A Third Type of Space
Above. Villa Sati [House of Consciousness], Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand [2021]. Architecture: Erix Design Concepts. Photography: Soopakorn Srisakul. In the words of the creators: 'It’s an open house like a temple hall. It gives a sense of peace, like sitting and practicing mindfulness.'
Introduction
'Seclusion in building is both the state of and the place for being in solitude within the house. It is the physical and psychological isolation of the individual from both his fellow man and his environment.'1
- Heinrich Engel
Definition
The sala is a neo- traditional hybrid of the Thai open-air pavilion [sala nai suan] and rustic Japanese tea hut [chashitsu]; located in the gardens of private homes and built as places of seclusion – where man can experience spiritual elevation and inner perfection.
The sala is a neo- traditional hybrid of the Thai open-air pavilion [sala nai suan] and rustic Japanese tea hut [chashitsu]; located in the gardens of private homes and built as places of seclusion – where man can experience spiritual elevation and inner perfection.
Philosophy
In the West, seclusion in building has been an inevitable condition dictated by unfavourable weather [cool, wet winters and warm, wet summers] and limited technical means [load-bearing masonry structures] rather than a condition prompted by an awareness of man's psychological need for solitude. As a result, contemporary houses, like city and landscape, as a whole, generally lack the seclusion where man can be with himself. Life has become exposed because transparency2 - the window wall as the new boundary between inside and outside3 - is fashionable.4
In the West, seclusion in building has been an inevitable condition dictated by unfavourable weather [cool, wet winters and warm, wet summers] and limited technical means [load-bearing masonry structures] rather than a condition prompted by an awareness of man's psychological need for solitude. As a result, contemporary houses, like city and landscape, as a whole, generally lack the seclusion where man can be with himself. Life has become exposed because transparency2 - the window wall as the new boundary between inside and outside3 - is fashionable.4
In contrast, this seemingly ‘unnecessary’ space, in Thai and Japanese culture, life, art, and architecture had great appeal. Here, apart from all the conveniences and mechanisms of modern life, and separated from all worldly struggles and superficialities: the ‘abode of fancy’ for nobles, warriors, merchants, and commoners alike; provided both relief and enjoyment in those rare moments of relaxation. This feeling was so strong that not only was the physique of the pavilion or tea hut standardised but is also incorporated as an essential spatial unit related to the day-to-day living in the house.5
House-Garden Relationship
Needless to say, the sala is not placed in the semiprivate front yard oriented towards the street, as is the case with the engawa [verandah], but the private backyard or courtyard. Physically separated by high solid garden walls and the rear façade, the connection with the exterior world is broken.6 The sala is set somewhat apart from the eating place-dining room, so that man must tread along a path [roji], between the shadowy shrubs and the roof overhead. Thus, a feeling of sabi, of aloofness and remoteness, is created, and the mind is gradually removed from concern with everyday thoughts – while in fact being in the midst of a bustling city.7
Needless to say, the sala is not placed in the semiprivate front yard oriented towards the street, as is the case with the engawa [verandah], but the private backyard or courtyard. Physically separated by high solid garden walls and the rear façade, the connection with the exterior world is broken.6 The sala is set somewhat apart from the eating place-dining room, so that man must tread along a path [roji], between the shadowy shrubs and the roof overhead. Thus, a feeling of sabi, of aloofness and remoteness, is created, and the mind is gradually removed from concern with everyday thoughts – while in fact being in the midst of a bustling city.7
Structure
The heart of the sala pavilion is its broad elevated terrace or chaan,8 occupying as much as 40% of the ground plan. Similar to the manner in which a shade tree offers a sense of enclosure beneath its canopy;9 a large double-pitched ‘hidden roof’ [noyane]10 with deeply overhanging eaves, sweeps low towards the ground to protect the ‘interior’ from the sun, wind and rain. Typical roof coverings are Welsh slate tiles, oak shingles, or standing seam zinc.
