Raintree Lane Farm House design by Yangnar Studio

Project: Raintree Lane Farm House
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Architects: Yangnar Studio
Area: 150 m²
Year: 2025
Photographs: Rungkit Charoenwat
Lead Architects: Dechophon Rattanasatchatham,Tanakit Kaewruamwong, Staryu Sankham
Category: Residential Architecture
Construction Supervisor: Staryu Sankham
Builder Team: Yangnar studio builder team
Drawing : Staryu Sankham
Project Description: Koi Sakunee

A Wooden Home Rooted in the Landscape

Set quietly amid open rice fields, Apple Lane Farm is the home of Apple-Sirinapa Riubamrung Fahey and David Fahey — a couple who envisioned a house that would exist in harmony with both the land and the climate surrounding it.
“Before building the house, we explored many possibilities,” David recalls. “But in the end, we realized that a traditional Thai wooden house responded best to the climate. It also felt like the right choice environmentally and ecologically, and most importantly, it belonged naturally to this piece of land.”
David, an environmental science educator with expertise in sustainability and permaculture, worked closely with his wife, Apple — owner of the renowned sourdough bakery Artisan Sourdough by Apple Fahey near Wat Umong in Chiang Mai — to shape the vision for their home. The inspiration first emerged after visiting the residence of architect Teng from Yangnar Studio, whose design philosophy deeply resonated with them.
What distinguishes this home is not extravagance, but restraint. Resting gently within nearly two acres of land, the house was intentionally designed to sit humbly within its surroundings, embraced by mountains and rice fields rather than dominating them. David applied his knowledge of permaculture to transform the property into a living case study, using satellite mapping to study the land’s natural contours before determining the placement of the house, trees, and water systems. A pond was excavated at the site’s lowest point to naturally collect and circulate water throughout the landscape.
The farm itself follows an organic philosophy, free from chemical use, with every element slowly adapted to support a self-sustaining ecosystem — one where plants, water, animals, and soil gradually learn to depend on one another in balance.
The house takes the form of a modest gabled wooden structure, carefully composed to blend into its environment. The architecture follows the natural slope of the land, gently elevating the house to open views toward the surrounding landscape while also improving water drainage. From afar, the residence appears like two connected wooden pavilions, gradually stepping upward from the lower kitchen and living area toward the elevated bedroom wing.
Beneath the taller section lies one of the owners’ favorite spaces — an open-air area used for shared meals, reading, quiet gatherings, and afternoon rest. A hammock stretches toward the western mountains, offering an uninterrupted place to pause and watch the changing light. Nearby are small workshop spaces and storage areas for agricultural tools, seamlessly integrated into daily life.
The home feels remarkably open and uncluttered, with nothing interrupting the surrounding views. Beyond the simplicity of its gabled form and carefully designed landscape, this sense of calm is reinforced by the absence of visible electrical poles and overhead wires. Instead, the entire house is powered by solar energy — a thoughtful decision that connects the home, garden, rice fields, mountains, and sky into one continuous ecological experience.
Today, the wooden house is filled with movement and life. Alongside the couple live a dog, cats, ducks, and chickens, all woven naturally into the rhythms of the farm. The pond teems with fish, while birds, insects, and countless small creatures continue to return to the land.
What has emerged is more than simply a house. It is a place shaped by patience, coexistence, and an understanding that architecture can become part of a living ecosystem rather than separate from it.
“I’ve learned that every piece of wood already carries its own story before becoming part of our home,” David says. “And now those stories continue here. In another fifty or a hundred years, perhaps they will go on to create new stories somewhere else.”

Source: Yangnar Studio
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