Elephant Dung Bricks Form Sculptural Tower In Thailand
Goya Tower in Phang Nga, southern Thailand, explores how locally available animal waste can become an architectural material. Designed by Thai architect and artist Boonserm Premthada, the structure consists of handmade bricks produced from elephant dung. The project connects this unconventional material with the region’s landscape, communities and long history of human–elephant coexistence.
From Organic Waste To Building Component
Using animal dung in construction is not a new practice. Communities have incorporated it into building materials for thousands of years. However, Goya Tower applies the resource in a contemporary architectural setting. Elephant dung mainly contains partly digested grass, leaves and fruit. It already serves as a raw material for products including paper, fertiliser and insect repellent.
For the tower, makers form the waste into circular bricks measuring 33 cm in diameter and 5 cm thick. They produce each piece by hand and bake it in sunlight. This low-tech manufacturing method turns a locally available waste stream into a modular building component. The project took one year to complete.
A Threaded Brick System
The bricks come in five sunset-inspired colours. Their arrangement refers to the striped pattern of a Rocket Lolly ice lolly. Builders threaded the individual elements onto central steel rods and stacked them to create a series of cylindrical columns. These columns rise to different heights and define the tower’s curved internal walkways.
Visitors can enter the structure and climb its stairs. As they move upwards, openings between the stacked elements provide changing views of the surrounding landscape. The construction system allows the repeated circular units to form both the tower’s visual identity and its spatial enclosure.
Architecture Connected To Place
The tower’s material and form refer to the cultural and ecological context of Phang Nga. Elephants have long lived alongside people in southern Thailand, influencing local forests, settlements and traditions. A nearby limestone formation called Khao Chang, or Elephant Mountain, resembles a reclining elephant. Local legend describes it as a male elephant that fell and turned to stone.
Goya Tower takes its name from a female elephant born in the area. The structure stands at the entrance to Matalay, an extensive resort development. By transforming elephant waste into visible architectural elements, Premthada highlights relationships between animals, natural resources, local identity and construction. The project also demonstrates how organic residual materials can inform place-specific architectural design.
Source: Wallpaper*
Photos: Spaceshift studio