Rom Sangkavatana在他位于曼谷的家中 ©Chris Kanisorn
For as long as Rom Sangkavatana can remember, he always had a drive to create. “Since I was little, I wanted to express myself, and I did that mostly through art and design,” says the Bangkok-based creative director of Rom Design, who is also the founder of Townhouse Space, a talent agency, concept store and gallery.Any Asian from a conservative family can probably relate to the fact that a career in the arts isn’t always encouraged. For Sangkavatana, whose family is involved in property and aviation businesses in Thailand, there was an expectation that he would follow a traditional professional path.
“I think I was lucky that they allowed me to go on this risky journey,” he says about his parents being supportive of his decision to pursue a creative career. His design journey started in earnest as a student at the prestigious Central St. Martins in London, where he studied graphic design. He also earned a Master’s Degree from The Bartlett, University College London, and spent some time working in the UK and in France. Living in Europe was a formative period in his life, and this experience continues to influence his work and outlook.
Upon returning to Bangkok in 2011, Sangkavatana decided to focus on branding at a time when the industry was in its infancy in Thailand. “Design is the output of art and commerce—it requires a lot of logical thinking. Branding is often about solutions, not just marketing,” he says. His eponymous firm offers everything from brand identity to artistic direction and content creation. To date, it has worked on One Nimman in Chiang Mai, Amoma in Japan and, most recently, Soho House in Bangkok. Sangkavatana is also a newly minted music artiste who released two songs in 2022; he is currently working on another track to be launched this year.
住宅上方的玻璃窗增强了与花园的联系 ©Thanawatchu
All these varied experiences came into play in Sangkavatana’s most personal project—his home. He knows every square inch of the house having grown up in it and, in a way, both he and his mother had their whole lives to think about what to do to their abode before embarking on its transformation. “My mother [originally] wanted a U-shaped house with a pool, inspired by her time in California. When she came home from the US, my father had already built the house, so she had to live with this frame for a long time.”When the family decided it was finally time for a change, they consulted an architect to propose ideas on how to modernise the home. A design was finally agreed upon, which entailed knocking down the original structure and erecting a completely modern building.
The untimely passing of his father, however, crystallised the next chapter. Instead of starting from scratch, both Sangkavatana and his mother decided to retain what his father had built and preserve its soul while refreshing it with new ideas. “It was too much change at one time, so we thought a renovation was more suitable.” Sangkavatana undertook all aspects of the renovation—the architecture, interior design, styling and even the art curation.
一对裸露的混凝土桩为开放式厨房增添了粗犷的感觉，其中的岛台参考了原始天花板设计 ©Thanawatchu
这所房子位于曼谷素坤逸区，这个社区时尚而富有。他分享道：“素坤逸区有点像伦敦的南肯辛顿。有很多政治家和贵族住在这里，但与此同时，它也变得繁荣起来，也有点像代官山的感觉。”由于临近皇宫，该地区规定任何建筑都不得超过八层，保持了该地区葱郁和轻松的氛围。
The house is located in Ari, a neighbourhood that is equal parts hip and posh. “Ari is a bit like South Kensington in London. There are lots of politicians and aristocrats who live here, but at the same time it’s become gentrified so it also has sort of a Daikanyama feel,” he shares. Its proximity to the palace also ensures that no building can be over eight stories high, preserving the verdant and relaxed ambience of the area.
边几的局部特写 ©Thanawatchu
Philippe Starck Mi Ming椅子（Sangkavatana最喜欢的家具）©Thanawatchu
这解释了为什么这个家一直感觉像是混凝土丛林中的一颗隐秘的宝石。桑卡瓦坦纳强调了花园的重要性，将其视为一个延伸的生活空间，并增加了一座环绕整个家的鱼池，就像城堡周围的护城河一样。这已经成为他最喜欢的地方，他在那里享受il dolce far niente——意大利人所说的“懒散的甜蜜”。他说：“这里非常宁静，我喜欢坐在池塘旁边，看着花园中的大树在日落时分。”
This explains why the home has always felt like a hidden gem in the concrete jungle. Sangkavatana emphasised the importance of the garden, treating it like an extended living space by adding a fish pond that wraps around the home; much like a moat around a castle. This has become his favourite place, where he enjoys il dolce far niente—what the Italians call the “sweetness of doing nothing”. “It’s very calm and quiet here. I love sitting by the pond and looking out at the big trees in the garden at sunset.”
