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Let us say THANKS!

Let us say THANKS! to you all who make Bangkok Design Week 2020 complete & being a part of positive power to drive Bangkok better together.   See you again Bangkok Design Week 2021 30 JAN – 7 FEB 2021   #BKKDW2020 #BKKDW2021 #Bangkokdesignweek  

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

Same Neighbour, New Perspective Activity. Highlight of Thonglor – Ekamai venues in Bangkok Design Week 2020

Same Neighbour, New Perspective Activity Highlight of Thonglor – Ekamai venues in Bangkok Design Week 2020   Take a look at Thonglor-Ekamai from a different perspective. The district is not only an area for nightlife lovers and a district filled with stylish accommodations, famous restaurants, offices, public transport and chic hangout cafés; it also has many design companies and stores hidden at every corner.   The district, somehow, lacks sufficient development plan causing poor collaboration among local businesses. Hence, BKKDW2020 decided to bring the “Creative Neighbourhood” concept to the area gathering local experts and specialists from all aspects to work together on the assignment. Working as a team allowed participants to let the mixed identities between the preserved history and the new wave of modern business to merge and flourish moving the district forward. Neighbour Green Ekamai Road is often reminisced as an avenue with shades of trees covering the road. This was a successful result of neighbour collaboration to create green spaces by promoting it through green practices including a workshop turning wastes into arts, an Oasis Creators Program transforming unwanted items into something useful, or an artificial flower workshop learning how to arrange flowers by Olive Creative using leftover vases from kenkoon Factory. Neighbour Art and Media Thonglor-Ekamai is a centre of bars, restaurants and shopping places of all styles. A group of neighbours in the area; therefore, organised various art activities pitching ideas to improve bus stops, pavements and pedestrian crossings encouraging people utilise the road and public area. Designers also opened their houses for good conversations while indulging themselves into art pieces and dances to great music. A list of great activities includes: Live Scale Floor Plan “The Playground” Exhibition by Mobella at ACMEN Ekamai Complex presents an active experiment on Smart Living with a workshop on interior plan reading using the 1:1 scale and real furniture to understand the practical distance for interior design. This helps readers to understand and change an interior drawing into practice. A furniture making will also be demonstrated by specialists from a leather furniture factory, a wooden furniture manufacturing and an outdoor furniture company. PDM Brand X Atelier 2+, a collaboration between PDM Brand, a Thai design company on creative products, and Atelier 2+, Thailand’s leading designers. The two companies worked together to present creative spaces utilising various architecture and interior aspects inspired by Thai culture. The project allows audience to feel and understand the ‘better design, better living concept’ aiming to let a good design factor to be considered in their next furniture purchase. Activities also include presenting new ideas in different dimensions and enhancing the local living quality of the district while inspiring others. The partnership between Shma and kenkoon sets a good example by bringing materials and knowledge of kenkoon to better design bus stops in the area. Movie in the Front Yard Program by kenkoon / PDM Brand / Lamptitude with Chobjai Studio presents ‘movie night at a friend’s house’ idea using a giant screen in the heart of Thonglor at kenkoon Thonglor Showroom. Tag your friends along, grab a picnic mat by PDM Brand and enjoy watching independent films in the garden. Neighbour Food Did you know that famous design work and furniture are right here in Ekamai especially at the ACMEN Ekamai Complex? Here comes the idea of merging the beauty of creative designs with mouth-watering menus from famous local restaurants in the district. What about serving a delicious dish on special tableware dining in an amazing atmosphere? Stristro teamed up with kenkoon, PDM Brand, Modern Outdoor, Nomjit Grilled Chicken to change the look of street food. Kenkoon let us travelled back in time by creating a unique setting at Nomjit Grilled Chicken Ekamai Branch, the classic Thai food legend. Another fantastic spot for the food makeover is Ekamian Fusion Restaurant. Chef Tan Kosiyabong, the owner, will bring you a cool setting at kenkoon Thonglor Showroom. Neighbour Memory Ekamai is not only a place for young gens to hang out; it is also full of fun history. It is home to an old community rich with traditional shophouses and culture along Klong Peng, the canel with history. Explore the arts along Klong Peng, appreciate the photos of many historical places and allow a cup of aromatic coffee to soothe your body while listening to a fun history and beyond. The Commons A loft-style community mall, one of the most popular hang-out locations in Thonglor, invites you to join their fun activities during the Bangkok Design Week 2020. Thonglor-Ekamai inspires and encourages local people and nearby to look at their district from the Bangkok Design Week 2020 perspectives. Modern business proves to be more challenging nowadays, yet business alliance and friends’ network can offer sustainable business. Partnership and collaboration lead to resilience, a new potential for sustainable business and living quality. Creative Neighbourhood is not simply the main theme of Thonglor-Ekamai during the Bangkok Design Week 2020, yet it represents the concept and the power of togetherness of the area pushing the community forward.   #THONGEKCREATIVEDISTRICT      #CREATIVEDISTRICTOFBKKDW #BKKDW2020  

