Tree O'clock opens to the public as a micro mixed-use space, integrating a restaurant and bar, gallery, workshop, health studio, and juristic office for Villa Qabalah residences in Phuket, Thailand. The placemaking for Tree O'clock shares Studio Locomotive's endeavor as Phuket locals and involves the developer and future residents of Villa Qabalah to achieve collective actions committed to gentling an urban adaptation through a vegetative restoration, space-sharing economy, community cohesion, and responsible occupancy. 

CONTEXT & CHALLENGES 

With free-market opportunism and economic policies popularizing tourism and long-term residency, Phuket’s former agricultural landscape has rapidly transformed into urban sprawl as the regulations permits development in these zones for buildings under 12-meter height, resulting in the loss of treescape, changeover to non-native ownership, and dissociated community from socio-economic difference. 

APPROACH 

Our young firm, as hometowners, felt entitled to address the footprint of accelerated urban sprawl and to reconcile a sustainable community alongside tourism-economic progress through these three approaches. 

Reconfiguring Green Areas: 

Pursuing restoration of treescape to the lifeless site, tree-plantable plots, in addition to on-ground regulatory requirements, are elevated to rooftops of Tree O’clock and every villa. Crowning vegetation facilitates vertical growth uninhibited by height limitations and maximizes strategic outdoor recreational spaces. Rooftop green coverage favors the building’s efficient conditioning–with organic insulation and solar filter, benefiting from year-round tropical rain, to ease the use of active and renewable energy. Tree O’clock has revived 40% of tree-plantable areas while efficiently managing land use. 

Developing Sustainability through Adaptive Use: 

Programming for a micro mixed-use pivots on versatile architectural attributes—such as alternative entryways, terrazzo and sandwash amphitheater staircases, and transitions of floor levels—enabling scalability for 
Tree O'clock's most regular uses. This adaptability allows productive repurposing to feature hospitality services and cultural events that invite visitor dynamism. Since its opening, Tree O'clock has become a local landmark hosting art exhibitions, wellness activities, and tasting events enjoyed by locals and travelers. Its independence as a public-welcome venue with an adaptive environment actualizes a self-sustaining capability from the space-sharing economy. 

Embracing Non-exclusivity to Foster a Sense of Community: 

The practice of multi-functionality and availability to the public challenges the accustomed values of housing developments in Phuket, often gated and self-contained. In exchange, Tree O’clock, as a communal nexus, unlocks opportunities for new and local residents to develop a sense of belonging. Commercial services imbue the neighborhood with a lively atmosphere, promoting safety to the municipal road. Peripheral corners—often claimed for saleable land extensions—are dedicated to restoring landscape aesthetics and creating transitional space to the local byway, favoring gate-free management. As residents and developer enjoy maximized softscape spaces, they are encouraged to contribute participatory services to their greenery, collectively improving the ecosystem and urban environment of their vicinity.

awards

• World Festival of Interiors (INSIDE) 2024, Global
  Public Building, Finalist

• Architizer A+ Awards 2024, Architizer, New York, USA
  Mixed-use (S<25,000 sq.ft.), Jury Winner & Popular Choice Winner

• Architizer A+ Awards 2024, Architizer, New York, USA
  Sustainable Commercial Building, Finalist

• Architizer A+ Awards 2024, Architizer, New York, USA
  Architecture +Urban Transformation, Finalist

• Frame Awards 2024, The Netherlands
  Entertainment Venue, Winner

press

• Dezeen, UK

• Interiors Magazine, Korea

• ArchDaily, Santiago, Chile

• Dsign Something, Thailand

• Archello, The Netherlands