Image courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo by W Workspace.
Dib Bangkok has opened to the public, constituting Bangkok’s first international contemporary art museum. Housed in a converted 1980s warehouse, the scheme was designed by WHY Architecture in collaboration with A49. The three-story museum repurposes the former industrial structure with 70,000 square feet of gallery space.
Image courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo by W Workspace.
Image courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo by W Workspace.
The adaptive reuse project retains the building’s industrial origins while introducing a spatial sequence inspired by the Buddhist concept of enlightenment. The ground floor preserves an austere concrete character, reflecting the warehouse’s original fabric. The second floor shifts toward a more intimate atmosphere, incorporating original Thai-Chinese window grilles recovered from the existing structure. The top level adopts a white-cube gallery typology, illuminated by skylights formed through a north-facing sawtooth roof.
Image courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo by W Workspace.
Image courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo by W Workspace.
A central 14,000-square-foot courtyard anchors the museum and connects interior galleries with outdoor sculpture areas. The courtyard also provides access to ancillary spaces, including a bistro and a flexible programme venue housed in a separate structure across the open landscape.
Hugh Hayden, Untitled Threshold (After Victor Horta After Charleston), 2019. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photographer Auntika Ounjittichai, 2025.
Jannis Kounellis, Untitled, 1998. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photographer Auntika Ounjittichai, 2025.
Among the building’s more distinctive architectural elements is the “Chapel,” a cone-shaped gallery clad in porcelain mosaic tiles, which reinterprets traditional Thai temple ornamentation. The chapel is set within a shallow reflection pool that is intersected by a vehicular ramp leading to underground parking.
Montien Boonma, Full Moon, 1991. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photographer Auntika Ounjittichai, 2025.
Paloma Varga Weisz, Bumpman on a Tree Trunk, 2018. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photographer Auntika Ounjittichai, 2025.
“With Dib Bangkok, WHY Architecture’s intent was to reflect the city’s evolving role as an international art destination, crafting a space that fosters dialogue among artists, curators, and the public, while supporting both community engagement and creative exchange,” WHY Architecture principal Kulapat Yantrasast said about the scheme.
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