To mark its 100th anniversary, the country’s largest concrete manufacturer has financed three projects – made of concrete, of course. The first was created by the Thai office Supermaschine Studio, an 8.5 meter high labyrinth.
The area along the Thai beach “Bangsaen” has developed considerably in recent years: This is where the inhabitants of the metropolis of Bangkok, 100 kilometers to the north, relax at the weekends. The city is characterized by detached houses with front gardens, hotel towers and souvenir stores – they form a functional, monotonous landscape.
Last year, the city underwent a major upgrade: to mark its 100th anniversary, the country’s largest concrete manufacturer financed three projects – made of concrete, of course. The first was designed by the Thai office Supermaschine Studio, an 8.5 meter high labyrinth. It serves as a lookout point, children’s playground or meeting place. The “10 Cal Tower”, named after the amount of energy you are supposed to burn when running through it, reinterprets the function of a playground by making it accessible not only to children, but also to residents and tourists as communal street furniture. As social relationships in large Asian cities are increasingly reduced to social networks, the walkways are only 0.6 meters wide – to allow physical contact with strangers.
With its eye-catching colors and sculptural form, the architects have created a fascinating Escherian tangle from which everyone emerges with a smile on their face. The next funded projects are on a larger scale: a multifunctional pavilion and a library.
