Enfold
Architect: Imaginary Objects
Location: Chonburi, Thailand
Type: Pavilion
Year: 2024
Images: Jinnawat Borihankijanan
The following description is courtesy of the architects. Enfold is a pavilion for ambient music at Wonderfruit, the largest music and lifestyle festival in Thailand. Designed as a calming refuge away from the festival’s bustle, the pavilion offers a space for contemplation, relaxation, and reconnection with sounds and the environment. From the outset, a courtyard was chosen as the typology—a walled space that isolates from the surroundings and focuses attention on the performance within. This square courtyard is accessible through small openings on each side. A covered walkway with speakers mounted in a surround layout runs along the perimeter, while the central listening area opens to the sky, allowing audiences to sit and experience a focused listening environment and gaze upward to the vast expanse above.
Enfold features a unique 360-degree immersive sound system. Our design concept began with the requirement to set up over 20 surround speakers optimally, which determined the courtyard’s dimensions to be a 15x15m square.
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The pavilion prioritizes the use of natural materials. The construction of the walls resort to an ancient building technique, wattle and daub, where a mud cement mix is applied onto a thin lattice to dry. The roof structure is made of bamboo and supports thin plastic sheets to provide rain shelter for the audio visual equipment while keeping the view to the sky as open as possible.
To enhance the relaxing experience, we provided mats and pillows instead of seats, which allowed the audience to lay on the ground, often spending extended periods immersing themselves in the sonic experience and taking a break from the festival’s excitement. Wicker lamps along the courtyard’s perimeter subtly contrasted the dimly lit boundary with the dark center, drawing focus to the starry sky above.
Project Details
- Project Name: Enfold
- Architecture Firm: Imaginary Objects
- Lead Architects: Yarinda Bunnag, Roberto Requejo Belette
- Year: 2023
- Gross Built Area: 225 sqm
- Project location: Chonburi, Thailand
- Clients: Scratchfirst
- Engineering and Contractor: Banjerd Atelier
- Photo credits: Jinnawat Borihankijanan
