The construction of the building has been carried out in corrugated precast concrete. This shape has been achieved thanks to the use of curved tiles as a mold that have been taken to 6 x 8 m² master molds with which all the façade panels were molded. The semicircular openings take away from the solid appearance while allowing the interior space to be revealed and illuminated.
Khao Niao Restaurant + Onda Cafe by ASWA. Photograph by Phuttipan Aswakool.
Description of project by ASWA
A wavy precast concrete facade formed by an onsite concrete mold for a new restaurant designed by ASWA for Khao Niao + Onda cafe around Ari, Bangkok, Thailand, surrounded by residential buildings with some restaurants and cafes.
The L-shaped one-story restaurant with approximately 290 square meters tends to hide a private courtyard for a peaceful space from the street. The Khao Niao restaurant + Onda cafe aims to be a new node for the high density of its area by creating a new destination in its neighborhood. The 6-meter height building can be separated into two main parts by L's legs: the main restaurant with the kitchen and the cafe with all service areas, divided by the central semi-indoor courtyard from the main entrance. At the same time, both spaces can celebrate the view of the enclosed courtyard altogether— this courtyard can arrange small events.
Khao Niao Restaurant + Onda Cafe by ASWA. Photograph by Phuttipan Aswakool.
Meanwhile, for a cursory glance, the unique facade metaphorically represents the wave-like (Onda means Wave in Italian) all along the building's elevations. As mentioned before, wavy precast concrete is the main material of this project. In a site experiment, the contractor uses a standard corrugated roof tile as the primary mold casting of 1.20 x 2.40 square meters in a modular size. Then tile modular all together to create a large 6x8 square meters onsite concrete mold on the ground, which operates as a master mold casting to cast all facade panels. Then, the half-circle voids are applied as openings on the facade to scoop out the solidity of concrete, reveal the wooden interior space, and allow the natural light to brighten the space.
