BAN PRATAI

Ban Pratai is a residential project commissioned in 2018, set within a highly specific context. The owner operates a rice mill and needed the house to be located within the same compound as the business. The design therefore began not only with the question of how the family wished to live, but also with a more fundamental one: **how could a calm and private domestic environment be created within an active industrial setting?**
Dust, noise, the daily movement of employees, and the constant presence of visitors coming to the mill all became essential considerations in the design. At the same time, the house needed to accommodate the owner's working life, allowing work and domestic routines to coexist without compromising the privacy and comfort of the family.
Beyond the conditions of the site and the functional requirements, however, another factor had a profound influence on the architecture of the house: **Feng Shui.**
Feng Shui established a clear set of parameters from the outset. These included the orientation of the building, a structural system based on equal column spans, the alignment of trees with the structural grid, a symmetrical composition between the two sides of the house, a gable roof, and the specific orientation and positioning of various functions throughout the residence.
As these principles overlapped with the constraints of the rice mill and the complexity of circulation within the site, our approach was not to resist or conceal them, but to explore how these conditions could coexist—and eventually become part of the architectural language itself.
The structural grid and symmetry therefore became fundamental elements of the design. A strong central axis gives the house a sense of order and formality, while certain qualities of Asian architecture are reinterpreted through proportion, rhythm, spatial sequence, and the relationship between built form and landscape rather than through the direct reproduction of traditional forms.
Yet within this clearly ordered framework, we did not want the house to lose the sense of ease and informality essential to everyday living.
Gardens, courtyards, and open spaces are inserted between the building volumes, allowing daylight and natural ventilation to move through the house. At the same time, these spaces create a buffer between domestic life and the activities of the rice mill beyond. The house can therefore remain connected to nature without having to expose itself directly to its surroundings.
One of the most important spaces in the house is the main communal area, conceived as a contemporary interpretation of the **open undercroft found in traditional Thai houses**. Open and porous, the space extends toward gardens on either side, allowing air to move naturally through the building.
Beyond its environmental role, this undercroft-like space also introduces a different character from the formal symmetry of the architecture. While the exterior is defined by a strong axis and disciplined order, the experience within gradually becomes more open, relaxed, and informal. The central living space is therefore more than simply a living room; it becomes a place that brings together family life, nature, and the different parts of the house.
The overall program is organized around **three degrees of privacy**, another key criterion that shaped the planning of the project.
The first is the **office zone**, which accommodates both employees and external visitors. It is positioned for convenient access without requiring visitors to pass through the private areas of the residence. Between the office and the house, a semi-private zone acts as a transitional space and a buffer, controlling access while allowing the working environment to remain visually and spatially connected to the home.
The office is also connected to a garden on the western side of the site, with landscape design by **Yoo Kub Din Landscape**. Planting and greenery provide shade from the afternoon sun while creating an outdoor retreat where employees can step away from the workplace and rest during the day.
The second zone contains the **communal spaces of the family**, designed to establish the strongest possible relationship with gardens and open space. These areas are visually open toward courtyards and greenery in multiple directions, while remaining protected from the external surroundings to preserve privacy.
This allows the house to embody two seemingly contradictory conditions at the same time: **openness and enclosure**.
The architecture closes itself toward the dust, noise, and activity of the rice mill, yet opens inward toward its own landscape—toward daylight, air, gardens, and courtyards. Rather than relying on a single garden surrounding the house, nature is brought into the architecture through a sequence of internal landscapes that create a more intimate environment within the boundaries of the site.
The third zone consists of the **private living spaces** of individual family members. These areas are positioned away from external circulation and protected from views from the rice mill, while remaining connected to the rest of the family through the internal spaces of the house.
Even the owner's main workspace, where a significant part of each day is spent, is designed to maintain a visual connection with the garden and the atmosphere of the home. Working therefore does not require complete separation from domestic life; instead, it can take place alongside an awareness of the changing landscape, the movement of the house, and the presence of the family throughout the day.
Ban Pratai is ultimately shaped by the intersection of multiple conditions: the industrial context of the rice mill, the family's way of life, the need for privacy, the tropical climate, and the principles of Feng Shui.
For us, architecture is therefore not about eliminating or escaping constraints, but about understanding what each constraint is asking of the project—and finding a way for those conditions to work together until they become part of a coherent architectural whole.
**No matter how challenging the constraints of a project may be, they can also become opportunities—pushing us to question familiar approaches and discover new possibilities through architecture.**
Project Name : BAN PRATAI
Location : Pratai , Nakornrachasrima , Thailand
Architectural design : Greenbox design
Interior design : Studio.gin
Landscape design : Yoo kub din
Photographer : PanoramicStudio
Structure design : Twodeedesign & Development
M&E : TSP Innovation
Main contractor : K.Nick
Build in contractor : Kaokarnchang
Landscape contractor : Yoo kub din