The heart of the sala pavilion is its broad elevated terrace or chaan,8 occupying as much as 40% of the ground plan. Similar to the manner in which a shade tree offers a sense of enclosure beneath its canopy;9 a large double-pitched ‘hidden roof’ [noyane]10 with deeply overhanging eaves, sweeps low towards the ground to protect the ‘interior’ from the sun, wind and rain. Typical roof coverings are Welsh slate tiles, oak shingles, or standing seam zinc.
To carry the roof load, the sala utilises a trabeated system of vertical posts [columns] and horizontal lintels [beams]. The lintels supporting the roof system transmit their loads to posts that, in turn, carry the load down to the foundation system.11 Only at places of actual structural supports, i.e., at the posts, is the groundsill [concrete slab-on-grade] provided with a simple foundation of granite staddle stones - that raises the whole framework above the chaan.12
Building materials are largely timber sections and boards, selected for grain and natural beauty.13 Faithful to the long-standing arawashi style, the craftsmanship of the frame and joints, especially at beam-to-beam and beam-to-post-connections, is left exposed.14 The Thai and Japanese people have special appreciation for the ’the spirit of a tree’ and the very soul of the wood itself; but also a code of art which may be defined as consisting in quiet taste, in a beauty that is not all on the surface, but is to be discovered by degrees.15
Construction
Constructional work is done entirely by the master carpenter and his assistants who pre-fabricate and pre-assemble most of the building components prior to on-site assembly. Because the structure is a simple post-and-lintel framework with splicing joints [tsugite] and connecting joints [shiguchi]16 - reinforced with wooden pins - the assemblage itself is surprisingly fast17 - pieces slip into allotted slots, craftsmen accomplish their appointed tasks, and move on.18
Constructional work is done entirely by the master carpenter and his assistants who pre-fabricate and pre-assemble most of the building components prior to on-site assembly. Because the structure is a simple post-and-lintel framework with splicing joints [tsugite] and connecting joints [shiguchi]16 - reinforced with wooden pins - the assemblage itself is surprisingly fast17 - pieces slip into allotted slots, craftsmen accomplish their appointed tasks, and move on.18
Note 1
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Strategic Diagramme
Fig.1. Dead Space
Fig.2. Intervention
Fig.3. Prospect
Fig.4. Refuge
Note 2. Dead Space
Semiprivate and private residential outdoor space in which one sees concrete covering land which once supported hundreds of varieties of plant and animal life; a hedge or a tangle of bushes; one or two private cars, and the preternaturally ugly ‘wheelie bin’; but few people, if any, because conditions for outdoor stays [the key word is staying] is more or less impossible. Under these conditions most residents prefer to remain inside, what are most certainly sensory-reduction environments, in front of the television – the greatest mind control tool ever created.
Note 3. Intervention
Floor, wall, and ceiling planes serve to define and isolate a portion of space. Of these, the wall plane, being perpendicular to our normal line of sight, has the greatest effect as a spatial boundary. It limits our visual field and serves as a barrier to our movement. Intervention is a procedure often distinguished by a small, non-structural cut or subtraction of a parapet – the wall plane below a window facing a semiprivate front yard or a private backyard. Without a parapet to block, a window gives way to a door-window, merging inside and outside, home and garden - both visually and spatially.
Note 4. Prospect
People prefer environments and spaces that provide unobstructed views or vistas from multiple vantage points, so that internal and external areas can be easily surveyed and contemplated for both opportunity and hazard. In natural environments, prospects include open terrain, copses of shade trees, an understory of herbaceous flowering plants, bodies of water, and evidence of human activity or habitation. In human-created environments, prospects include open or semi-open floor plans, deep, elevated terraces and balconies, the generous use of windows and glass doors, louvred or slatted filters and screens, and thickly planted shrubberies less than or equal to 1m [42in].