住宅保留了原来房屋的建筑外观，以纪念Sangkavatana已故的父亲 ©Thanawatchu两把
在室内设计方面，桑卡瓦坦纳采用了简约的手法，以实现他母亲多年前就梦寐以求的包豪斯风格。他在特定区域设置了玻璃窗户，以引入更多自然光线，并打通了空间，以创造更好的内部流动性。他的改进与原始建筑完美融合，以至于看起来几乎没有什么改变。“我花了两年的时间慢慢把一切东西准备好。我希望它能够真实地反映我们的生活方式，将房屋的过去和记忆保留在内部。”他说。
In terms of interiors, Sangkavatana went for a pared-back approach to get that Bauhaus-inspired look his mother had desired all those years ago. He placed glass windows in targeted areas to bring in more natural light, and opened up the spaces to create a better flow inside. His improvements seamlessly blend with the original building such that it doesn’t look like much was changed at all. “It took m two years to slowly get everything together. I wanted it to be authentic to how we live and keep the stories within the walls,” he says.
收藏的古董和现代饰品的有趣组合让起居区充满活力 ©Thanawatchu
这个重新焕发生机的极简主义外观为精心搭配的家具、艺术品和传家宝提供了理想的背景。从他童年时代的旧餐桌和藤椅，到新的灯具和艺术品，形成了鲜明的对比。他祖父母的一件镶嵌着珍珠母贝的精美作品和父亲的一个橙色花瓶也在房子里占据了重要位置。这种新旧混搭为空间带来了一种自然、居家的感觉，同时通过这些艺术品展现了桑卡瓦坦纳的个人品味。
The reinvigorated, minimalist shell makes for an ideal canvas for a thoughtful assemblage of furniture, art and heirlooms. The old dining table and rattan chairs from his childhood are juxtaposed with new lighting and art. An intricate piece featuring a mother-of-pearl inlay from his grandparents and an orange vase from his father also take pride of place in the house. This mix of old and new gives the space an effortless, lived-in look while representing Sangkavatana’s personal taste through the art.
桑卡瓦坦纳将他的家打造成了一个平台，用以展示新兴艺术家和设计师的作品。“当我刚从欧洲回到曼谷时，我发现曼谷的大多数创意人士都活在一个封闭的圈子里。在Townhouse，我希望创造更多的联系和机会，”他说。除了展示本地新秀的作品，他还在帮助他们进军国际市场，最近还在韩国举办了一场展览。
It’s no surprise that Sangkavatana is using his home as a platform for emerging artists and designers. “When I first came back from Europe, I noticed that most creatives in Bangkok stuck to the same closed group. At Townhouse, I want to create connections,” he says. Apart from exhibiting the work of new local talents, he is also helping them break into the international scene, and recently staged a show in Korea.
Townhouse Space和他自己的家之间的另一个相似之处在于它们都是经过改造的老房子。然而，一个不同之处在于他的家仍然相当私密，尽管也许不会太久。与香港巴塞尔艺术展的总监在他家共进午餐引发了一个想法：在花园中创建一个小型博物馆。他称之为"House Museum"，并表示这个计划将在今年晚些时候推出，将与他在Rom Design和Townhouse Space的工作相辅相成。“我带更多的人来这里，就越能了解空间，这有点奇怪，因为我一辈子都住在这所房子里。这让我意识到，像这样具有特色的地方应该是可以共享的，所以我正在慢慢地打开它的大门。”
Another parallel between Townhouse Space and his own home is that they’re both old houses given a new lease of life. A point of difference, however, is that his home remains quite private—although perhaps not for long. A casual lunch with the director of Art Basel Hong Kong at his home sparked an idea: to create a small museum in the garden. He’s calling it House Museum, and he says this initiative will complement his work at Rom Design and Townhouse Space once it launches later this year. “The more people I bring here, the more I learn about space, which is strange because I’ve lived in this house my whole life. It made me realise that places of character like this should be shared, so I’m slowly opening its doors.”
Rom Sangkavatana是品牌和设计公司Rom Design的创始人，该公司在曼谷、香港、伦敦、巴黎和纽约都有业务，并为包括King Power和Vogue在内的客户提供服务。该公司还负责策划艺术展览，包括2019年的"Spotlight"，该展览重点展示了泰国创新的新兴艺术家。Rom还创立了Rom Now，一家数字营销代理公司，以及Townhouse，一个多品牌概念商店、画廊和活动场所。
Rom Sangkavatana is the founder of branding and design company Rom Design, which has a presence in Bangkok, Hong Kong, London, Paris and New York, and has served clients including King Power and Vogue. It is also responsible for art exhibitions including 2019’s Spotlight, which highlighted innovative new Thai artists. Rom also founded Rom Now, a digital marketing agency, and Townhouse, a multibrand concept store, gallery and event space.
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