Kaomai Tea Barn, nestled within the historic Kaomai Estate 1955 in Chiang Mai, stands as a testament to the successful adaptive-reuse project undertaken by PAVA architects. This innovative endeavor breathes new life into a multi-decade tobacco processing plant estate, winning the prestigious 2018 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in the Heritage Contexts category.
The project unfolds as part of an incremental plan to infuse new commercial programs into the estate while meticulously preserving its historical essence. By respecting the project's location and seamlessly connecting with the surrounding ecology, landscape, and existing structures, Kaomai Tea Barn is a connection platform linking Kaomai Avenue, the Amphitheater, and Kaomai Cafe horizontally and vertically.
(Photo: Spaceshift Studio)
Embracing conservation practices, the design pays homage to the heritage barns by preserving their specificity and authenticity in architectural dimensions, form, and materials. The repetitive 6 x 6-meter planning typology is honored, and a unique design technique is employed by sinking the new tea house space. This not only highlights the authentic volume of the structure but also forges a humble connection between the ground level and the multiple floors of the architectural program, offering visitors a distinctive experience of tea-drinking culture.
Kaomai Tea Barn emerges as a beacon in the dark environment, with carefully curated lighting features that remain concealed to accentuate the values and authenticity of the tobacco-drying barn. Linear lighting and smooth glowing downlights integrate with locally crafted concrete, timber, and dark gray structures, highlighting the genuine brick surfaces and the unique vertical interior space. The resultant contrast between the solidness of the tobacco-drying barn and the new opening space creates a design experience that pays homage to historic routes, existing architecture, and natural heritage.
The project adheres to the "Reconstruction Technique," a design methodology aimed at rebuilding the perception of the building as it once was. Recognizing the deterioration of the existing structure, the construction team meticulously measures and records every detail of building materials such as brick, mortar, void, columns, and beams. While respecting the barn's originality, the preserved bricks are reconstructed using modernized steel and reinforced concrete. This blend of conservation practice with contemporary design aesthetics resurrects an overlooked industrial typology, bringing it back to life.
(Photo: Spaceshift Studio)
Operating within the "Historical and Ecological Tourism framework," Kaomai Tea Barn plays a pivotal role in the holistic master plan, contributing to economic, social, and environmental growth over time. The project invites visitors to appreciate the aesthetic of preserved tobacco drying barns, immerse themselves in the richness of nature, and delve into the local history, native plants, and ecology on-site. By re-establishing the role of the tobacco processing estate as a community's social and economic center, the project fosters a spirit of local inclusion, promoting social sustainability in contemporary times.