iridescent panels evoking gemstones refract shifting hues at BBWORKSPACE’s thailand café

the facets captures beauty of gemstones as spatial experience

BBWORKSPACE’s extension for a café in Chiang Mai wraps an outdoor terrace in vibrant, iridescent panels that refract shifting colors across the space throughout the day. THE FACETS sits on the grounds of a jewelery shop in a district known for its gemstone trade, and it explores how the optical, tactile, and symbolic properties of this craft might be translated into an immersive spatial experience. Through calibrated materials, light-responsive surfaces, and sculptural detailing, the building is transformed into a physical reflection of the objects it quietly references.

The intervention unfolds across two volumes. The original structure has been preserved and wrapped in a rhythmic grid of clear glass blocks, alternating in two sizes to evoke the structured clarity of a cut gem. The chromatic restraint — white, silver, and translucent — allows the renovated volume to glow softly at night, echoing the interior illumination of a display case. This luminous quality evokes the moment when a stone is brought into light. To the side of this, a newly built extension introduces contrast by referencing the faceted geometry of a diamond. The Thai practice forms this addition from a steel frame clad in dichroic acrylic panels that shift color throughout the day. As the sun moves, the facade glints with iridescent pinks, blues, and yellows, casting light and shadow in subtle motion.

all images by Rungkit Charoenwat

bbworkspace extends the café through two interventions

Inside, BBWORKSPACE transitions the concept from polish to origin, reimagining the pre-refinement state of a gemstone. The architects have shaped wall surfaces to suggest geological strata and stone caves, textured and matte, which contrast the high-gloss elements dispersed throughout. A sharply angular mirrored counter produces a refracted floor glow, while ceiling-suspended acrylic panels catch light and breeze with quiet movement. Throughout, the palette also remains light in form and tone to recall aquamarine, amethyst, citrine, and garnet, while furniture forms are abstracted from raw mineral shapes, but rendered with contemporary finish and transparency.

The garden at THE FACETS softens the geometry. A free-form pond loops through the outdoor seating area, doubling as a reflective surface for the architecture. Surrounding foliage is also carefully considered to provide contrast to the crystalline clarity of the buildings, and a low curved wall built from handmade clay bricks subtly reintroduces a local material tradition, grounding the project in place and providing a textured counterpoint to the sleekness of the café volumes.

BBWORKSPACE creates an extension for a café in Chiang Mai

the intervention at THE FACETS unfolds across two volumes

this extension introduces contrast by referencing the faceted geometry of a diamond

made from a steel frame clad in dichroic acrylic panels that shift color throughout the day

the space transformed into a physical reflection of the objects it references — the gemstone

the garden at THE FACETS softens the new geometries

inside, the architects have shaped wall surfaces to suggest geological strata and stone caves

BBWORKSPACE integrates calibrated materials, light-responsive surfaces, and sculptural detailing

project info:

name: The Facets

architect: BBWORKSPACE | @bbworkspace

location: Chiang Mai, Thailand

lead architect: Kotchakorn Piraban

lead interior designer: Jarasphong Cheuapool

photographer: Rungkit Charoenwat | 

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