Innovation and Inspiration Route

Innovation and Inspiration Route Exhilarate yourself in a creative and innovative design platform aiming to reduce current social and environmental issues by displaying the work around the district. Discover authentic work of gifted Thai artists at the craft market and get to meet the real talents behind each amazing design.   SWEAR (Like Thai Spirit) ผิว-ผิว CITIZEN OF NOWHERE [Showcase] E!CUBE KUDOS [Showcase] the critters black den the critters black den [Showcase] WHY DO WE NEED ANOTHER CHAIR THINKK Together [Showcase] Vespa Playground @ the Grand Postal Imaginary Objects  [Showcase] ThaiGa Creative Market 2020 Thai Graphic Designers Association [Market] SA DUAK SUE DesignPlant [Showcase] HAUS OF EVERYTHING DUCSTORE  [Showcase]   #DesignInspiration       #BKKDWROUTES #BKKDW2020  

Thonglor – Ekkamai CREATIVE DISTRICT

Get to know the main creative venues of Bangkok Design Week 2020 ‘Why – Where – How’ – meet 4 latest Bangkok’s creative districts   Bangkok’s prime location is the definition of Thonglor-Ekkamai area (Sukhumvit Road Soi 55 – 63). It is not only the heart of various lifestyle businesses; the land value of this neighbourhood is also widely known among Thai and foreign investors. This side of the city is full of top properties and real estates, lifestyle shops, community malls and country’s leading creative studios. Thonglor and Ekkamai is, therefore, the selling point of Bangkok for business and modern lifestyle.  ThongEk Creative Neighbourhood, founded by a group of entrepreneurs and designers in the district, aims to enhance the business operations and urban living through working in a cluster of local creative industry. The collaboration supports business movement while nurturing the local community from changes of modern business and consumer behaviour. Stand-alone business can no longer survive, but a powerful network is required for the business to flourish and sustain. Thonglor-Ekkamai the source of creative power Anupol Yooyuen (Ta), Metchanun Suensilpong (Mark), and Yossapol Boonsom (Yos), the three design entrepreneurs of ThongEk Creative Neighbourhood are the main players behind the Thonglor-Ekkamai creative production of Bangkok Design Week 2020. Ta is the Design Director of Mobella Galleria Ltd. Mobella is a leading Thai brand producing and selling unique furniture for over six years. Mark has managed the design team of kenkoon, Thailand’s modern outdoor living furniture brand sold worldwide for around the same time, while Yos has been the Managing Director of a landscape architecture company called Shma Ltd. for twelve years.  The three entrepreneurs want Thonglor-Ekkamai to be the centre of lifestyle business and design as well as the prime location for top property projects. They believe in the power of creativity and a strong network group, which will enhance business opportunity and become a source of inspiration for all creative minds to grow together.  “Thonglor-Ekkamai creates a mystical energy for designers and creative minds to produce their works wondering around green spaces in the area. The changes of day and nightlife, a diverse community, and a variety of business contribute to a vibrant lifestyle of the neighbourhood. This implements many creative and inspiring works to be created here” said Yos. Ta stated that “my work involves working with Thai designers on Thai inspired furniture designs. Mobella was not widely recognised when we first started. We decided to add our brand into this big picture of Thonglor-Ekkamai, an intense design district and the heart of lifestyle shops, in order to grab the attention of Thai and foreign clients on the unique work by our Thai designers. Moreover, Thonglor-Ekkamai is a neighbourhood with diverse residents, lifestyle, shops and restaurants that all fit as our target market, so we chose to have our office here.” Mark added that “inner Bangkok used to be Sathorn or somewhere around that area. When the population grew and the land became more expensive, people started to move to Sukhumvit area building modern houses and properties of their own. With a large number of foreigners living around this area, more and more shops and restaurants opened and expanded into the district. This creates a unique charm of Sukhumvit, a mix between the Western world and the Japanese style from the characters of local residents of the area. Many global furniture and lifestyle brands with top quality also have their branches and shops here on Sukhumvit Road making it a very interesting creative community.” Changes and attractions of Thonglor-Ekkamai Thonglor-Ekkamai is considered to be one of strongly growing and changing districts. Nowadays, many property and real estate projects are underway including mega malls, restaurants, coffee shops, night clubs and