The event has exuded a good vibe over the week. The first ever Bangkok Design Week, launched last Saturday and running until this Sunday, has turned the neighbourhoods of Charoen Krung, Rama I, Sukhumvit and Klong San into a collection of creative showcases of ideas and urban improvement.
The highlights are concentrated mostly on Charoen Krung, the quaint quarters taken over by bars and art galleries in recent years, topped off with the relocation of the headquarters of Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC) to the area last year. TCDC is the organiser of Bangkok Design Week, which features exhibitions, design-savvy showcases, fairs, markets, seminars, film screenings, concerts, workshops and the transformation of vintage houses into exhibition space.
With so many pavilions and stops to visit, Life points you to four locations we don't want you to miss. These were conceived by architects, creative directors, students and civil-society actors eager to innovate and improve aspects of life in Bangkok. Design Week is huge, with many other things to see and seminars to participate in.
For the full programme, visit the Facebook page for TCDC Thailand.
Waste Side Story
The bright, towering structure situated in front of TCDC's new quarters inside the old post office is made entirely of recycled waste. Designed by Cloud-Floor to be reused following its dismantling, it sets the tone for Bangkok's first ever design week to be both innovative and sustainable.
Waste Side Story showcases design objects ranging from clothes to jewellery and new technology, produced using recycled waste or otherwise eco-friendly.
The biodegradable Benjarong cups by PTTC and Prompt Design's creative director Somchana Kangwarnjit are both accessible, functional and innovative.
"The idea was to make eco-friendly ware that also incorporated an element of Thai culture, making the work unique and interesting."
Made from natural materials and food-grade colour dyes, the blue-and-white cups adorned with traditional motifs are entirely biodegradable within 180 days, Somchana promises.
According to this designer, his practice has a primary role to play in raising people's awareness of the environment. Design doesn't just help make items beautiful and boost sales; it's a way of solving problems.
"We have to power to attract people's attention and make them think about waste and its impact on our environment. Design can really make people more concerned about these issues," he adds.
The Floating Park
The barge anchored right behind the TCDC building by the Cat Telecom pier is no ordinary freight boat. Adorned with pink details and signs, furnished with makeshift seats and potted trees, it's been transformed into a floating park by landscape architect Yossapon Boonsom of the Shma company.
"It all came from an interrogation about the lack of green spaces and public areas in Bangkok," says Yossapon, who stands by the pier, donning a fuchsia life-vest.
According to the architect, the Chao Phraya River is the city's natural, central public space, but its potential as such has been under-exploited in recent years. Today, it's quite a feat to find public spots or parks alongside the river as developers compete to fill up both riverbanks.
By taking a standard boat commonly used for transporting sand and turning it into common ground, Yossapon hopes that urban residents will access the river more easily and make use of it in an unprecedented way.
His floating park would drift along the river and stop at various piers, thus allowing visitors to enjoy not only the trees, open air and scenery, but also to explore hidden gems such as the diverse riverside communities.
"We can anchor the boat for a few days in front of one community, then move on to the next, setting up new activities at each stop," he adds. "There could be a public library or a small sports ground."
With the participation of locals, the riverside communities could be strengthened as well, working together to decide on the direction of the project and its implementation.
Yossapon is known to many as the founder of the civil society group Friends of the River, which challenges the government's Chao Phraya Riverside promenade plan in its current form. The project, bulky in size and set to bypass -- if not eradicate -- riverside communities, has often been referred to as a "highway" by Friends of the River activists.
The floating park, on the other hand, is the promenade's exact opposite in both form and purpose -- a moving, temporary structure that doesn't affect the river flow or landscape, and that is also an integral part of the culture of Bangkok.
"I wanted to show people that we don't have to rely solely on mega-projects if we want to see our city change," the architect says. "You can act now, on a smaller scale, and see the results instantly, too."
Today starting at 4pm, the park will host a concert by Kamala Sukosol and her son, rock star Krisda Sukosol. Free admission.
