Duangrit Bunnag Architect Ltd.

Alila Cha Am

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

ALILA CHA AM

Duangrit Bunnag Architects

CATEGORY
Hotels

LOCATION
Cha-am, Thailand

AREA
30000.0 m2

ArRCHITECTS
Duangrit Bunnag Architect Limited - DBALP

YEAR
2008

PHOTOGRAPHS
DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

The hotel concept is essentially about nature.

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

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.

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

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.

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

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.

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa

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.

Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa


Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa
Alila Cha Am
© DBALP & KS Resort and Spa


Alila Cha Am
Plan
Alila Cha Am
Plan
Alila Cha Am
Plan


Alila Cha Am
Plan
Alila Cha Am
Plan
Alila Cha Am
Plan
Alila Cha Am
Plan
Alila Cha Am
Plan


Alila Cha Am
Plan

Duangrit Bunnag Architect Ltd.
T +66 2 8610960
Duangrit Bunnag Architect Ltd.
41 Soi 1 Khlong San, Bangkok 10600, Thailand