Enter Projects Asia completes a pandemic project, halfway across the world, having never visited the site nor met the client.
In April 2020, only weeks into the global pandemic and with work at a standstill, Enter Projects Asia based out of Thailand, received an unexpected phone enquiry from just outside Brussels, Belgium.
The prospective client had a 300sqm mix-use project that needed 'balance and calm'. Despite it being a factory and place of residence for the new owners, EPA were given what felt very much like a 'wellness' brief for the space, inviting nature and softness into an industrial setting. As the curtains came down on the world, EPA came up with a clear concept to meet the client brief. The site was an ice making factory so the design was to be fluid and liquid, like the properties of pure spring water crystallizing, incorporating raw and natural materials wherever possible. As well as meeting the brief, a highly sophisticated logistics program was essential if the vision was to be realized 9,000+km later at the final destination.
Relying heavily on Zoom for all client meetings & virtual site visits, the EPA team prepared for remote working: the Project Manager was operating out of Japan, the designers working from Phuket & Sydney and the fabricators weaving their magic from Northern Thailand. The team never met yet they were able to accurately instruct the factory, make templates, exchange digital files and ultimately manufacture a series of sizable sculptural elements in natural rattan which would later be sent in shipping containers to the site in Belgium.
The sculptural segments were designed in accordance with the functions required: lighting, seating and directional flow, all culminating in a large 8 meter high sculptural statement piece which illuminates the lobby and compliments the image of the brand. Every segment was then digitally deconstructed and analyzed using clash detection systems, so the shipping containers could be optimally and securely filled. Similar to the pieces of an elaborate jigsaw, the segments were then put together by hand upon arrival on site in Belgium - with little to no room for error. "The detail and precision with which the client approached this task was incredible to witness, even from a distance", remarks EPA Director, Patrick Keane,
"Working across two continents always has its challenges" states Keane, "but this was on another level, nobody knew each other or exactly what the other was doing. It was a blank sheet of paper so given the result, I believe it’s the biggest and best challenge which often starts from zero''.
He also solemnly notes that "as a byproduct of this project, rattan factories were able to stay afloat during the darkest days … people were struggling to eat, supplies cut and shops closed all around Thailand. This project will always be of huge significance because it became a lifeline for many craftsmen who otherwise would have been without work. It was a game changer for Enter Projects Asia on many levels and it’s a story that needs to be told".
In April 2022, with the project complete, the client and Architect finally met in person at the site. It is an unusual way of working (that you meet your client only after project completion) however, in a post pandemic economy these changing work practices will become the future as we learn to adapt and moreover, to reinvent what it means to lead from a distance. This project is not only a pioneer of the current work philosophy but also gives a new face to 'the factory'.
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