bars. A large number of foreigners and tourists such as westerners, Japanese, Chinese or Korean residents flock to the area. This results more traffic jam and higher living expenses in exchange for a “chic lifestyle”. However, the plus side of this story is the people of this neighbourhood. Thonglor-Ekkamai has not just grown; they have been around for a long time with their own history and stories to tell. The district naturally grows into its unique character through the old and new period creating it truly interesting and exceptional. The question is how we manage these changes for a sustainable growth at a suitable pace within the district. ThongEk Creative Neighbourhood…a community of designers and creative minds One of Thonglor-Ekkamai distinctive characters is its community of designers and creative minds working in the district for a very long time. There is a loose network within this group, yet there has been no major collaboration. However, with more challenging business environment today, they began to partner and collaborate in order to survive and grow. When a stand-alone business strategy no longer works, a strong business network is the true answer to move business forward. This was how ThongEk Creative Neighbourhood started. ThongEk Creative Neighbourhood is a group of Thonglor-Ekkamai’s vibrant business entrepreneurs and experts from a variety of leading business including furniture and lifestyle entrepreneurs, restaurant and café owners, architects, landscapers, interior and graphic designers.  Thonglor-Ekkamai has now moved towards a strong community of creative neighbourhood gathering friendship and business partners for a better opportunity. Ta emphasises “I am an entrepreneur who focuses in business operation. We basically evolve around great designs in order to move the brand forward. At the end of the day, we are designers who sell products. This idea of a creative neighbourhood brought us all together. We believe that working alone is no longer the trend. It can be difficult and exhausting. We, then, came up with this concept initially for business opportunity and brand marketing. However, we found that the group also creates a complete cycle of business in the area. We want to make Thonglor-Ekkamai a more appealing area to live in. For example, a client could walk into Yos’s Shma Studio. Yos could later recommend that client to have a good coffee at my furniture showroom – Mobella’s. I could also send the same client to Mark’s kenkoon to have a look around. This gives a full circle helping more local business exposure. This also has positive impact towards non-design businesses in the area. As a friendly and positive atmosphere is created, it helps all business to grow together. A number of seminars or small talk sessions inviting local designers to tell their interesting stories have also been organised. We have done Openhouses for students to learn and be supported by us.  We want to present interesting information or hidden stories of the district for other people to learn about this neighbourhood. It would be nice to let them see Thonglor-Ekkamai as something more than just a place to hangout for food and drinks.”  Yos has been in charge of bringing together a group of local designers, architect, landscapers, interior and graphic designers, media designers, curators and more. “ThongEk Creative Neighbourhood was started from challenges and problems we have seen in the area for the past ten years. We often create our designs for other districts. Then when we look around our own neighbourhood, we realise that we also have many unsolved problems in our own area. Therefore, creative tools could be solutions to a better living for everyone in the area. We were surprised to find out that every one of us in the group has their own business that caters for change. Many of our neighbours work in many different types of designs making us a single eco-system of creativity. Neighbour here used to know each other by names, but this collaboration changes everything. It brings business opportunity and offers a healthier lifestyle in the district. This never happens so I strongly believe that this network works. It will eventually create a power of unity responding to every challenge and drive the creative business of the area forward.”  Discover Thonglor-Ekkamai from a new perspective. This district does not only serve as a nightlife hangout area, but it also offers an opportunity for a genuine business partnership at Bangkok Design Week 2020. Thonglor-Ekkamai is now full of limitless opportunities of Bangkok. It unlocks creative thinking within the district and reflects strong potential of being a creative district that grows and drives Thailand’s creative economy.   #CreativeDistrictofBKKDW       #BangkokCityOfDesign #BKKDW2020  

