Visit us at the Bangkok Spanish Design Week ’24

The first edition of the long-awaited Bangkok Spanish Design Week took place near Yaowarat in Bangkok on 21-24 November. The show was curated and organized by Myriam Rueda and Studio Momo. The Oratory of St Xavier in Umphang was featured next to the architecture sketches and models that helped conceiving it, together with an all-starts …

St Xavier’s nominated for Construmat’24 Awards

In Barcelona on 23rd May, receiving the nomination of St Xavier’s Oratory for the Construmat’24 Sustainability Awards from the hands of Albert Cuchí, Manuel Enríquez Jiménez and Justo Orgaz. A recognition that I must share with Father Reynaldo Tardielly and Karen carpenter master Ren Sulee. Very grateful also to Asociación Sostenibilidad y Arquitectura and Foundation …

“The Thai Shophouse: a Bastard Typology” at ACE Journal

The “hongthaew”, the Siamese shophouse, is the most iconic architecture typology of modern Thailand. It is an extremely versatile and robust design that has survived two hundred years of urban transformations. The “hongthaew” is a mixed-breed dog, an architectural nomad, a born survivor that originated in South China and was travelled to Siam via British …

St Xavier´s featured by ASA journal

“Holy Crab”! It is very rewarding to see St Xavier’s Church being featured in a twelve pages article by the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (‘ASA’, Thailand’s RIBA equivalent) written by Nathanich Chaidee. The article, illustrated by the photographs Panoramic Studio, highlights the project’s blend of Karen carpentry skills and contemporary design as …

Oratory of St Xavier in Umphang

Umphang district: a misty frontier Umphang is Thailand’s most remote district; it is accessible only by the scenic but tortuous Route 1090. The area is so difficult to reach that it remain as a stronghold of Thailand’s communist insurgence until the 1980’s. Its most notable touristic attraction, the Thi Lo Su Waterfalls, was ignored by …