Mitbury the Public House
architectural design
(in collaboration with Estudio)

2022-2024
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Architecture as a backdrop

Mitbury the Public House project was born from the family's aspiration to relocate from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok to reside and run a small business on the serene landscapes of Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province. Located between the Mae Rim-Samoeng Road and the Mae Sa Stream, the site is the ancestral land where their old vacation home sits at the center of the plot. So, the new house was located on one side of the plot, on the hilly East side, and the café was on the other side, with unique features including a low-lying valley significantly below road level, gently sloping down to the riverbank.

The project aims to be more than a commercial space, but a place where visitors can appreciate the natural surroundings, the wilderness of the forest, the sound of the stream, and fresh breeze of the mountain. By prioritizing outdoor spaces under the shade of the trees, avoiding any encroachment on the stream, and preserving the original large trees, the buildings must be as compact as necessary.

Given these conditions, the designers opted to place the structure near the roadside, leaving the central area untouched to preserve existing trees. Instead of raising the buildings to the road level to be eye-catching, the buildings were located on the ground level, hidden from above. The entrance is a mere small bridge located under the big existing rain tree, leading the visitors to promenade toward views of the forest and stream. At the end of the bridge, a long staircase descends into a hidden garden below, serving as the project's grand hall. Architecture serves as a backdrop, a wall of this “garden room”.

The structures were divided into three small single-story buildings: (1) the café and kitchen, (2) storage and a staff room, and (3) restrooms, all tied together by a breeze block wall. This breeze block wall is just high enough to screen the storage and restrooms. When looking from the central garden, only the café building is revealed, welcoming visitors with its transparency. The roofs of all buildings are simple gables, carved out to preserve existing trees. The bridge and staircase are designed with a light touch, featuring mesh railings. The architecture is designed to blend with nature, using brown and greenish-grey tones. Inside the café, the same breeze block wall is used, paired with brown terracotta floor tiles and dim lighting from a chandelier accentuating the black antique ticket counter.

Natural materials found on the site were applied to the project. Be it rocks which were repurposed as steps leading to the café, creating a seamless connection between nature and architecture. During the construction of the house, some teak trees inevitably had to be removed. All the logs were kept, with some of them used as flooring material for the bridge and stairs, allowing the material to remain part of the place.

Photo: Prueksakun Kornudom