Alila Cha am / Duangrit Bunnag Architects

The hotel concept is essentially about nature. Not about cultural locality, but purely about its natural context. The project’s vocabulary requires architectural sublimity so the purity of nature can be fully appreciated.

The project is laid out in a linear approach. The sequences of space poetry begins with a geometrical landscaped courtyard, a large white marble piazza, which brings you to grand marble steps that lead to a large open-air lobby with a latticed-wood structure spanning 18 metres; it finishes at a seemingly never-ending stretch of the reflective pool that meets the horizon. A beach-front restaurant marks the end.The function of the project is simple and straightforward: a restaurant with a beach front experience, a spa for ultimate relaxation, a room with a view and a house with a pool. A key highlight at Alila Cha-Am is the Red Bar. Thus, from now on, you may have to consider red as a function.

The design of the project is quite a distance from the word ‘contemporary’ or ’style’, if not further than the word ‘resort’ itself. The notion of the design is about a place, its emotional and spatial connotations.How does the décor pay homage to the Thai culture? The notion of Thai culture can lead to a diverse and contradictory conversation. What is the actual definition of ‘Thai culture’? Is it something you see or something you taste and feel? This project can perhaps embody Thai culture through the analogy of Thai food: it is not about how it looks, but more about how it feels.

We designed most of the furniture ourselves because the strong personality of our architecture suits few furniture collections. All the material used for furniture and finishing are inspired by nature; thus, we have stone, wood, glass, concrete and red. Red can also be considered as a material too.
Architects: Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited – DBALP
Location: Cha Am, Petchaburi, Thailand
Principal in Charge: Duangrit Bunnag
Collaborator Architects: Saranya Srisakulchairak / Architect Group Head, Kahitha Boonyatasaneekul / Architect, Rawin Sangsittayakorn / Architect, Prinpond Boonkham / Interior, Thiti Tritrakarn / Landscape Archiect
Contractor: Square Tech Co.,Ltd.
Structural Engineer: EMS Consultant Co.,Ltd.
Client: KS Resort and Spa Co.,Ltd.
Site area: 30,000 sqm
Building area: 18,000 sqm
Project year: 2008 sqm
Photographs: DBALP & KS Resort and Spa