Integrating Co-living and Cafe Spaces through Adaptive Reuse: A Case Study of a Commercial Shophouse on Chetchamnong Road, Chonburi

Abstract

Urban transformation has led shophouses to shift from purely commercial use toward mixed-use functions that accommodate both residential living and business activities within the same building, which requires careful attention to functional relationships, privacy, and physical context. This research studies the adaptive reuse of such a shophouse, combining residential space and a café business along Chetchamnong Road, Mueang District, Chonburi Province. The objectives are: 1) to examine the context and factors affecting mixed-use adaptation, 2) to identify the problems and limitations of combining residence with a café business, and 3) to propose interior design guidelines suited to the existing building and surrounding community. This qualitative study used documentary research, on-site observation, and in-depth interviews with 18 key informants from four groups: residents, café users, café operators, and design experts, together with three comparative café case studies in Chonburi, analysed using NVivo. First, the existing spatial structure frames the adaptation: residents, operators, and experts converged on the same vertical arrangement, placing economic activity on the street-connected ground floor and private living above, while user needs differed in four aspects: privacy, circulation and accessibility, environmental control and atmosphere, and safety and flexibility of space. Second, the problems and limitations proved common rather than group-specific: narrow stairs and corridors that make resident and customer routes overlap; heat accumulation, inadequate ventilation, and odour; insufficient daylight in the deep interior; managerial constraints of spatial separation, budget, safety, and parking; technical constraints of the existing structure, building regulations, and utility systems; and conflicting demands for quiet privacy versus social interaction or quick access. Third, six design guidelines are proposed: privacy-graded zoning; separated resident and customer circulation with a buffer space; prioritised ventilation and odour control; zoned lighting assigned by activity; mixed seating matched to each user group; and durable, low-maintenance materials suited to the existing context and budget. In conclusion, clear spatial separation is a mandatory design condition rather than an option, and these guidelines can be applied to similar shophouses in urban community contexts.