{"id":17857,"date":"2026-01-02T01:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T18:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.koktailmagazine.com\/?post_type=the-future-list&p=17857"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T05:36:53","slug":"sand-assakul","status":"publish","type":"the-future-list","link":"https:\/\/www.koktailmagazine.com\/th\/the-future-list\/sand-assakul\/","title":{"rendered":"Sand Assakul"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Baan Trok Tua Ngork, a home where history lingers in every corner, carried forward by a new generation.
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At the front of Tua Ngork Alley sits a progressive heritage home that feels more like a house with a special meaning. Baan Trok Tua Ngork is a structure that connects people, but it goes further than that; it carries the history. Now revived, it is cherished by a new generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting with us is Sand Assakul, one of the four siblings who brought this place back to life. She shares the story of this place, its journey, its revival and her vision for how future generations will continue its legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Courtesy of Koktail Thailand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A Family Home, Revived and Preserved<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dating back generations, the building once belonged to Sand\u2019s great-grandmother’s family. At that time it was home to five families. But after that era it remained closed for more than 10 years, left unused and largely forgotten. The only part that stayed active was the fifth floor, the very top level, which became a gathering space for the family. As a Thai-Chinese household, this was where they came together for Chinese New Year, ancestral offerings and family reunions. The lower floors, however, stayed shut after her great-grandparents moved out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of Koktail Thailand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around seven years ago, Sand’s family, took another look at the building and decided it was time to renovate it. The structure had fallen into disrepair with no one living there and no proper care. That moment became the turning point, when Sand and her family decided to restore the house to bring it back to life as a home that represents their origins and honours the start of their family\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI never lived in this house; we only came for family gatherings. My strongest memories are meeting relatives and taking part in Thai-Chinese traditions, like praying and burning joss sticks and incense paper  with the family. This house is where I first experienced our culture.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sand explains that the renovation was led by her brother Win Assakul. Rather than focusing on large-scale transformation, he approached the house with a clear design principle: not to tear it down but to preserve as much of its original character as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of Koktail Thailand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the space where we hold our conversation, the room is filled with artefacts from the house, from the earliest architectural sketches to broken tiles. It\u2019s a mini exhibtion of Baan Trok Tua Ngork. Sand and her brother chose to keep these small details, each carrying deep meaning and preserving their family\u2019s memories. The result is what she describes as an \u201cold-meets-new\u201d progressive heritage home, where past and present exist side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI see the charm of this house as a new generation stepping in to continue its story. The old remains, the new comes in, and both exist together.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The house now reveals its beauty more clearly than ever. Its original symmetry remains intact, from the balcony lines left untouched to the floor-to-ceiling glass panels that now enclose the space, preserving the original green wooden window and shutter frames as a central architectural feature. Sino-Portuguese tiles and green wallpaper tie the space together, each detail contributing to a quiet harmony between old and new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of Koktail Thailand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sand shares a small but telling story behind the colour that now defines the house:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAs far as I can remember, we thought the wooden doors were originally brown. During the renovation, my brother, Win, asked the team to sand the wood to polish it, and somehow that door turned into a green door instead and that one small decision led us to introduce green into the house. From there, the green stayed and became the theme colour of the building.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of Koktail Thailand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A House That Lives On<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cOur goal was for this house to live on, to move from my generation to the next,\u201d she explains. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe looked for a business model that could sustain the building over the long term. At first, I considered turning it into a hotel, or running the entire space ourselves. In the end, we realised that a community space felt right, because this neighbourhood has a charm of its own.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sand sees Yaowarat as a neighbourhood full of character, complexity and quiet charm. She explains that food becomes the key that draws people in and sparks interest in the Yaowarat area. For this reason she sees food as a way to invite people into the building. Alongside this regular event programmes give visitors a reason to return and allow them to discover the quieter charm of Yaowarat beyond its most familiar sights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Baan Trok Tua Ngork | \u0e1a\u0e49\u0e32\u0e19\u0e15\u0e23\u0e2d\u0e01\u0e16\u0e31\u0e48\u0e27\u0e07\u0e2d\u0e01 (@baantrok)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n