Elephant dung tower rises in southern Thailand
Boonserm Premthada has completed Goya, a tower made from elephant dung bricks, in Phang Nga, Thailand. The bricks are handmade, sun-baked, 33 cm in diameter and 5 cm thick, produced in five colors mimicking a Rocket Lolly, and threaded onto a central steel rod. The tower took one year to build and stands at the entrance to the Matalay resort project. Named after a local female elephant, Goya references Khao Chang (Elephant Mountain), a limestone formation shaped like a reclining elephant, and local legends. Premthada previously won Best Sanctuary in the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021 for his Elephant World project. The structure is a contemporary take on millennia-old animal dung construction, symbolizing connections between animal, earth, human, and architecture.
Key facts
- Goya tower is made from elephant dung bricks.
- Boonserm Premthada is the architect and artist.
- The tower is located in Phang Nga, Thailand.
- Bricks are handmade, sun-baked, 33 cm diameter, 5 cm thick.
- Bricks come in five colors mimicking a Rocket Lolly.
- The tower took one year to complete.
- It stands at the entrance to the Matalay resort project.
- Named after a female elephant named Goya.
Entities
Artists
- Boonserm Premthada
Institutions
- Spaceshift studio
- Wallpaper*
- Matalay
- Bangkok Project Studio
- MoMA
- M+ Museum
- Spaceshift Studio
- designboom
Locations
- Phang Nga
- Thailand
- Khao Chang
- Elephant Mountain
- Khao Lak
- Ta Klang Village