Seafaring Spirits • Festivity • Poetic Recollection

Laku Beach Club is a repurposing of a former vacation house on Coconut Island, Phuket into a beach club. Our pre-design investigations led us to gather with local fishermen, where we came to understand the origin of Coconut Island's name: an unfortunate sea nomad who settled on the island after being saved and brought ashore by drifting coconuts. Much like other oral traditions passed among sea nomad families, this local tale is now recalled mostly by elderly members once dependent on the sea.

From those adventurous dialogues, we responded with a commitment to develop an experiential connection to fading roots of seafaring spirit. To embody a sense of recreation and conviviality, we reimagined a vivacious space that traces to songs, music, and elements of celebratory rituals of sea people along the Andaman coast—with 'Laku' translating to 'Rhythm of a Song' in the Urak Lawoi indigenous language.

The unique composition and curious integration of materials in Laku Beach Club are developed from our intent to foster human attachment to the spirit of the local sea nomadic way of life through harmonised elements in hospitality space.

Exterior woodwork features thorn-shaped skewer bands, mimicking long, spiny seashore screwpine leaves. Sea nomad women traditionally wove intricate floor mats for household use from dried, thin, strong-fiber screwpine shreds. Woven patterns on rattan furniture and mosaic clay tiles across interior walls and floors adapt these nature-inspired mat motifs.

Vibrant wood-carved angelfish serve as door handles. Other traces of marine life also appear in ambitious details: fishbone inlays swim throughout the terrazzo bar and floor pattern on the upper floor, while fish scale markings are etched into wooden walls. Roping techniques used in crafting a Rebana drum become decorative rope detailing around the poolside music booth and boat prow-shaped lighting above the bar.

Terracotta tiles used throughout exterior and interior surfaces were selected for their circular qualities. Made from 80% industrial ceramic waste, these tiles upcycle 15,487 kilograms of discarded material for reuse in this restaurant and remain fully recyclable at the end of their lifecycle.

A deep reverence for nature and ancestral wisdom is a non-material heritage that resonates with the sea nomadic ideology of non-accumulation. Our intention was tuned toward reflecting their respectful adaptability and life-sustaining practices through reinterpretation of raw assembly methods, handcrafted forms, organic materials, and a spectrum of natural colors. Laku Beach Club demonstrates an endeavor and design approach that shape a connection to local narratives—with meaningful values that characterise the business, celebrate folk wisdom, and highlight evocative spatial experience. Through design with commitment, the folktale of Phuket’s Coconut Island and unique local sea traditions find renewed appreciation.