H168 House: a garden house in Bangkok
Putting together a mixed-use program of life and work, Bangkok-based studio Only Human is building this H168 house Siamhis capital. The design builds on the owners’ long association with China, translating the spatial concepts found in traditional paintings into an integrated sequence of framed rooms, corridors and facades.
A central corridor organizes the project into two interconnected halves. On one side, the private residence includes bedrooms, kitchen, dining and living areas, along with a garage that extends into a collectibles room and a dedicated music listening area. The other side houses an office, additional bedrooms and a storage room. This division creates a clear structure while allowing both halves to remain visually and spatially connected through openings and courtyards.
images courtesy of the architects
Yard as a threshold
THE group in Only Human opens up the center of the H168 House with a courtyard to bring light, air and plantings inside. A circular opening, set within a steel beam, reinterprets the traditional moon gate. Rotating and abstract, it frames a tree that rises through the void to the upper level, where it meets the edge of the living room balcony. The gesture has symbolic and spatial weight and marks a point of transition while maintaining continuity between the ground floor and upper floor.
Around this courtyard, the materials remain direct and legible. Concrete surfaces bring the structure and services into view, while brick surfaces define the envelope and texture. The house presents its construction in the open, allowing joints, ducts and beams to remain visible as part of the architectural language.
a circular opening to the courtyard frames a tree that rises through the building
curated views for framed gardens
The second floor hallway extends as a long, linear passage that draws traffic to the private rooms. Above, a continuous skylight runs the length of the shaft. Its arched fins introduce a measured rhythm, casting changing streaks of light on the floor and walls throughout the day. The sequence recalls the rhythm of a colonnade while remaining integrated with the roof structure.
Rooms along this axis maintain a constant relationship with light and landscape. Openings are positioned to frame the green in close proximity, while larger sliding doors extend interior spaces outward to terraces and planted edges. The living room, with its circular window, offers a more limited view, focusing attention on the foliage and filtered daylight.
Exposed concrete and visible systems define the design language throughout
only man’s restrained palette of materials
Only Human keeps the material palette of its H168 House restrained, with concrete and brick forming the primary surfaces. Imported dark gray brick, associated with traditional Chinese construction, appears throughout the facade and continues into the interior. Its use creates a continuous tone that moves from the exterior walls to the interior floors to maintain visual coherence.
The brickwork alternates between landscape and portrait orientation, creating subtle texture changes while improving performance. This pattern reduces material usage while introducing variation between surfaces. Wooden elements such as cupboards, shelves and ceilings soften the composition and bring warmth to living spaces, especially bedrooms and common areas.
the dark gray brick flows from the facade to the interior surfaces for a continuous tone
Alternating brick patterns introduce texture while enhancing the performance of the material
