Enter Projects Asia have completed their design and construction for the headquarters of Vikasa. This is the yoga brand’s anchor building in Bangkok, symbolizing the Vikasa ideals around health, wellness and evolution. The 450 square meter space is comprised of a series of free-form yoga pods – two public and two private pods in addition to a lobby area and luxury bathrooms integrated seamlessly into the layout. Floor-to-ceiling windows were designed across the entire front façade to flood the space with natural light, whilst allowing the pods to remain private.
Visible from the street thanks to glass perimeter walls, the yoga center is located on the second floor of a two-storey building and is accessible via a staircase. The space is organized in four different areas, which are defined by pods for yoga activities. The layout is completed by a reception hall in the center, dressing rooms and bathrooms. Using their signature geometries, Enter Projects Asia have facilitated the fusion of 3D technologies with local Thai craftsmanship to bring nature to an urban context.
Featuring rattan structures that wrap the entire space like ribbons, enveloping the entire lobby and delimiting the pavilion spaces, the design reflects the brand’s principles of health and wellness. The ribbons are also completed with light in some places and become bright elements recognizable from the outside. In addition, the yoga pods, made of rattan or covered with wooden panels, offer privacy and light thanks to large windows.
Encompassing the length of the building’s second-storey façade, the pods organically divide the yoga studio into four separate areas. Starting from the entrance stair, a rattan-woven light fixture leads people into the foyer ahead and then merges into a shapely bench. After arriving at the main lobby, guests can proceed to one of four yoga studios. With a material palette of Thai hardwood, rattan, palm leaves and black slate, the flowing interior references the yoga brand’s ideals of health, wellness and evolution.
For the design of the studio, Enter Projects Asia initially worked with three-dimensional modelling software Maya, and then constructed the space with natural, local materials. Working with Maya, the designers were able to incorporate non- standard forms and craft in their construction foreign to BIM. Doing so enabled Enter Projects Asia to create a structure unhindered by market products. Overall, the interiors perfectly illustrate how new and old techniques can work in tandem.
“We sought to create a space which mimicked the natural world and reflected the never- ending cycle of life. The result is a space of captivating calmness, cloaked in quiet contentment – an oasis of tranquility amongst the chaos of Bangkok,” concludes Patrick Keane, Design Director at Enter Projects.
