Project Name: W House II

Location: Nai Mueang, Thailand

Design Team: IDIN Architects

Total Floor Area: 300 m²

Completion: 2024

Photography: DOF Sky | Ground

Feature: IDIN Architects' "W House II" demonstrates how bold structural innovation and sophisticated spatial organization strategies can elevate single-story living to new heights, creating a contemporary sanctuary suspended seven meters above ground.

This 300-square-meter residence in Nai Mueang, Thailand, serves as an extension of the original W House I, responding to the owner's expanding usage requirements. The owner wished to move into the new house as their primary residence and transform the original W House I into a guest house. The design challenge arose from the owner's desire for a single-story house where family members could see each other and engage in activities together throughout the day, while simultaneously enjoying the beautiful mountain views from the original house's rooftop and maintaining space for their two pet cows to walk and graze.

The project's most compelling design feature lies in its innovative elevated design strategy. The architects lifted the single-story house to a height of seven meters, matching the height of the original house's rooftop, as if the house has been raised on stilts, creating a two-story effect while leaving the ground level as a garden and open space for the cows. This design approach ingeniously resolves seemingly contradictory functional requirements, satisfying the desire for single-story living while preserving the rooftop viewing experience.

IDIN Architects' design language fluently expresses structural honesty and spatial fluidity. The upper floor of the house features a balcony surrounding the entire building, enabling 360-degree views that allow residents to walk around and enjoy the landscape at different times. The swimming pool is also elevated to this level, integrating the water feature experience into the suspended living space. The house employs a dual-skin system design: an inner layer of glass and an outer layer of operable slatted decking, providing flexibility in privacy control. The entire structure rests on two large long-span concrete walls, with the floor constructed using a waffle slab system, a technical solution that addresses engineering challenges while adding architectural interest to the residence.

Material strategies permeate the interior and exterior spaces of W House II. Raw concrete flows continuously from the exterior to interior wall surfaces, creating a coherent material expression. The mood and tone of the house emphasize warm tones, with wood in natural tones, specifically maple wood selected for its distinctive grain pattern and compatibility with concrete. Green India stone is used in the kitchen area, injecting a more contemporary quality into the residence. An oversized sofa is designed in the central living area, allowing flexible seating arrangements to accommodate various activities, making this space the heart where family members gather throughout the day.

Spatial organization strategies prioritize visual connections and family interaction. By eliminating traditional floor separations and placing all major living functions on a single plane, while gaining landscape advantages through architectural elevation, W House II achieves a unique residential experience. The wraparound balcony not only provides diverse outdoor spaces but also reinforces the house's continuous dialogue with the surrounding mountain views and sky. This design approach creates a spatial environment that evokes both strong architectural character and domestic warmth, synthesizing functional, aesthetic, and emotional requirements into a harmonious architectural whole.

Design Team: IDIN Architects is a Bangkok-based architectural practice founded in 2004 by principal architect Jeravej Hongsakul, focusing on the concept of Integrating Design Into Nature. The firm's name is an acronym for "Integrating Design Into Nature," while in Thai, "idin" describes the natural phenomenon when soil releases a beautiful scent after rainfall, symbolizing Thailand's tropical climate, which all IDIN designs aim to respond to.

IDIN Architects perceives "nature" in two ways: firstly, nature can be defined as the ecology around us; secondly, it can also refer to different mannerisms and personalities. The firm's design philosophy and attention focus on merging this sense of surroundings and "essences" into architectural aesthetics. This merge is achieved through a process of analyzing and prioritizing the different needs and requirements of each project. The firm's emphasis is placed not only on aesthetics but also on practicality, in order to suit this tropical environment.

IDIN Architects' founder, Mr. Jeravej Hongsakul, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in 1998 and has been practicing in the architectural field since 2000. IDIN Architects became well-known in Thailand's architectural field when the "Phuket Gateway" project was awarded in the ASA Architectural Design Award in 2010. Since then, numerous projects from the firm have continually been honored with countless prizes at both national and international levels, including ASA Architectural Design Awards in Thailand in 2016 and 2020, The Plan Award in 2020 and 2021, Architizer A+ Awards in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021, American Architecture Prize in 2017, Arcasia Awards for Architecture in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2021, 2A Asia Architecture Award in 2017, Design for Asia Awards 2020 and 2021, German Design Award in 2018, GOOD Design Award 2021, and The Prix Versailles South Asia and the Pacific 2020 by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects.

Under Hongsakul's continued leadership, IDIN Architects employs rigorous contextual analysis and pragmatic design solutions, prioritizing environmental adaptation alongside aesthetic refinement. The firm's design process is characterized by responsiveness to site-specific parameters and technical precision, while maintaining commitment to material authenticity, spatial clarity, and programmatic innovation. IDIN Architects' work encompasses hospitality, residential, and commercial building typologies, demonstrating adaptability to diverse environmental conditions and cultural contexts, with designs consistently dedicated to creating enduring spatial environments that transcend aesthetic trends and focus on timeless qualities of proportion, light, materiality, and human experience.