The Shophouse 1527 x Labyrinth Café

Stop by New Kid on the (Old) Block The Shophouse 1527 x Labyrinth Café The new art space in the heart of Samyan   Who would ever think that a neglected building hidden away in the deserted corner of Rama IV Road could be resurrected as the latest “art space” of Samyan? The Shophouse 1527 was renovated from old collection of shophouses in the area aiming to create a soulful art project waiting to be discovered. Donlaporn Chanachai or Jo, founder of Cloud-floor stated “we heard that Samyan will be undergoing a mega renovation project as part of the CU 2040 Master Plan turning the area into an educational quarter soon. As the exact timeline of the renovation is not yet finalised, we took this old shophouse hoping to renovate it before being knocked down in two years. With this compromised timeframe, my architect friends and fellow designers agreed to rent out the building to create various projects. We rented the whole building no. 1527 and called it The Shophouse 1527. This building will be experimented as a platform where experiential exhibitions about Samyan community will be showcased. As the shophouse is in Samyan, we feel that the information gathered from real local people should be used to create the content of the exhibitions.”     Simple everyday life stories create endless contents The Shophouse 1527 has opened since August 2019. The building is 4-metre width and 14-metre depth. The 3-storey building was turned into a 2-floor art space by merging the first and the second floor while keeping the vintage and rustic atmosphere of the building. “We tried to maintain the existing elements of the shophouse aiming to reflect the local way of life that used to happen at this building and in the area. This also inspired us to produce the first exhibition called “Resonance of Lives at 1527” telling a story of local community that used to live here and our journey with this building. It is no surprise that the family that used to live here left marks and stains around the building as they lived here for generations over the past 50 years.”  The next exhibition was the continual series of the first one showing the beliefs and local stories of the local community in Samyan such as a Chinese shrine, a Chinese opera, the holy banyan tree etc. The exhibitions were showcased via a customised newspaper or a shrine story told via the fortune sticks designed by Soi . “Anecdotally, Samyan has hundreds of stories to tell. We knew nothing about the district until we started the project. However, the more we learned about Samyan, the less we know the area. It is rich in history and characteristics. Samyan could be the model for other districts to develop creative space for public use in the future. Commercial areas like Samyan can be seen in many parts of Bangkok where shophouses are used as a shop on the first floor and a house on the upper floors. Historical architectures and beliefs are still there as part of the community. It reminds me of Banglamphu community and this model of Samyan development can definitely be used there. We used to take Samyan for granted as the area seemed ordinary. However, this everyday life stories are, in fact, valuable and very interesting.”   Good assets distinguish Samyan  Samyan may be remembered as a centre of shopping malls or great local restaurants with mouth-watering dishes, but Jo found a different beauty “Samyan has good assets – not only the property, but its people. There are many hidden gems in the area that we could only learn by talking to local people. Historical architecture such as a Chinese shrine is an example of the hidden gem of Samyan that we could never discover without asking the locals. The district is truly a mix of the modern world with an old traditional lifestyle. I believe Chulalongkorn students play an important role preserving these creative and meaningful assets of Samyan, too. With the young generation power, the district is driven positively towards becoming a more creative quarter of the city.   Photo credit: facebook.com/theshophouse1527 A toast to storytelling of Samyan The first floor of The Shophouse 1527 is Labyrinth Café. The concept is a slow bar serving special drinks. The second floor of the building is an art gallery used for exhibitions twice. The Shophouse 1527 and the Café work together to create special drink menu based on the happening exhibition. “We had to find the partner that clicked. We both have the same view on coffee drinking philosophy that drinking coffee is a learning process. It should not be just a one-time serving. Instead, there should be a conversation to create a talking exhibition as part of the show. Some of the Café team is a group of photographers so they understand art and ideas. We feel lucky that we found and partnered with them” stated Jo.  Nowadays, The Shophouse 1527 is filled with designers, creative minds and students. Jo added that “we want this space to become an active platform showcasing arts in various aspects, much more than just an “art” It could be creativity in any way as we would like to explore new types of creativity. This space is open to beginners to display their work free of charge if their contents fit our show concept. Therefore, this could be an experimental space where young creative minds can come in to fulfill the space and present their contents physically more.” For more information: The Shophouse 1527   #SamyanCreativeDistrict      #CreativeDistrictofBKKDW #BKKDW2020