The xxxix

Great landscape architecture responds to people's lifestyles and stimulates thought; it transcends trends and endures. That is the ambition Shma brought to The XXXIX in Bangkok. The landscape comprises a garden court on the first floor and a youth pool deck on the sixth, both set in front of the building. The design deliberately creates a calm counterpoint to the energetic street outside: a pause that slows body and spirit before entering, so that residents feel the moment of arriving at a special place. The garden court is enclosed by six-meter-high clipped trees, hedges and a feature stone wall that set the mood; at its center, a small plaza is ringed by an infinite-edge water feature, and two majestic specimen trees anchor the space. The aim is a quiet place where body and mind find peace. The sixth floor is inspired by a sacred pool in nature: the whole deck is paved in black stone that reads as a reflecting pool, accommodating a twenty-five-meter lap pool, jacuzzi beds, hot and cold tubs and a children's pool. This black reflective water also provides a unique setting for the lounge areas, some set above water level and others lower. Above, a gold aluminum-clad ceiling reflects natural daylight and illuminates the floor; cabins and walls on this level are finished in gray travertine, lending a museum-like atmosphere. The result is a layered, meditative landscape in which black water, gold ceiling and pale stone work as a single contemporary composition.