Thatching Around The World

Green Island Community Centre by Estudio Cavernas, Mae Sot, Thailand

This Community Centre meets the needs of the Burmese refugee population living near municipal waste center. Community members were trained in construction techniques with sustainable materials, such as reclaimed wood and sugarcane thatch, which were used to cover the corrugated metal roof.

SAHI W&D by SILAA, Hue, Vietnam

It is a hostel-style homestay project, with a touch of a treehouse, despite its location in the city of Hue. It has shared bedrooms, alongside, there is a communal space for cooking and places to relax in the porch and garden The low-cost materials are used in the project; such as thatch and polycarbonate panels.

Synvillan Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve by Sandellsandberg, Sweden

The nature residence allows the visitors to sleep securely while being surrounded by wild animals. The vision was to incorporate the region’s traditional residential architecture, like the thatched roof, with contemporary elements of reflecting, dented sheet metal.

Manor Doorn by Maxim Winkelaar + Bob Ronday, Netherlands

The residence was built in early 20th century, and renovated in 2009. The house is characterized in an English cottage style with white painted walls and a thatched roof. The wooden facade plays together with the thatched roof. The wooden cladding with large windows frames of the extension gives a balanced contrast to the existing building.

River House by Bert Pepler Architects, South Africa

The vernacular, which is a combination of fisherman’s cottage and Cape farm architecture, was a reference for the project. There exist architectural guidelines for the village, with white rendered walls and pitched roofs in either thatch or slate being a requirement. The thatch roofs and curved bagged walls are contemporary in a manner yet reminiscent of traditional regional architecture. It has an unimposing, intimate scale on approach. The simplicity and purity of form are inviting and continue throughout.

Thatch is a versatile material. It is usually sundried and disinfected. It acts as an insulator between the inside and outer environment. Thatch also prevents water from entering the interiors, which makes water leakage a myth of installing and designing a thatch roof. Furthermore, it brings together the community to build newer structures with easily available materials to fulfill its own requirement.