Biomimicry: function and aesthetic of vacation home, Chonburi

Abstract

This thesis entitled ‘BIOMIMICRY : FUNCTION AND AESTHETIC OF VACATION HOME IN CHONBURI’ is an attempt to add an architectural element named fah lai (ฝาไหล literally translated as "flowing wall" popularly translated as "breathing wall") of Thai traditional house to the category of 'biomimicry'. This attempt is problematic because the term 'biomimicry' in architecture was invented in the 1990’s much later than the Thai traditional houses. These two words, fa lai and biomimicry, belong to different cultures and different times. Moreover, the term ‘biomimicry’ itself has various interpretations. In this thesis, I will classify the uses of this word ‘biomimicry’ and its related terms in architectural discourse so that it is possible to explain why fah lai can fit into a particular category that exists between ‘biomimicry’ and ‘bioclimatic’ design. Therefore, Geoffrey Bawa’s houses become my case studies because of this reason. Known as ‘Bioclimatic Designer’, the studies of Bawa’s architectural drawings, his space composition, the use of local materials, the relations between the inside and the outside spaces of a house, are the valuable process of learning architecture. The analytical drawings of Bawa’s houses enable me to synthesize my own architectural composition for a vacation home in Chonburi. Function and aesthetic, in this sense, are based upon my own interpretation of biomimicry in crossed cultural studies between the U.S. and Thai cultures.