Located at the corner of Charoen Krung and the Phitthaya Sathian Bridge, The Corner House—formerly known as Chai Phatthanasilp Building—has stood for over a century, quietly witnessing the evolution of Talat Noi and Samphanthawong. Through its many lives—first as a soda factory, then a shoe warehouse, later an indoor skate park—this structure has always adapted. When INTEGRATED FIELD was invited to renovate it into a new community and cultural space, we saw an opportunity to both preserve and rediscover.
Our design approach began with a simple understanding:
Architecture is enduring, but its use is temporary.
With that in mind, we transformed the ground floor into an open, universal space—a welcoming undercroft that encourages movement, interaction, and possibility. By removing the solid walls and wrought iron gates, and introducing reimagined green folding doors inspired by nearby shophouses, the space can be fully opened. The result is a transparent corridor that draws breezes, light, and people through the building—connecting city to canal.
The second and third floors retain the original look and palette of the building, preserving its historic character. Throughout the renovation, we restored or recreated original details—windows, doorframes, materials—while adding subtle interventions that modernize the space without erasing its past.
Inside, the central staircase hall was treated as the vertical core of the building. We preserved the original wrought iron railings and added hidden lighting to create visual continuity with a solid black elevator shaft. A skylight above brings daylight down through the center of the building, activating the space with warmth and clarity.
On the rooftop, once used to house water tanks, we cleared and reshaped the area into a public gathering space. The wooden roof structure was retained and enhanced with skylights, and we introduced custom balustrades with a softened, contemporary curve—a nod to traditional cast concrete railings, refined for today.
The entire building is designed to support both short-term events and long-term tenants. Since reopening, it has become a hub for art exhibitions, cultural events—including Bangkok Design Week—and small businesses that shape the building’s evolving personality.
More than anything, The Corner House is a story of city flow—a structure that continues to adapt to its people, just as it has for over a hundred years. It reflects a belief that by preserving architecture, we can create space to rediscover its possibilities.