Athita The Hidden Court Chiang Saen Boutique Hotel was named a Winner in Architectural Design Hotel – Boutique at the LIV Hospitality Design Awards 2022. The official winner record lists Studio Miti as the project’s company, lead designer, architect and interior designer, and recognises the hotel’s response to the cultural and architectural context of Chiang Saen. View the official LIV winner record.
A hotel shaped by the story of Chiang Saen
Athita The Hidden Court was conceived as an act of cultural conservation and development in Chiang Saen, a historic town in northern Thailand. The site adjoins Wat Athi Ton Kaeo, an abandoned temple whose plaza once served as an important place for community religious life. The hotel therefore begins not with the idea of an isolated new building, but with a responsibility to make room for the memory of its setting.
Studio Miti approached this relationship through a plan that places a buffer space between the old temple and the new hotel. The project’s functions are arranged in an L-shape, so that this “in-between” zone can reveal the beauty of the temple rather than conceal it. The result is a sequence of spaces that lets guests move gradually between the intimate scale of the hotel and the historic fabric of Chiang Saen.
Brick, timber and the craft of an in-between space
Wood and brick were selected as the project’s principal materials because they belong naturally to the context of Chiang Saen and can be sourced locally. Their use extends across enclosed rooms, open areas and the transitional spaces between them. Instead of treating materials as a surface finish, the design uses them to shape how people encounter light, shade, enclosure and openness.
At eye level, the brickwork is detailed to reduce visual heaviness and allow air and sightlines to move through the architecture. This creates a deliberate rhythm between privacy and permeability. Together with timber, the masonry recalls the familiar qualities of local houses while giving vernacular knowledge a contemporary role in hospitality design.
LIV Hospitality Design Awards 2022
The LIV Hospitality Design Awards is dedicated to the global hospitality sector, recognising architecture and interior design in hotels, resorts, restaurants and leisure spaces. In the 2022 programme, Athita The Hidden Court received the Winner distinction in Architectural Design Hotel – Boutique. The recognition acknowledges a hotel design that finds value in context, material intelligence and the continued life of local cultural memory.
For Athita, this award celebrates more than a completed project. It honours the people, crafts and local references that made the hotel possible. The project shows how contemporary hospitality can grow from a place’s own architectural language, retaining a sense of calm while inviting guests to discover Chiang Saen at an unhurried pace.
Awards and recognition at Athita
- German Design Award 2026 — Winner, Excellent Architecture (Architecture - Public)
- Architizer A+Awards 2026 — Jury Winner, Architecture +Brick (Details)
- Golden Pin Design Award (Taiwan) — a leading design award in Asia
- TIDA Awards 2025 — Thailand Interior Design Awards, Best of Small Hotel Design
- ASA Gold Medal — Gold Medal from the Association of Siamese Architects
- LIV Hospitality Design Awards 2022 — Winner, Architectural Design Hotel – Boutique
- MICHELIN Guide Selection — selected by the MICHELIN Guide
- Tablet Hotels — selected into the global boutique hotel collection
- Secret Retreats — member of Asia’s curated boutique retreat network
Experience Athita’s quiet architecture
The story behind the LIV award is best understood in person: through the texture of brick and timber, the filtered daylight of the courtyards, and the measured distance between hotel and temple. Explore our rooms and villas, discover wellness at Athita, or read about another award-winning project in Athita Pool Villa and Spa at the German Design Award 2026.
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