Architecture practice 11.29 Studio used rotating bamboo screens to allow this painting studio in Thailand to be opened up to the surrounding landscape.
Located alongside a pond in an agricultural area in Rayong, Furnish Studio is designed for a local oil painter who desired a well-ventilated, open space that could serve as both a work and display area.
In response to this, 11.29 Studio created a square space surrounded by a verandah that allows ventilation and sunlight to be controlled via full-height, rotating screens made using local bamboo.
"Thailand's hot and humid climate, along with the owner's preference not to use air conditioning in the primary work area, necessitated a strategy to maximise natural ventilation," 11.29 Studio's founder Kantinan Na Nakorn told Dezeen.
"Working within a limited budget required us to seek ways to minimise construction costs," Nakorn added.
"A square floor plan emerged as the most economical option since it reduces the number of pillars and minimises the need for walls."
The entrance to Furnish Studio is framed by two high concrete walls, which were constructed using surplus cylindrical and cuboid spacers from a nearby factory.
Steps lead up into the studio, which is raised off the ground to mitigate the risk of flooding and to prevent animals from entering.
"We aimed to integrate elements of the local environment into our design," Nakorn said.
"For example, we utilised bamboo for the surrounding walls to support local farmers, and we explored alternative materials such as concrete spacers, which we obtained for free from the concrete plant of the surrounding industrial estates," he added.
Inside, Furnish Studio contains a double-height space with an exposed concrete frame and a high-level display cabinet that is accessed via a blue ladder.
A storage room and skylit bathroom sit on either side of the central space and have been pulled back from the edge of the building to allow them to be enclosed without disrupting the openable bamboo screen facade.
"During less busy periods, the common area serves as a resting place where one can appreciate the accumulated artwork," explained Nakorn.
"Consequently, a cabinet for displaying collectables was incorporated above the storage room, and colourful furniture was added."
Furnish Studio was recently longlisted in the workplace project category of Dezeen Awards 2023.
Other artist's spaces recently featured on Dezeen include the conversion of a 1950s garage in Edinburgh into a studio with a sense of "civic grandeur".
The photography is by Beer Singnoi.