Bunker House

A celebration of the aesthetic merits of concrete.

Sited in the city centre of Lopburi, the province located to the north of Bangkok, and known to be the country’s largest military base, Bunker House or Tiensuwan House’s inception is both the architect and owner’s intention to celebrate the aesthetic merits of concrete. The material inspires both the beauty and functional values of the house’s architecture and interior program, creating a visually striking piece of contemporary architecture.

With the owner’s personal love for concrete, the on-site casting method is employed to render the form of the concrete envelope that embraces the house’s entire structure. Vaslab furthers the owner’s personal love for the material by reimagining the complex and majestic structure of bunkers from World War II abandoned along the coast of France with Paul Virilio’s book ‘Bunker Archeology’ as the point of reference.

Vaslab incorporates the architectural attributes of bunkers as a space of a full enclosure where all physical existences are shielded behind the walls. In the meantime, it possesses functional characteristics of a place that one uses to observe something. The two qualities are applied to the design of Bunker House, revealing interesting architectural details and functional programs such as the openings at the master bedroom’s terrace where a sense of being enclosed and protected is accentuated with the presence of the outside garden. While being surrounded by these architectural elements and a curated environment, users are able to observe the outside activities while remaining obscured and unnoticed.

  • Completion

    2009
  • Area

    330 sqm
  • Location

    Lopburi, Thailand
Bunker House