Note 5. Refuge
People prefer the edges, rather than middles of spaces; spaces with ceilings or sheltering canopies overhead to provide protection from weather; spaces with few access points [i.e., protected at the back or side]; and spaces that provide a sense of safety and concealment, retreat and withdrawal – for work, protection, rest, contemplation or healing. In natural environments, refuges include enclosed spaces such as caves, dense vegetation, and climbable trees with dense canopies nearby. In man-made environments, refuges include roofed, open-air architecture, lowered colours, temperatures or brightness, and translucent [or semi-opaque] shades, blinds, screens or partitions.
Isometric Impressions
Fig.1. Mid-terrace @ private backyard with sala pavilion and karesansui garden 1.50
Fig.2. Rear-facade beside sala pavilion and karesansui garden 1.34
Note 6. Sala pavilion
An offspring of the traditional free-standing, open-sided sala pavilion found throughout the river banks and gardens of northern Thailand’s foothills and valleys, and the refined shoin-zukuri open, timber-floored corridor or verandah of a traditional Japanese Zen Buddhist temple or house; the solid timber superstructure consists of a broad terrace or chaan of slatted floor planks [across its width]; a post-and-lintel skeleton frame exalted upon post bases of tapered granite bases [along its length]; and a hidden roof or noyane: comprising of a true roof above and a second roof visible only from under the eaves [along its length].
An offspring of the traditional free-standing, open-sided sala pavilion found throughout the river banks and gardens of northern Thailand’s foothills and valleys, and the refined shoin-zukuri open, timber-floored corridor or verandah of a traditional Japanese Zen Buddhist temple or house; the solid timber superstructure consists of a broad terrace or chaan of slatted floor planks [across its width]; a post-and-lintel skeleton frame exalted upon post bases of tapered granite bases [along its length]; and a hidden roof or noyane: comprising of a true roof above and a second roof visible only from under the eaves [along its length].
Note 7. Karesansui garden
Typically located in the more secluded and spacious private backyard, and coupled with the sala pavilion, the traditional kare-sansui or dry garden of Kyoto’s Zen temples, has been inverted so that it is possible to experience at close range and with considerable intensity, the green of nature, rather than white, ‘empty space’. With this in mind, an avenue or pair of parallel ‘living screens’ - evergreen shrubs, flowering perennials, and water features – borders the terrace at the front and back. In the space where there is neither architecture or greenery - the space within space - a large square of white gravel or sand and a single tree defines a both open air and shaded summer season resting space.
Typically located in the more secluded and spacious private backyard, and coupled with the sala pavilion, the traditional kare-sansui or dry garden of Kyoto’s Zen temples, has been inverted so that it is possible to experience at close range and with considerable intensity, the green of nature, rather than white, ‘empty space’. With this in mind, an avenue or pair of parallel ‘living screens’ - evergreen shrubs, flowering perennials, and water features – borders the terrace at the front and back. In the space where there is neither architecture or greenery - the space within space - a large square of white gravel or sand and a single tree defines a both open air and shaded summer season resting space.
Note 8. Living screen
An expanse of closely spaced shrubs, grasses, sometimes ornamental trees, and curved water bowls, planted and trained along the periphery or edge of a deck or terrace. Its special character is primarily the result of how it pursues its mission, which takes it far beyond fulfilling the typical role of clipped hedges as garden elements for separating or dividing space, privacy or seclusion, screening an unsightly view, or perhaps protection from wind, rain, and sun. Although meeting all these on a high level of artistry, it is to the eyes and mind while resting, that they make their chiefest appeal.
An expanse of closely spaced shrubs, grasses, sometimes ornamental trees, and curved water bowls, planted and trained along the periphery or edge of a deck or terrace. Its special character is primarily the result of how it pursues its mission, which takes it far beyond fulfilling the typical role of clipped hedges as garden elements for separating or dividing space, privacy or seclusion, screening an unsightly view, or perhaps protection from wind, rain, and sun. Although meeting all these on a high level of artistry, it is to the eyes and mind while resting, that they make their chiefest appeal.
