Located in TaladNoi district, at a corner where two meandering alleys meet, three row houses down from a local Chinese shrine, stands the new Creative Crews office. The project involves the adaptation of two adjoining row houses into a new workplace and base for the crews.
TaladNoi is a heritage district with intimate urban scale. The tectonic
comprises of and its most notable typology; the row house, small walkable alleys network, and generous scatter of street vendors. Planning rules and regulations have hindered high rise developments and densification. Recent development has been limited to usechange of row houses from traditional craft and trade to hostels and cafes. However, renovation needn’t be limited to these uses. The row house typology is truly versatile.
The altered building is split into two halves, with formal functions onthe airconditioned south side, circulation and supporting facilities onthe naturally ventilated north side. The 1st and 2nd floor are retailspaces for let. A flexible meeting spaces on the 3rd floor is bothrented out to the public and utilised by CC Staff with an adjoiningdouble volume, semi outdoor courtyard used for public functions. Thewhite cheese wood tree provides shade for those utilizing the grill forBBQ parties. Having green on the premise helps increase andcontribute to the overall limited greenery of the neighbourhood. The4th, 5th and 6th floor are offices. The top floor house dormitories forstaff and has a sizable terrace home to a table tennis table and amonkey bar. Pantries can be found on the 3rd 5th and 7th floor.
The existing building had numerous occupants previously; each havemade their own impressions on the building. Each alterations andmarks hold memories which has built up overtime. All the originalfinishes were left intact and new additions aretreated as new layerswhich distinguishes itself from the existing via raw materiality and finish. To maximise circulation, the existing reinforced concretestaircase was removed, and a new steel dogleg was inserted. Tocelebrate the spirit of the area, local elements such as the scissorsgate line the stair well which serves as flexible partition. Traces onthe adjoining walls are left un-rendered to serve as reminders of theoriginal staircase. Crayon drawing of a sunny day at a faraway islandfrom the previous occupant is preserved and now serve as arejuvenating sight for the architects on the fourth floor.
The completed building recognises and preserve multi layered historyimbedded within the building essence and differentiate additions toallow the continuation of this building timeline, whilst efficientlyorganises new spaces to serve new functions. A sensitive approachwith brute, edgy and raw result. It also exhibits the versatility of therow house typology to accommodate a variety of uses.
