Architects: Chiangmai Life Architects
Area: 160 m²
Year: 2023
Photographs: Chiangmai Life
Design Team: Markus Roselieb, Tosapon Sittiwong
City: Chiang Mai
Country: Thailand
The Bull Cooking School, designed by Chiangmai Life Architects, is the third bamboo pavilion created for Zabb e Lee’s cooking school in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Set between a large tree and a pond, this pavilion uses a U-shaped layout that resembles a bull’s head with welcoming horn-like entrances. It provides three distinct areas for food preparation, cooking, and dining, with views of the rice fields. Bamboo arches and bundled rods create an expansive, inviting space with natural colors and warm lighting. Made primarily from bamboo, the structure has a zero or negative carbon footprint, aligning with sustainable design goals.
Zabb e Lee began as a traditional Thai cooking school situated in the historic center of Chiang Mai. As the business expanded, its young local owners opened a second location amid the rice fields on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. To preserve the natural ambiance, they enlisted Chiangmai Life Architects to design and construct the cooking class pavilion, or “sala” in Thai, using bamboo. The pavilion’s charm, functionality, and visual appeal made it highly popular with clients, prompting the owners to commission a second structure, the Double Dome, followed by a third.
The third pavilion was positioned at the narrow end of the property, nestled between a large tree and a small pond. The design challenge was to make the most of this location, creating an inviting and visually cohesive space while accommodating all required teaching areas. The sala needed to include enough space for 10 food preparation stations, 10 cooking stations, and a large dining table.
The front of the pavilion was designed to be visible from anywhere on the property, while the back needed to incorporate views of the adjacent rice field. With a large tree on one side and a pond on the other limiting the span, the main structure was crafted in a U-shape to maximize covered space. Allowing the design lines to flow naturally, the shape of a bull’s head with pointed horns emerged, giving the structure its unique character. In contrast to the calm and balanced Double Dome, the Bull structure exudes dynamism and instantly draws attention.
The upward-pointing horns form welcoming entrances that lead to two dome-like spaces linked by a longer central area, creating three distinct sections for preparation, cooking, and dining. The domes are constructed from interlaced bamboo arches made of bundled bamboo rods, allowing the interior to feel more spacious than the exterior form suggests. The natural color and fluid lines of the bamboo create a warm and harmonious ambiance, further enhanced by carefully placed lighting in the evening. With bamboo as the primary material, which sequesters carbon dioxide during growth, the structure achieves a carbon-neutral or even negative footprint.
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Project Location
Address: Somphet Market (Mingmuang Market), 7 Mun Mueang Road, Si Phum, Mueang Chiang Mai District, Chiang Mai 50300, Thailand
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
