ASA Journal 06/22

theme / review
ART, ARCHITECTURE AND THE CITY
96 97
In advocating for the creation of “social”
spaces, where people not only can gather
collectively but chances of social interactions
are deliberately encouraged through design,
the Dutch architect and educator Herman
Hertzberger proposes that buildings – whether
public or private – should be designed “along
urbanistic lines”. He suggests that this can be
done through the blurring of the boundary
between inside and outside, an interior organization
that acts like a network of streets and
squares, and a sense of openness without
forgoing a clear demarcation between public
and private areas. Another useful feature is
the Corbusian promenade architecturale,
which highlights and makes people’s movements
theatrical, as sites of social life are,
like the grand staircases of the 19 th century
opera houses, places for “seeing and being
seen”. The Jim Thompson Art Center, tucked
away in the narrow alleyway of Kasem San 2
in the very heart of Bangkok, just a few steps
away from the Jim Thompson House Museum,
evinces precisely the qualities of such a social
space, with its flow of circulation that meanders
through the building and always making
us aware of other people and the neighborhood
through the porosity of the building skin
and the careful placement of voids, sightlines
and openings.
Even though the museum and art center are
physically disconnected by a private house
sandwiched in between them, the new art
center is more of an extension than a separate
entity, finally allowing the art program
to get its own much-needed made-for-purpose
exhibition spaces, having been formerly
lodged within the traditional Thai building of
the Jim Thompson House Museum. Run by the
non-profit James H.W. Thompson Foundation,
the task of designing the 3,000 sq.m. building
was given to Design Qua, led by Malina
Palasthira and John Erskine. Apart from two
gallery spaces for rotating exhibitions on
textiles, cultural topics and contemporary art,
the program includes the William Warren
Library, café, shop, offices, rentable multifunction
space and open terraces for commercial
events.
SITE PLAN
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ผังโครงการ
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04
กำาแพงอิฐที่ออกแบบคล้าย
ลายผ้า สื่อความหมายของ
ธุรกิจสิ่งทอของบริษัท
05
แสงสว่างส่องขึ้นจากพื้น
เนื่องจากผู้ออกแบบแสง
ต้องการให้ใกล้กับผู้ใช้งาน
และเพื่อการดูแลรักษา
4
5