The River and architect Hans Brouwer
Bangkok Post Article: 26-02-2007
Behind the design
Architect shares insights into the thought process that goes into creating distinctive and functional residential high-risesNINA SUEBSUKCHAROEN
An architecturally unique twin-tower condominium is rising on the bank of Chao Phraya River opposite the Shangri-La Hotel. When completed, The River will be Thailand's tallest residential skyscraper with one two tower soaring 70 storeys and the other 44.
In taking on the commission from the developer, Raimon Land Plc, the well-known Thai-Dutch architect Hans Brouwer faced several challenges, among them creating something that would stand out on a crowded urban skyline.
"So in addition to all our concerns about appropriate planning layouts and efficiencies, there was a very strong need in the inquiry process that this has to be very recognisable, it has to cut a good figure on the skyline of Bangkok," says Mr Brouwer, 44.
Raimon Land was not a new client - he has also designed The Heights, the company's low-rise condominium in Phuket, and Northpoint in Pattaya.
For The River, he explored a lot of options. The original scheme consisted of three towers while the two-tower plan had 15 different interpretations.
"Ultimately what was interesting for me was the idea that with the two towers, each tower in itself should have two very distinct facades - the composition of these two can be quite dynamic," says Mr Brouwer, who is based in Singapore but has also opened an office in Bangkok.
Finally, he chose a design in which one facade of the two towers is a very slick, almost curtain-like wall while the other is very articulated and textured.
"And when you contrast the two _ in other words the curved facade of one in the same line as the articulated facade of the other and vice versa, you end up with this contrast of high-low, slick-articulated, curved-straight."
That the two towers are of different heights, one 70 storeys and the other 44, was something imposed by the site because of construction restrictions. But Mr Brouwer sees this as having helped the project because the distinction and differentiation add attention to the outline of the silhouette.
"I think that in many artistic endeavours, contrast has always been part of something interesting _ the Chinese yin and yang, male and female, the Italians in their paintings and the Renaissance light and dark, those contrasts are wonderful to play with."
While Mr Brouwer is enthusiastic about aesthetics, as any architect must be, he is also a very careful designer who places great importance on issues such as unit mix rather than the simply focusing on the building's exterior.
"Tall towers often get reduced to a sculptural exercise in what looks interesting, or what looks sexy, or what looks 'iconic', and to be quite honest those are words that are very trend-based and fashion-based," he says. "Our modus operandi tends not to be based on external manipulation for its own sake."
This is demonstrated in the Northpoint project where a matrix of unit types was worked out to reflect the developer's needs as well as real market demand. As the project has a full range of unit sizes, from small studios, one to four bedrooms and penthouses, the architect distributed them in a linear way. In other words, he did not put all the studios on one level and one-bedroom units on another, but sprinkled them throughout the building.
"This way you aren't sort of pigeonholed - 'Oh I love two bedrooms but all the two-bedrooms are here' - you'll find two bedrooms in a number of places."
Mr Brouwer also drew attention to the balcony layouts so the structures are distributed in different places. As well, the duplexes are not all stacked in one area or on the same floors.
The market research that Raimon Land did for Northpoint revealed that some people who wanted penthouse units preferred a resort garden setting to being at the top of the building. The fact that the developer and architect accommodated these needs went against the traditional assumption that the higher up a unit is, the bigger it is and the more it costs.
Mr Brouwer also tends to keep the colour scheme of his buildings very simple _ at Northpoint it is basically white, grey and brown. The curved side of The River has no colour scheme because it is a glass facade but the glass will have a tint while the articulated straight facade will be monochrome white and grey.
"I think some corporate buildings and some residential buildings have been designed as icons with repetitive floors and they actually are diminished when people put their curtains up," he says. "Some drapes are this way and some are hanging down and it makes it look messy."
"Our building (Northpoint) will benefit from the 'messiness' because it is already 'messy' by virtue of the distribution of the units, so adding another layer of personal occupation - whether it's drapes or colour scheme - is actually going to support something that has been designed for that."
Some residential condominiums in Bangkok are being offered without balconies, ostensibly for design reasons, which Mr Brouwer finds curious. He believes that an architect is someone that provides a service and there has to be a humility and acceptance of what is delivered to clients and end users.
"So at the end of the day, that kind of thinking to me is misplaced. To eliminate the choice of balcony for aesthetics is, I think, irresponsible."
