Project Narrative

In 2010, Trop got a commission to design a garden for Pyne by Sansiri, a high-end condominium in Bangkok. , As mentioned earlier, its location is just superb. Located right in the middle of busy urban district, just 5 mins walk from the city's biggest shopping malls, the plot is about the right size, 2,900 sqm. It also has a BTS station right in front of the property, which really helped selling residential units.

Convenience-wise, the site is perfect. Considering everything else, it is a nightmare for designers. Surrounded by 3 sides of old ugly buildings, including some noisy nightclubs, it is hardly a high-end location. To make it worse, the train station basically makes the whole space look even more crowded. It is designed as a huge structure, about a hundred meter long, 3-4 storey high. Basically, it is like placing a huge building right in front of your door steps. Together with other surrounding buildings, our project is tightly trapped among concrete boxes by all 4 sides.

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The Forest :
Basically, our main task is to divorce our project from these not-so- good-looking neighbors. In order to separate the private space from the busy outside world, our first move is to create a 3m tall wall with planters on the top. From the outside, the wall appears like a normal straight white marble wall, but, looking from inside, the wall is changed into a curvy line to get rid of the boxy feeling space. Green area is strategically located behind the wall, in between the train station and the condominium. Instead of typical functional garden, an urban forest, with 10m tall trees, are proposed to reduce the impact of the station. Underneath the trees, a series of small green "hills"; are created all the way from the boundary wall right next to the lobby. To maximize the soft surface, the hills move up and down, so the residents can see more greenery than they do flat garden.

Perpendicular lines were avoided, replaced by angled ones with round corners. Steps are integrated into the hills for the easier walk, dividing the hills into some topographic patterns. To animate the forest, we designed some special sculptures, the Dearest Deers, as the inhabitants of the forest. On the flat area, a
series of concrete pathways are orchestrated from one side to the other of the property. The contrast between green lawn and concrete paths creates delightful visual for our residents who live above.

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The Pool :
The residential tower is built on top of parking structure. Normally the parking part has a bigger floor plan than the tower, leaving the left over area as its swimming pool. The Pool @ Pyne by Sansiri is no different. It is designated to be on the 8th floor, which is also the roof of the parking structure. The area is a rectangular shape terrace, around 370 sqm.

In order to get rid of that boxy feeling space, our first move is to create a "loosed" floor plan. Instead of a typical rectangular pool deck, we proposed a series of smaller terraces integrated with the swimming pool. Perpendicular lines were avoided, replaced by angled ones with round corners. A series of "green"
planters were also inserted here and there, combining all 3 elements, water, terraces and plantings seamlessly.

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Again, most pools in Bangkok share the same name. They are called "Sky Pool" because of its location on top of the roof. The first couple ones sounded very exciting, but, after a while, it got boring. Our design task was not only to design a pretty swimming pool, but we also wanted to create a unique landscape feature that can identify the character of our residents.

To make our pool difference than others, the "Skeleton", a light cladded structure, was proposed to "frame" the swimming pool 3-dimensionally. Before, the so-called sky pool is just flat piece of water on top of the building. Sure, swimmers can enjoy a great prospect view outside, but, looking back to the building, nobody recognize the presence of that pool from below. With the "Skeleton", the pool was fully integrated into the architecture. Now the BTS passengers can look up and see the special space inside the frame. At night, the "Skeleton" glows, giving the architecture some ."lightness" it needs badly in the crowded surrounding.