ACA Architects cantilevered rainscreens made of aluminium patterned to look like wood from a hotel at the Dor-Shada Resort on the coast of Thailand as part of a modern makeover.
The Bangkok-based architecture practice updated the five-storey hotel building for a client took that wanted to appeal to a younger clientele.
"Lightness is the main idea we wanted to deliberately explore during our design process to restore the 10-year-old bulky concrete building to become lighter and more in harmony with the surrounding nature," said ACA Architects.

Rainscreens project horizontally from each level, forming a roof to the modernised balconies on each floor, extending further to give the hotel block an arresting profile.
The facade additions are practical too. The hotel block is orientated in a way that means one side of the guest rooms receives direct sunlight in the summer, heating up the rooms. Storms also lash the building during the rainy season.
ACA Architects painted the concrete black to contrast with the metal elements, which look like wood but are lighter and stronger.
Real timber features on the modern balconies, which have been given a traditional twist with a half screen of wooden poles.

"The vertical screens in front of the room balcony are made from lathe timber with Thai internode pattern by using traditional woodturning techniques," said ACA Architects. "All of them were made by local villagers."
Glass balustrades fence off the ...