Orthographic Impressions
Fig.1. Whole-house roof plan 1.40
Fig.2. Whole-house ground floor plan incl. enfilade [marked red] 1.40
Note 9. Enfilade
A common feature in grand European architecture from the Baroque period onward, an enfilade is a series of rooms in which the doors entering each space are aligned with the doors of the connecting space, to facilitate movement through the building, and to provide a vista [a pleasing view] through successive rooms. In a contemporary context, the enfilade is a series of door-windows that allow the heart of the dwelling - the living and dining spaces – to be lightly divided without destroying the concept of a generous, fluid and almost uninterrupted corridor or network of indoor-outdoor spaces and places along the north-south axis.
A common feature in grand European architecture from the Baroque period onward, an enfilade is a series of rooms in which the doors entering each space are aligned with the doors of the connecting space, to facilitate movement through the building, and to provide a vista [a pleasing view] through successive rooms. In a contemporary context, the enfilade is a series of door-windows that allow the heart of the dwelling - the living and dining spaces – to be lightly divided without destroying the concept of a generous, fluid and almost uninterrupted corridor or network of indoor-outdoor spaces and places along the north-south axis.
Fig.3. Ground floor plan @ rear and front threshold 1.20
Note 13. Threshold
A threshold is a transitional zone of movement or pause between two adjacent, rarely identical spaces e.g. inside and outside or spatial statuses e.g. a very public residential street to a very private living space. Contrary to the manner of connecting interior and exterior space today, which is too often and too quickly resolved by nothing more than a solid door; gravel [for its acoustic qualities], in-between spaces, and porte-fenestres [‘door-windows’] are employed to construct a more ambiguous, aesthetically-pleasing transitional zone, that fuses the house with the atmospheric qualities of the garden, nature and street, rather than muting it.
A threshold is a transitional zone of movement or pause between two adjacent, rarely identical spaces e.g. inside and outside or spatial statuses e.g. a very public residential street to a very private living space. Contrary to the manner of connecting interior and exterior space today, which is too often and too quickly resolved by nothing more than a solid door; gravel [for its acoustic qualities], in-between spaces, and porte-fenestres [‘door-windows’] are employed to construct a more ambiguous, aesthetically-pleasing transitional zone, that fuses the house with the atmospheric qualities of the garden, nature and street, rather than muting it.
Fig.4. Longitudinal elevation @ rear passage/private backyard 1.32
Fig.5. Longitudinal section dd @ private backyard 1.32
Fig.6. Longitudinal section ee @ private backyard 1.32
Fig.7. Longitudinal section ff and ground floor plan @ back porte-fenêtre/threshold 1.20
Fig.8. Cross-section gg @ private backyard 1.20
Fig.9. Cross-section hh @ back porte-fenêtre/threshold 1.12
Mood & Ambience
From left to right: Dollis Hill Avenue by Thomas-McBrien Architects | Brunswick by Nathan Burkett Landscape Architecture | Woodland Residence by Stimson Studio | St Petersburg by Mokh | Bluebells in Ferns by Karl Gercens | Salvia Amethyst [Woodland Sage] | Athyrium filix-femina [Lady Fern] | Grass by Unknown | Bamboo by Ian Albinson | Shisen-do Jozanji Temple by Mugi | Granite Tapered Saddle Stone | Kazutsu no le [House with a Wind Chiney] by Toshihito Yokouchi Architect & Associate | Amanu Lounge Chair by Yabu Pushelberg & Tribu | Pure Sofa & C-Table Teak by Andrei Munteanu & Tribu | Kos Dining Table & Kos Bench by Studio Segers & Tribu | Hat House by Tina Bergman Architect | South London Garden by Studio Cullis | Robin by Peter Staniforth | Toluca by Terremoto Landscape
Isometric Cross-Sections
Fig.1. Section gg @ private backyard 1.24
Fig.2. Section gg @ rear water bowl/rain chain junction 1.6
Fig.3. Section hh @ rear porte-fenetre/threshold 1.20
Fig.9. Section hh @ rear portes-fenetre/threshold 1.4
Isometric Assembly Drawings
Fig.1. Substructure and superstructure 1.20
Fig.2. Substructure and superstructure exploded 1.24
Fig.3. Timber post-and-lintel skeleton framework @ midpoint 1.2
Fig.4. Timber post-and-lintel skeleton framework @ edge 1.2
Fig.5. Timber post-and-terrace structural framework @ edge 1.2
Construction or Working Drawings
Fig.1. Whole-house roof plan 1.40
Fig.2. Whole-house ground floor plan 1.40
Fig.3. Ground floor plan @ rear and front threshold 1.20
Fig.4. Ground floor plan @ rear threshold 1.4
Fig.5. Ground floor plan @ rear porte-fenetre/thermal insulation junction 1.2
Fig.6. Longitudinal elevation @ rear passage/private backyard 1.32
Fig.7. Longitudinal section dd @ private backyard 1.32
Fig.8. Longitudinal section ee @ private backyard 1.32
Fig.9. Longitudinal section ee @ timber post-and-lintel skeleton framework [midpoint] 1.4
Fig.10. Longitudinal section ee @ timber post-and-terrace structural framework [midpoint] 1.4
Fig.11. Longitudinal section ff @ rear facade 1.32
Fig.12. Longitudinal section ff @ rear threshold/porte-fenetre 1.8
Fig.13. Longitudinal section ff @ rear threshold/porte-fenetre 1.2
Fig.14. Cross-section gg @ private backyard 1.20
Fig.15. Cross-section gg @ rear timber post-and-lintel skeleton framework 1.6
Fig.16. Cross-section gg @ rear eave/rain chain junction 1.1
Fig.17. Cross-section hh @ rear threshold/porte-fenetre 1.12
Fig.18. Cross-section hh @ rear threshold/porte-fenetre 1.6
Fig.19. Cross-section hh @ rear threshold/porte-fenetre 1.2
Specification
Engawa Deck
Floor planks
44x94x1994/2394mm Planed All Round [PAR] and Chamfered Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak w/ 5x90mm Stainless Steel Framing Nails 34° Round Head [Smooth Shank].
Sub-flooring
47x100x47x100x1994 - 3020mm Eased-Edge C24 Kiln Dried Treated Softwood Carcassing Timber @ 400mm o.c., 10x70x70mm Heavy Duty Plastic Solid Square Packer @ 400 o.c.
Elevated plinth
150mm Cast-in-Place Concrete Slab on Grade with 1.2° Slope [Drainage] and 195x195x100mm Plinth, 50mm Coarse Concrete Sand/Sharp Sand Setting, 100mm Type 3 Open Graded Crushed Aggregate, Stable [Uniformly Dense] Soil Base
Post-and-Lintel Skeleton Frame
Post base
125/150mm Granite [Tapered Square] Staddle Stone with 16x230mm Steel Rod [For fixing which protrudes 30mm]
Post
125x125x2950mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak
Tie lintel
125x150x2625mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak w/ 15x15x150mm Draw Pin
Plate lintel
125x150x3575mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak with Upper/Lower Rabbeted Oblique Scarf Splice & 15x15x150mm Draw Pin
Vertical brace
125x125x790mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak
Ridge beam
125x150x3575mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak with Upper/Lower Rabbeted Oblique Scarf Splice & 15x15x150mm Draw Pin
External lighting
Mono II Down-Up LED 930 [Dark Grey] Wall Surface Mounted Luminaire
Hisashi Roof with Overhanging Eaves
Rake w/ overhanging eave
50x200x2600mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak @ 34.5°
Rafter w/ overhanging eave
50x100x2400mm Air-Dried European/English [Quercus Robur] Structural Oak @ 34.5°
Sheathing
25x115mm Air Dried Oak Half-Lap Cladding
Gutter bracket
5x25x315mm Polyester Powder Coated [RAL 7016] 8 Gauge Galvanised Steel Flat Bar
Interior support
18x38x4800mm Treated Softwood Batten @ 400 o.c.
