TYIN Tegnestue is a non-profit humanitarian organization for constructing small scale architectural projects throughout Thailand. In collaboration with CASE Studio Architects, they built a community house in a 100 year old market building in Min Buri, Bangkok. They constructed a section of the building to house a library that measures 10 x 30 feet with a backyard that faces a canal. The roof and walls of the building were in poor condition, so the architects needed to preserve the old building’s architectural character by creating new elements within the structure that would support themselves. One of the main challenges when building this community is the annual flooding during the course of the rainy season.

The architects came up with a solution to elevate the calmer zones to ensure that the library was still usable throughout the flooded periods. Concrete sidewalls and aired connections were built to help prevent humidity from being trapped within the wooden constructions which would ultimately lead to rotting. As much as possible the project tried to incorporate the use of local and and reused materials. The bookshelves have been constructed from wooden boxes, the cladding has been formed from old and decayed wooden pieces that were collected from around the neighboring areas. The construction materials themselves had to be of higher quality to stand the test of time, so they were brought in from a local secondhand wood shop. The main goal of the library project is to strengthen the passion in the neighborhood that can eventually lead to a positive development in the area. Via

Photos:  Pasi Aalto