Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects
Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Windows
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - BeamKaomai Museum / PAVA architects - WindowsKaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Image 4 of 27Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - BeamKaomai Museum / PAVA architects - More Images+ 22

  • Architects: PAVA architects
  • Area Area of this architecture project Area:  72
  • Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2018
  • Photographs
  • Lead Architects: Pacharapan Ratananakorn, Varat Limwibul
  • Clients: Kaomai Estate 1955
  • Engineering: Nil Khamaoy
  • Landscape: Shma SoEn
  • Building Conservation Consultant: Supavadee Jingjitra
  • Tree Management Consultant: Phatchra Khongsuphol
  • Graphic Design Consultant: Nuttanun Chantadansuwan
  • Botany Consultant: Kongkanda Chayamarit, Jiraporn Meewasana
  • Country: Thailand
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Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Windows
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

Text description provided by the architects. Kaomai Museum is an adaptive-reused project within Kaomai Estate 1955, the revitalized project of sixty-three-year old tobacco processing plant estate in Chiang Mai, once a glorious local community’s economic center. Recently, this project was awarded by the 2018 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in New Design in Heritage Contexts category. PAVA architects designed the museum by considering “the site as a museum”, in which contains the valuable historical and natural heritage. Therefore, Kaomai Estate 1955 is narrated by the “histo-eco museum” routes.

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Image 4 of 27
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

The museum barns serve as an introduction to the estate. The historic routes with different types of preserved tobacco drying barns, shady big trees and informative signs along the lanes exhibit the real evidences of time. The museum was respectfully designed to conserve the values and authenticity of the tobacco drying barns, while ensuring the sustainable coexistence of the surrounding multi-decade big trees.

Collage past and present

With comprehensive researches on the estate collaborating with several consultants, ex-workers, and local artisans, the original features of the barns were preserved and reinstalled and the arboriculture techniques were adopted to maintain the mature trees. Also, the stories on the timeline and signs were informed by the eye witnesses from the past. The small intervention on the derelict structures integrates the new programs and structures into the old tobacco drying barns, aiming to remind and educate the visitors about the past legacy. Preserved Tobacco Drying Barns.

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Beam
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

The museum was respectfully designed to conserve the values and authenticity of the tobacco drying barn. The original features; such as tobacco leaf sticks, furnaces, fuel pipes, and all three-generation walls, were preserved and reinstalled by using original materials and techniques. Former workers and artisans were invited to revitalize the project, providing advice and detailed information about the historic buildings and the story around them.

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Brick, Facade, Windows
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

Adaptive-Reuse Tobacco Drying Barns. Inside the museum barn, the new steel structure was added to strengthen the existing reinforced concrete structure, while maintaining the subtle assimilation by its dark grey color. The museum shows the authentic brick surfaces and powerful space inside by removing all hanging sticks and illuminating the dimensional walls. Site as a Museum.

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Beam
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

Along the historic routes, the architectural and natural heritage present themselves to the visitors along the way, the building signs explaining the background story and conservation techniques of the barns, and the tree labels giving botanical information. All of the information and directional signs, and the tree labels are made of metal plates because of their durability and subtlety. All of the construction techniques of the steel structure and signs slightly touched the existing built and trees.

Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects - Windows
© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

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Project location

Address:San Pa Tong District, Chiang Mai, Thailand

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Location to be used only as a reference. It could indicate city/country but not exact address.
About this office
Cite: "Kaomai Museum / PAVA architects" 10 Sep 2019. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/924563/kaomai-museum-pava-architects> ISSN 0719-8884

© Pacharapan Ratananakorn

清迈考迈兰纳博物馆,对历史遗迹的高度还原 / PAVA architects

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