Shingles
20x142/70x1875mm Carefully Machined Air-Dried Oak Board and Batten
Flashing
0.6x3000mm Polyester Powder Coated [RAL 7016] 25 Gauge Galvanised Steel Counterflashing, 15x15mm Half Clip Fixing, 0.6x3000mm Polyester Powder Coated [RAL 7016] 25 Gauge Galvanised Steel Baseflashing, 0.6x50mm Polyester Powder Coated [RAL 7016] 25 Gauge Galvanised Steel Cleat
Stormwater
5x25x315mm Polyester Powder Coated [RAL 7016] 8 Gauge Galvanised Steel Flat Bar Gutter Bracket, 6x50x100mm Polyester Powder Coated [RAL 7016] 8 Gauge Galvanised Steel Angle 'Valley' Gutter, M12x90mm Hex Head Bolt BZP [10.9], 10mm Grade 80 Short Link Chain.
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Bibliography & Endnotes
1. Heinrich Engel [1964]. The Japanese House: A Tradition for Contemporary Architecture, pp. 278.
2. Ibid.
3. Anette Hochberg; Jan-Henrik Hafke; Joachim Raab [2009]. Open | Close: Windows, Doors, Gates, Loggias, Filter. pp. 32.
4. Heinrich Engel [1964], pp. 278.
5. Ibid, pp. 292-298.
6. Gunter Nitschke [1993]. From Shinto to Ando: Studies in Architectural Anthropology in Japan, pp. 87; Heinrich Engel [1964], pp. 292.
7. Heinrich Engel [1964], pp. 292 & 297.
8. Nithi Sthapitanona; Brian Mertens [2005]. Architecture of Thailand: A Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Forms. Terraces, pp. 64.
9. Francis D.K. Ching [1996, Second Ed.]. Architecture: Form, Space, & Order. Overhead Plane, pp. 114.
10. The hidden roof [noyane] is a type of roof widely used in Japan both at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. It is composed of a true roof above and a second roof beneath. The second roof is visible only from under the eaves and is therefore called a 'hidden roof' [giving its name to the whole structure] while the first roof is externally visible and is called an 'exposed roof' in English and 'cosmetic roof' [keshōyane] in Japanese;' Wikipedia [2024]. Hidden Roof.
11. Francis D.K. Ching; Cassandra Adams [2000, Third Ed.] Building Construction Illustrated. Wood Post-and-Beam Framing, 5.48.
12. Heinrich Engel [1964], pp. 108.
13. Robert Wetterau [July 1955]. Arts and Architecture, pp. 6.
14. Makoto Fukada [2024]. Traditional Japanese Houses. Japan Woodcraft Association; Francis D.K. Ching; Cassandra Adams [2000], 5.48.
15. Kiyoshi Seike [1977]. The Art of Japanese Joinery, pp. 12-13; C. Geoffrey Holme, Introduction. In: Jiro Harada [1936]. The Lesson of Japanese Architecture, pp. 11.
15. Kiyoshi Seike [1977]. The Art of Japanese Joinery, pp. 12-13; C. Geoffrey Holme, Introduction. In: Jiro Harada [1936]. The Lesson of Japanese Architecture, pp. 11.
16. Kiyoshi Seike [1977], pp. 22.
17. Heinrich Engel [1964], pp. 108.
18. Azby Brown [2013 Ed.] The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: Secrets of an Ancient Woodworking Craft, pp. 46-47.
In-between Space 2024
Japanese-influenced indoor-outdoor timber architecture
+ small secluded visual gardens
+ small secluded visual gardens