wooden shingles form housescape design lab's organic shelter in thailand

The Footprint No. 2: Housescape Design Lab’s reimagined Shelter

Housescape Design Lab’s The Footprint No. 2 offers a vision for redefining shelter, rooting the design within the ecological and cultural history of Southeast Asia. Avoiding typical Anthropocene architectural language, the project refrains from conventional elevation and instead integrates directly into the land, aiming to merge structure with the surrounding landscape. By excavating instead of building upward, the design preserves the topographical narrative of its site in Thailand, an area shaped by over two millennia of ecological and human interaction.

Surrounding rice fields and irrigation channels inform the design, as a 160-year-old Rain tree’s organic canopy acts as a natural roof. The approach is inspired by local beliefs, particularly the practice of Liang Phi Fai, a ritual honoring water spirits tied to irrigation systems. Water flows through the space in tribute to these traditions, reflecting a design approach that connects nature and the divine. The Rain tree’s presence further shapes the shelter: instead of creating a conventional roof, Housescape Design Lab uses durable wooden shingles that adapt to the tree’s seasonal cycles, from fallen leaves to shifting shade, celebrating natural processes.

all images by Rungkit Charoenwat

Housescape Design Lab Blends design, spirituality, and Landscape

The shelter’s architectural language draws from local agricultural practices, notably the rice fields and irrigation channels characteristic of the area’s history. Materials used in the project—wood and stone—mirror those traditionally employed to make ritual objects for water systems, which continue to mediate between nature and community needs. The hollow structure echoes water sounds, inviting visitors to experience the landscape as a contemplative retreat. Housescape Design Lab’s approach respects the layered ecological and cultural systems that have shaped this land for centuries. The space, rather than dominating the landscape, honors it by blending with the environment, transforming the concept of shelter from a physical structure to a cultural and spiritual continuum.

Footprint No. 2 by Housescape Design Lab redefines shelter by embedding it within the landscape

wooden shingles adapt to the trees’ seasonal cycles, symbolizing harmony with natural processes

rooted in Thailand’s ecological and cultural history, the shelter blends into its natural surroundings

Housescape Design Lab designs a structure that integrates directly into the land, avoiding typical elevated forms

instead of building upwards, the design excavates into the earth, preserving the site’s topography

Housescape’s approach turns the concept of shelter into a cultural and spiritual experience

Footprint No. 2 honors the layered history of the land, merging tradition with design

the design language draws from the agricultural heritage of Thailand’s rice-growing communities

water sounds resonate through the hollow structure, offering visitors a meditative experience

this design integrates the divine connection of water with the functionality of a modern shelter

blending seamlessly with the land, the shelter emphasizes continuity over architectural dominance

project info:

name: First time in over 2,567 years – The Footprint No.2

architects: Housescape Design Lab | @house.scape.design.lab

location: Mae Rim, Chiang Mai, Thailand

lead architects: Peerapong Promchart, Takdanai Phakdee

design team: Panuwat Donthong, Pimprutti Pruttichote, Puttipong Penthong

clients: Rab A Bit

gross built area: 30 sqm

photography: Rungkit Charoenwat

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom