ArchitectureKhao Lak · Completed
Boonserm Premthada's reclaimed timber office for Matalay in Khao Lak, Thailand
Wood from an old rice cooperative and a school becomes a cluster of seaside workspaces, screened by silkworm trays.
Thai architect Boonserm Premthada of Bangkok Project Studio has built Traces by the Sea, a 440.7-square-metre office for Matalay on the coast at Khao Lak in Phang Nga. Its timber comes from two older lives: a rice cooperative building in Phatthalung and a wooden school in Phang Nga. The idea is to change as little as possible, so old paint, notches and joints stay visible. Carpenters fitted each piece by hand on site, letting its quirks decide where it went.
The office is four raised timber buildings linked by decks and walkways, laid out like a traditional Thai house cluster. Gaps between them let the breeze through and keep sea views open, while the floors on rows of columns leave shade on the sand below. Large woven bamboo trays from northeastern Thailand, once used for rearing silkworms, now serve as sunscreens, scattering patterned light inside. The buildings can even be taken apart and put up elsewhere.
The wider Matalay site also has a long, low public toilet block and Goya Tower, both built from elephant dung bricks, which visitors meet first on arrival. Worth a look for anyone interested in reuse and craft, or passing through Khao Lak; check what's open to the public before going.
Our summary of a story from designboom, published 19 October 2026. Read the original
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From designboom