The 1st independent artist residency in Thailand since 2007
ComPeung and surroundings
Doi Saket
Area: 671 sq km / Population: 71,316 (2015) / Density: 106 person per sq km
doisaket
doisaket market
Doisaket Market
saturday market
Saturday market in Doisaket Town
doisaket temple
Stairway of Doisaket Temple
Photo: Wang Cheng-Sean, 2017
main house archive
A public pond in Doisaket
Photo: Wang Cheng-Sean, 2017
doisaket
Doisaket town centre.
Photo: Wang Cheng-Sean, 2017
inside
Local festival in Doisaket
Doi Saket district is a 30 min drive north-east of Chiang Mai City. It is predominantly a rural farming area, containing a mixture of rice fields on the valley floor and orchard and other farming on the hillsides.
Site & Surrounding
entrance
Looking out from ComPeung to the entrance. (September 2017)
road
The private road inside ComPeung. (September 2017)
garden
Big field for multiple use, or just a space to rest your mind or practice your art.
fire camp
Another outdoor campfire in our garden.
pond
2 minute walk from ComPeung, there is a public park with complex of ponds. The road around the ponds is about 2 km long.
(Photo: Wang Cheng-Sean, 2017)
pond
One of the ponds belongs to the village temple where people come to feed the giant catfish.
(Photo: Wang Cheng-Sean, 2017)
2006
When we moved to ComPeung site in 2006, it was empty just like a blank canvas with dots of local farmers sneaked in with their cows.
bricks
in 2006, we began to make adobe bricks from the dirt we dug at the site.
2007
We constructed our homes from material found on the site. We also build our road, installed electricity, dug the wells to bring spring water from the ground, and planted a hundreds of tress with the help from our family and friends. (2007)
2012
5 years later, ComPeung started to be more green with the native plants we grew together. (2012)
2013
ComPeung slowly became a small forest oasis. (2013)
Hidden behind a line of teak trees near public ponds, the ComPeung site began as just a piece of empty farmland without any facilities. Now after over 10 years of sculpting this micro community from scratch–planting all the trees, bringing in the road, water, and electricity, and building the houses–with the help of resident artists, our friends and family ComPeung has become a peaceful garden oasis.
Main House
main house
Main house in February 2013.
main house archive
The 1st structure at ComPeung in 2006. Our bedroom and bathroom are constructed from homemade adobe bricks we made from dirt on the land mixed with local coffee husk.
main house archive
It is the big lessons we learn how to build homes from simple local materials like dirt and organic fiber. This is the house where we've been living for over a decade.
main house archive
The 6×12 m extended communal space including kitchen, dining, and living room is constructed with the mixture of adobe/earthbag technique. This used to be where we shared our daily meals and fruitful conversations before we construct the new kitchen in 2016.
inside
Inside the main house before we moved to new kitchen in 2016.
inside
Inside the communal space in the main house before we moved to the new kitchen in 2016.
Constructed in 2006 with homemade adobe bricks mixed with dirt from the land and local coffee husk. This is our 1st lesson on how to build homes from basic local materials. We’ve been living in this house for over a decade.
Artist House #1
house 01
Artist house #01 . September 2017
house 01 archive
We build it in 2006 with hundreds of dog food bags filled with dirt we dug by hands from the land.
inside
The wall is built with Earthbag technique, rooms separated with adobe bricks.
bath
Attached bathroom with hot shower. Th e wall is build by homemade mud bricks.
inside
Bedroom and indoor studio/office appx. 6×10 m .The studio can sometimes function as an extra bedroom.
porch
The 6 x 5 m porch looking to the garden on the west offers open air studio space under the roof.
Built in 2006. The wall is constructed with Earthbag technique using hundreds of recycled dog food bags filled with dirt dug from the land, rooms separated with adobe bricks.
Artist House #2
house 02
Artist house #02 . September 2017
house 02 archive
Built in 2007, with earthbag technique combining double layers of bags filled with earth to support the upstairs which is made from bamboo structure, plastered with clay.
More archive
The wall’s thickness of over 1 meter constructed with recycled fish food bags filled with landfilled dirt, sandwiched between lines of barbwire. This makes the house signal proof. No phone signal can penetrate the wall, but you can use your mobile devices outside the house.
front
The door is looking directly to the polar star, acting like a compass. (photo is taken in 2013)
inside
Half circle loft space serves as an open bedroom. The interior space is 4 m radius with 8m high ceiling, surrounded with small air vent windows.
bed
2 small rooms downstairs can be filled with 2 more beds. Suitable for an artist team.
porch
The porch outside the house can be transformed to a working space.
Built in 2007, with the help of indigenous friends and high school kids. The extended 2nd floor challenged us to construct this with fish food bags filled with landfilled dirt and bamboo. The house also acts as a compass pointing to the Polar Star.
Kitchen & Communal Space
kitchen
Inside the kitchen & communal space
kitchen
Overview of inside the kitchen & communal space
outside
Outside the kitchen at night
This is where we get together. The communal space is for the residents and our guests to use for different activities such as cooking, sharing the meals, reading, showing the works, meeting, partying, or just hanging out.The building is made of compressed concrete panels with steel poles structure. Size: 10 x 6 x 3.2 m.
Outdoor Bath & Restroom
compeung-7
photo installation
Photography installation inside the shower room by Wang Cheng-Sean, 2017
For outdoor shower on a hot days or sometimes at night we turn this to be a hot tub.
Condition of the space
Approximate area of 2.8 acres (appx 2 soccer fields).
Main house for staff.
Artist house #1 with a basic bedroom, private bathroom, indoor and outdoor studio spaces.
Artist house #2 with 1 maisonette bedroom, 1 small bedroom downstairs, spacious private bathroom, indoor and outdoor working spaces.
Kitchen & Communal Space.
Electric fans, mosquito nets.
Variety of manual and electric tools.
Running water. 220 volt electricity.
Good mobile phone reception.
Internet access (Fiber Optic, Wifi, download/upload: 100M/30 Mbps, LAN is avialable).
No shared computers. Artists do need to bring their own laptop.