The Chinese affairs
On Sunday night, the typically busy Soi Nana -- off Maitri Chit Road in Charoen Krung -- was overflowing with people who had come to its Chinatown Fair.
Their tables laid out on the street, participants sold everything from shoes to ceramics, vintage photographs, trendy bicycles and -- even trendier -- drip coffee to an avid crowd of thrift shoppers.
Anikamon, one of the organisers, says she has never seen such an influx of people in her 10 years as a resident of Soi Nana.
"These fairs are quite beneficial to the businesses that have established themselves here in recent years. But I don't want locals who have lived in the street far longer than us to feel left behind or bothered by our activities," she argues.
Prior to holding the fair, she asked them if they wanted to sell any food or items. The first time this kind of event was organised, most declined as they were too tired from their day-to-day jobs and wanted to rest. But after seeing the number of visitors, they became enthusiastic.
As such, owners of local, nearby eateries or street-food vendors residing in the soi took part in Sunday's Chinatown Fair as well, despite being submerged by the wave of visitors that flocked from TCDC's surroundings into the small alley at dusk.
While a regular streetside coffee cart had trouble competing with a drip-coffee shop, other fish cake and khanom jeen noodle vendors were met with more success than those selling pandan-flavoured waffles mounted into elaborate shapes.
The gentrification of the Charoen Krung area and of Soi Nana in particular sure has affected the neighbourhood, Anikamon adds. With the opening of new, popular and Instagram-hot spots, many visitors wander off the main roads to photograph old buildings or portray themselves in picturesque settings, she adds.
"This kind of change is inevitable. It's also a question of generation, but we have to be mindful of others."
For Soi Nana tenants and business owners, the organisation of the Chinatown Fair last week was far batter than that of previous events held in the alley, as TCDC allotted them a budget to make signs, purchase lights and clean up.
"We've asked local tenants to help with the setting up and cleaning, too. It's a good way to propagate the income from the event," Anikamon argues.
"At the end of the day, it's really like a village fair."
Ideas for renovation
From the outside, house No.586 on Si Phraya Road looks rather small and trivial. But since it became open to the public as part of TCDC's Design Week, visitors marvelled at its actual size and intramural beauty.
For now, the house is still in more or less derelict shape, but that could soon change, as third-year students at Thammasat University's Design School were asked to submit ideas for the building's renovation.
Twenty-four of these ideas are exhibited in the house, ranging from a restaurant to workshop spaces for adults and children, to film and photography labs.
"The outlines we were given by the TCDC were centred on Charoen Krung's capacity to be a creative district," says Kolunya Suwannakoed, one of the students who took part in the project.
By pairs, the students took field visits in Charoen Krung, she explains, and tried to analyse the different elements and facets of the neighbourhood, as well as identify target groups that would benefit from such a space.
"Each group sort of had its own interest in the neighbourhood. During field visits, those who wanted to work with street art went to scout those locations. Ours was cycling, so we went about and really explored the area," adds Teepop Phermpiriyapan.
While the designed space's ability to generate income was part of its prerequisites, several students nonetheless came up with projects that tied in with the local community, although they primarily serve visitors as opposed to residents.
Kolunya and Teepop's work was built around bicycle tours that would present the neighbourhood's wealth and hidden gems -- from the best eateries to unexpected craftworks and unique spots. As such, they have planned to enlist the help of retired or unemployed residents of Charoen Krung to help serve as guides to the area.
Stylistic elements of Charoen Krung's past are also conveyed either through the students' concepts or designs. The creation of the Jekky bike -- a bicycle with a hooded seat -- is a reference to the rot jek rickshaws which were popular in the past, while decorative elements such as wrought iron and waffle-coffered ceilings are integrated into their models.
"Old buildings that are beautiful and tell a story about the architecture of an era or place should definitely be preserved," says Jinjutha Tharasak, also a third-year design student at Thammasat University. "But they should also be adapted to make them relevant and interesting to contemporary audiences."
