1,763 Pounds of Rock Help Cool This Bangkok Flat

When a client asked Peeraya Suphasidh to redesign this 1,711-square-foot condo apartment in central Bangkok, the architect wasn’t just concerned with aesthetics.

"Central Bangkok is a vibrant, dense urban area. Although there are public parks in the city, it takes effort to get there due to heavy traffic, and the high heat in the middle of the day also limits the time for those visits," says Suphasidh, who founded her eponymous studio, Suphasidh Architects. "This project thus seeks to provide innovative solutions for thermal comfort and calmness."

To this end, the architect harnessed the intrinsic qualities of natural materials like wood, stone, and earth. "The project’s emphasis on weight, depth, and material connection aims to contribute a feeling of calm and safety, and to create a place of ease and repose in the bustling city," Suphasidh says.