Taking a look at the New HÄFELE Design Center, Phuket

Project Description

Häfele Design Center is the result of a thorough sustainable design concept—a modern

European-fusion village walk shopping complex with eye-catching 16m high red cone in the midst of adjacent alfresco natural forest backdrop. A large aerodynamic floating roof acts as a passive coolant allowing naturally cooled air and breeze from the nearby forest to ventilate through the entire building. While the complex is carefully designed to block noises and pollution from the main road, the cocooning effect allows the ultimate peace-of-mind shopping phenomena like no others.

OIA (Office For Interior and Architecture Co.,Ltd.) – Office Profile

OIA is an award-winning international architecture and design company fully equipped with a team of internationally-minded architects and designers based in Jomtien, Chonburi,

Thailand. OIA offer a multitude of interdisciplinary comprehensive services that include commercial & retail, residential & hospitality projects to interior and furniture designs. OIA’s underlining principles are deeply rooted in the absolute comprehension of high quality standard starting from the beginning of conception formation down to the very last detail.

OIA continue to offer surpassing results and provide discerning world-class clients from Europe, USA and Thailand with absolute satisfaction of unparalleled innovation and contemporary topnotch design solutions.

The Green Idea

With the current concern for global climate and an increasing awareness of environmental conservation, it is imperative that we professional architects and designers at OIA are responsible to take active part in promoting sustainable designs that utilize available natural resources to their maximal efficiency as well as taking extra care for the invaluable environment.

The new HÄFELE Design Center in Phuket with its 16 meter high futuristically shaped red cone, not only does it appear to be an eye-catching piece of truly modern and memorable architecture (local people have already started to give it nicknames such as “red UFO”, “red ship” or “strawberry ice cone”), it also comes with green/environmentally-conscious features light-years ahead of its time in Southeast Asia.

Genius Loci

The spirit of the site is no doubt the prevailing determination to integrate the existing nature (lush tropical forest) into this carefully planned sustainability project.

Sustainability

1. A huge aerodynamic roof (4,200sqm) floating on a few pillars primarily serves as environmental shelter from rain and sun.

2. In addition, the metal surface together with slope direction and airfoil shape of the roof work as a natural ventilation system, a thermal booster. The solar heat above the metal sheet (>60 ºC) naturally (thermodynamic laws) seeks to escape towards the sky, while the clean, cool air from the forest (< 30 ºC) seeks to fill in the void, thus naturally ventilating the entire ensemble with clean, fresh air. This also reduces the need for air conditioning and even blocks away dust, noises and exhaust from the road.

3. The roof is also designed to be a water collector (for irrigation).

4. Maintenance for the ensemble will be lower (repair, renovation) and the lifespan of materials will be much longer than by conventional construction methods.

5. Not only does the roof contribute to sustainability, it also further reduces costs for water and electricity bills (air-conditioning).

Material

The understated use of high quality local, non toxic, single composite and recyclable materials wherever possible. Plus, deliberate use of local stones, wood, exposed concrete, metal, color and partial DIG (double insulation glass.)

Layout

Like a comb and hair interlock, the design allows the adjacent lush tropical forest (hair) to penetrate into the compound (comb) by leaving gaps between each of the ensemble’s pavilions and also the roof.

Häfele design center – project profile

Project title: häfele design center, phuket

Client: HÄFELE thailand co., Ltd.

Architects & interior designers and general planners

Oia (office for interior and architecture co.,Ltd.)

General contractor – Dcm solutions ltd.

Project management and quantity surveying

Comcon services (thailand) co.,Ltd. Structural engineering

Warnes associates co.,Ltd.

Mechanical & electrical engineering including lighting design

Eec lincolne scott co.,Ltd.

Landscape design – Archi-nistrics co.,Ltd.