Archive Auto Service Facility / PHTAA

Architects: PHTAA Living Design
Area: 600 m²
Year: 2024
Photographs: Kukkong Thirathomrongkiat
Lead Architects: Ponwit Rattanatanatevilai, Harisadhi Leelayuwapan
Lead Team: Ponwit Rattanatanatevilai
District: Bang Na
Country: Thailand

Archive Auto service facility designed by PHTAA in Bang Na transforms a five-room row house and rear warehouse into a multifunctional space offering car washing, detailing, vehicle storage, and a coffee shop. The coffee shop, placed at the front for visibility and connected to the service area, allows customers to enjoy coffee while observing vehicle care. The service area utilizes high ceilings and mezzanines, with a movable staircase optimizing access and maintenance. Semi-transparent walls and roof modifications enhance light and ventilation. The facade, using layered wire mesh panels from the former garage, provides transparency, ventilation, security, and shading without requiring a tall fence.

We reused some of the old metal mesh panels and mixed them with new ones. We layered the mesh in opposing directions to create a distinctive visual identity.
Interview with Ponwit Rattanatanatevilai of PHTAA Living Design

Archive Auto, located in the Bang Na area, provides car washing, car detailing, and a vehicle storage hotel. As these services often require long wait times, a coffee shop was incorporated to offer customers an additional activity. Positioned at the front of an old building, the coffee shop is highly visible from the main road and directly connects to the automotive service area at the back, enabling customers to enjoy their coffee while observing vehicle care services. The project encompasses the renovation of an old five-room row house and a service warehouse with a truss structure located in the rear.

The automotive service area was originally a warehouse used for storing car parts and functioning as a garage, which accounts for its expansive interior space and multiple mezzanine levels. To optimize access to these mezzanines without installing multiple staircases, the designer introduced a movable staircase, reducing costs and conserving space. This staircase also serves as a tool for performing repairs on elevated sections of the building. In the vehicle hotel, semi-transparent walls were installed to define spaces clearly while maintaining an open and uncluttered feel. The roof was repaired, painted, and reinforced, with specific sections modified to admit natural light during the day and enhance ventilation.

The coffee shop in the front building was designed with a focus on material repurposing. Several roller shutter doors from the original structure, some of which were in good condition and featured distinctive vented metal sections, were reused to create the feature wall behind the coffee bar. The interior layout was carefully planned to reduce the typical appearance of a row house by angling the main counter and entrance door to align with both the building’s structure and the flow of traffic from the main road. The second and third floors of the front building have been designated for rental use.

The building’s facade, which faces the bustling Bang Na-Trad Road, integrates ideas and materials inspired by the structure’s previous use, as noted by the project prior to renovation. The management of the former garage space, which utilized wire mesh for hanging equipment, was adapted by stacking the wire mesh panels in two layers. This arrangement created a pattern combining diagonal and vertical placements, ensuring transparency at the front of the building while incorporating openings for ventilation and enhancing security without requiring a tall front fence. In addition, the angled configuration of the wire mesh panels forms an overhanging eave, offering shade akin to an awning for the building.