Khet Pathum Wan, Thailand

Plan Architect’s new Nurse Dormitory Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital or the royal name from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, “Nawarachupatum,” is a dormitory for nurses at Chulalongkorn Hospital, The Thai Red Cross Society, and has 26 floors with 523 rooms; most suitable for two people with various facilities such as living area, library, canteen, washing room, and multipurpose room.

The site of the project is surrounded by existing buildings of dormitories for doctors and nurses.

There are three high-rise buildings around the site, which is a thoroughfare for vehicles to pass by. 

There is also a low-rise building that stood in the middle of the site that had been demolished to be replaced by this new dormitory.

The design team decided to design the layout of the new dormitory to interact with three existing buildings in a way that creates an enclosed courtyard, separated from the crowded, busy atmosphere of the hospital. 

The ground floor of the building is an open space connecting the main road with the courtyard, metaphorically acting as a gateway into this quiet and peaceful residential area.

According to the research, most nurses prefer naturally ventilated rooms to air-conditioned rooms. 

Planting trees on the balcony are also popular among the nurses. 

Based on the above information, the main concept of the design is to meet the needs conceived. 

By analyzing a typical dormitory with a double-load corridor arrangement, our team realized that there are two problems: lack of natural light and poor indoor ventilation.

To solve the above problems, the architects separated two sides of the building to make two single-load corridor arrangements with a gap in the middle. 

This design decision allows more natural light into the corridor and creates a ventilation chimney in the middle of the building that facilitates ventilation from the basement to the rooftop. 

The architects designed a big air channel on the first floor and at the center of the building. 

They also designed another big air channel on the rooftop to create a stack effect, drawing air from the basement up to the top. 

The design of the channel on the facade got inspiration from the “Una-Lome Daeng:” the original design of Thai Red Cross Society’s logo. 

For the design of the room, the architects designed the entrance door to be a double door including a solid door and insect screen. 

When the solid door and the window on the balcony open, the air from the hallway can flow through the room. 

The typical room layout is divided into two parts: 

The first part adjacent to the corridor is a sharing space for both roommates including a pantry and restroom with a sliding door to separate the area from the bedroom. 

The sliding door creates privacy for the resident when they decide to leave the solid door open to let natural airflow through the room. 

The second part is the bedroom for two residents. 

Each bed is placed on the opposite side of the room to create a private space for each resident while sharing the walkway in the middle that leads to the balcony.

Since the dormitory is close to other nearby buildings, they then designed the balcony to have a slated angle. 

This avoids direct sightlines to other buildings to maintain the privacy of residents. 

The zigzag balcony allows more sunlight to the area which is suitable for planting trees and drying clothes according to the needs of the resident.

The design of the railing with vertical aluminum fin and sunshade with a perforated aluminum sheet conceals untidy elements such as a drying rack, air conditioner condensing unit, and washing machine. 

The architects choose aluminum as the material for the façade since they are durable and easy to maintain. 

This unique façade and balcony composition create the pattern of light and shadow that reflected the simple systematic design of the building while concealing various complicated functional requirements of the users. 

Project: Nurse Dormitory Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital
Architects: Plan Architect Co., Ltd.
Design Team: Nitisak Chobdamrongtham, Apichai Apichatanon, Wara Jithpratugs, Naphasorn Kiatwinyoo, and Nathida Sornchumni
Landscape Architects: PL Design
Client: Chulalongkorn Memorial 
Photographers: Panoramic Studios