arts as a vehicle for self-development and creative thinking.

Spark was invited to design Fai-Fah Prachautis, the refurbishment of two shop houses located in a residential district of Bangkok.

The art and creative education programmes contained in the client’s brief have been distributed over five floors, and include: the multi-function “living room”, the art studio, a library, the gallery, the dance studio and a multi-purpose rooftop garden.

The design was developed at interactive workshops with the Fai-Fah children and teenagers, volunteer arts staff, and members of TMB’s CSR team. Ideas generated during the workshop such as the façade screen and the interior colours were incorporated into the design, underlining the positive nature of the collaborative process and ownership of the concept amongst all of the project's protagonists.

The five levels of the building are linked by a central feature staircase with each level defined by its own colour theme. Utilities and services are housed in a new inverted L-shaped structure, the "Utility Stick", which is plugged into the rear of the building; it rises from the courtyard and bends to form a garden store at roof level.

The existing shop house façade has been transformed by the application of a bespoke lattice screen and Fai-Fah logo, a statement that the building is different from its adjacent neighbours and announcing to the community that Fai-Fah has arrived.