Rahat Meekusol and Panthira Kotchasaeni, 4th year Interior Architecture students, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University’s project, “The Lotus Effect” won the first prize in the COTTO Design Contest .
COTTO Design Contest is an open competition for students with the challenge to design a dream space under the concept of “caring for health and the surrounding nature”
Rahat Meekusol mentioned that at the beginning, the project was interpreted as the space in the dream and does not exist in reality therefore, it was designed to be as if it is submerged underwater. We intended to create an experience of co-living and the perception of nature through the five senses, which is a therapy and to connect between the residents and the nature. We have taken the element of rolling water drop on the lotus leaf as our design inspiration. There are modifications and reductions in elements to create a new space which came out as “The Lotus Effect” project.
Panthira Kotchasaeni said that the harmony of the space is the outstanding point of their project. This allows the residents to merge with nature as much as possible. Since the form of the building was inspired by “The Lotus Effect where the water drops on top are of round shapes. The light from the opening shines down to the functional area. It is distinguished by the light that refracts the glass, forming streaks like water projecting inside the room. By modifying furniture to be rotatable alter the perspective of nature perception and as well matches the concept, “Water drops rolling on the lotus leaf”.
One aspect that makes the design even more stand out is choosing tiles that are consistent with proper functionality, such as using air-purifying tiles in the living room, using disinfectant tiles in the kitchen, and the characteristics of the tile pattern that make it feel the most harmonious with nature.
“We have designed and selected furniture to match the project like designing the use of each area, choosing COTTO’s tiles to suit the function by taking into account the harmony with nature and aesthetic as much as possible. This project is visualized only through perspective images, if it is actually built, we would like to build it in the forest, near the pond or the backyard in order to be a space for family members to relax both physically and mentally,” Pantira said.
Panthira further said, the design has created benefits for the residents by making the user closer to nature. It also cares about the health and usage of the residents as well. In case that the project can be developed further in the future, we may start to focus more on the structure and internal systems for the ease of the residents and to be further developed to support actual construction and living.
“I’m thrilled as I did not expect to receive the 1st prize. This is the first time ever and I feel very proud of the project we’ve done which makes me want to come up with more good projects like this. I would like to thank to the professors of the Department of Interior Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University who advised and supported our work as well as the COTTO Company in organizing this event. It’s a space for us to show our potential and demonstrate various design concepts as an experience that can be applied in the future,” Rahat concluded.
