Press kit no. 7671-01

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Press kit - Press release - Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio

Press Kit | no. 7671-01

Press release only in English

Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon

Bangkok, Thailand

VMA Design Studio

VMA Design Studio completes Double B Hostel in Bangkok using flowing wooden facades that bridge local craftsmanship with contemporary design.

Bangkok, Thailand, 2025-06-11 -  VMA Design Studio has completed the Double B Hostel project, transforming a land plot with narrow street entry in Bangkok's historic old town district into a 27-room boutique hostel that bridges traditional wood craftsmanship with contemporary organic forms. The design creates an unexpected spatial sequence that draws visitors from Bangkok's narrow streetscape into a light-filled internal courtyard, where handcrafted wooden facades curve overhead like flowing timber waves.

The hostel stands in one of Bangkok’s old town communities where artisans have made Buddhist statues and religious artifacts for generations. The project connects visitors to the neighborhood’s living craft tradition and historic sites nearby. Like much of old Bangkok, the site faces a fundamental challenge: buildings developed organically over time now stand wall-to-wall, severely limiting natural light and ventilation to interior spaces.

Natural light became the primary driver for the design. This focus shaped an internal courtyard with a large glass roof that draws in daylight to brighten the hostel's central space. Due to the site's narrow street frontage in this dense urban setting, the design naturally shifts inward, positioning the courtyard as the project's main public area. Conceived as an internal alley, this courtyard draws visitors deeper into the building, connecting the street entry to the hostel's core. The wooden facade extends seamlessly from the street front into the interior space, flowing inward and rising up to clad the courtyard walls—transforming these internal surfaces into a secondary facade that continues the exterior's design approach.

This approach led to a unified facade treatment that works for both the street front and courtyard walls. The W-shaped profile catches natural light, giving the wooden surface visual depth. This facade element runs as a continuous extrusion from exterior to interior, pulling the building's character from street to courtyard and creating visual continuity throughout.

For the making process, the team had to find an approach that works with regional construction capabilities. While using advanced computational design tools for development, the designers recognized that the local industry operates primarily through wet construction systems and onsite casting, rather than prefabricated elements. The team created a strategy that taps into these skills by developing simplified procedures using basic molds and standard hand tools. The wooden facade components are formed through hot air heating and bending over predetermined molds with clear instructions, allowing skilled local craftspeople to handle the complex geometries using their existing expertise.

The project uses two types of wood based on where they're needed. Reclaimed timber from an old warehouse that was part of the site was refinished for the internal courtyard facade and corridor ceilings. For the exterior, composite wooden rods were chosen to handle Bangkok's heat and humidity. This approach gives the old wood new life, while ensuring the facade can withstand the weather.


Each guest room features an integrated pocket lightbox—a recessed glass balcony with plants that draws natural light inward, while maintaining privacy from neighboring buildings. This internal lighting strategy extends into the courtyard, where planted balconies create an open-air garden atmosphere that relies on natural ventilation to stay comfortable. A large exhaust system pulls hot air upward from below the glass roof, drawing fresh air in at lower levels to keep the green spaces from becoming stagnant. The hostel works within Bangkok's dense urban constraints by layering these systems together—light, air, and greenery—to create internal spaces that feel open, breathable, and connected to nature and daylight.

“We started with a simple idea: to draw as much natural light as possible into the heart of the hostel and reconnect the building with the craft heritage of the neighborhood,” says Vichayuth Meenaphant, Principal at VMA Design Studio. “The flowing wooden facade is more than just an architectural exploration—it’s a bridge between tradition and innovation, shaped with advanced design tools, but relying on local hands and knowledge for making. It creates a space that feels open, bright, and rooted in the spirit of old Bangkok.”

Technical sheet

Project Name: Double B Hostel
Location: Sao Chingcha, Bangkok, Thailand
Architects & Interior Designer: VMA Design Studio
Project Type: Hospitality, Hostel
Size: 1,200 square meters
Completion Date: 2023

Awards & Recognition:

  • Architecture Hunter Awards 2024 (AHA2024) - Winner, Hospitality & Hotel Category
  • Architizer A+ Awards 2025 - Special Mention, Hotels and Resorts Category
  • ASA Awards 2024 - Special Mention, Hospitality & Hotel Category, The Association of Siamese Architects
Project Team:
Structural & M&E Engineer: Basic Design Co., Ltd.
Branding/Logo: Gazedane
Photographer: Add Peerapat Wimolrungkarat, Art Chitsanupong

About VMA Design Studio

VMA Design Studio is a Bangkok-based architecture and design studio that brings together local craft and advanced design tools to create spaces that are thoughtful, original, and rooted in purpose. Their approach is grounded in research and curiosity— always starting by deeply understanding each project's context, its users, and what's truly possible.

VMA Design Studio works across architecture, interior design, planning, and product design, developing solutions that respond meaningfully to each brief, while exploring new design possibilities. What sets them apart is how they combine Bangkok's rich craft traditions with contemporary design thinking, creating spaces that feel authentically connected to their place and the people who use them.

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For more information

  1. www.vmadesignstudio.com/
  2. architecturehunter.com/aha_winners_20...

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Double B Hostel Bangkok
Video credit: VMA Design Studio
Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Hostel Entrance - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Hostel Entrance
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Hostel Wooden Facade - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Hostel Wooden Facade
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Recessed Entrance Gateway - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Recessed Entrance Gateway
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Reception Lobby - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Reception Lobby
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Center Courtyard - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Center Courtyard
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Courtyard Cafe Seatings - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Courtyard Cafe Seatings
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture -  Daylight reaches the cafe below - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Daylight reaches the cafe below
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Center Courtyard - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Center Courtyard
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Cafe Area - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Cafe Area
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Skylight Roof - Photo credit: Suppasit Sirinukulwattana
Skylight Roof
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Internal Facade - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Internal Facade
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Second Level Courtyard View - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Second Level Courtyard View
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Old wood new wood - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Old wood new wood
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Pocket Space Balcony - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Pocket Space Balcony
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Internal Wooden Ceiling - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Internal Wooden Ceiling
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Mezzanine Level Co-working Space - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Mezzanine Level Co-working Space
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Hostel Corridor Void - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Hostel Corridor Void
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Hostel Corridor - Photo credit: Art Chitsanupong
Hostel Corridor
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Private Bunk Bed - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Private Bunk Bed
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Light Box in Guestrooms - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Light Box in Guestrooms
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Press kit | 7671-01 - Press release | Double B Hostel — Local Craft, Global Design — Bangkok's New Hostel Icon - VMA Design Studio - Commercial Architecture - Hostel Dorm Room - Photo credit: Peerapat Wimolrungkarat
Hostel Dorm Room
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