In Architect-Jer (Architect View), Chatchavan Suwansawat shares stories about his architectural-based perspective and the things people see in everyday life such as a Chinese ancestral altar, a metal sliding door, and pots of plants. The book is a compilation of his writings for the online magazine The Cloud. Chatchavan came up with the idea of writing the column after he graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at Silpakorn University and participated in a writing camp arranged by Sarakadee Magazine.
"I had to compete with other aspiring writers who majored in journalism and literature. I tried to write about social issues but couldn't compete with them. For my final piece, I decided to write about Chinese altars and presented them from an architectural perspective. I researched and figured out how Chinese altars are involved in people's lifestyles and how they reflect Thai architecture. The piece was published in the magazine," Chatchavan said.
"Before I started writing for Architect View, text relating to architecture was all about house reviews and how to solve construction problems. While there were some writings about the philosophy behind architecture, most people didn't really read that. I thought there should be something else. As I hung out with friends, we often talked about how difficult it is to design a modern house with a Chinese altar and so the idea became a writing piece."
A modern Chinese ancestral altar. (Photos courtesy of Chatchavan Suwansawat)
When talking about architecture, most people focus on the design and construction of buildings, however, from the perspective of this 29-year-old architect, architecture isn't limited to only just that.
"Architecture interprets how to utilise space or it can also be the final product which is the result of a thinking process. My definition of architecture focuses on how objects are involved in our lives. For instance, when we have a meal, we must have a table and a chair and the way these objects are arranged or located can make us comfortable.
Most topics in Architect View are about things people see regularly such as store signs, clothes drying racks and a grocery store van. He refers to these happenings as "urban vernacular", which is architecture related to applying local thinking to solve urban issues.
"Urban vernacular is a new architectural term and it refers to the local community. For example, we usually think architecture in the countryside features bamboo houses, earthen houses or houses on stilts. Local people solve their problems using their wisdom which differs from a designer's thought process. They use bamboo to build houses because they live near bamboo forests. Moreover, they build their homes on stilts to elevate it in order to avoid flooding. However, in a city like Bangkok, there are more complicated problems. For instance, when one side of the building has too much sun exposure, the building's owner places many layers of canvas awnings for shade. This book focuses on the urban vernacular because I'm interested in the local thought process but I still focus on problems faced in the capital," explained Chatchavan.
Some pots are used as a 'no parking sign'. (Photos by Chatchavan Suwansawat)
A grocery-delivery motorcycle.
In a sketch about urban vernacular, a street vendor uses a watermelon to make the pavement even.
A vendor tied canvas to umbrellas for more shade.
Everyday Architect & Design Studio.
Besides the book, Chatchavan created more than 300 posts about urban vernacular on his design studio page at facebook.com/everyday-architect-design-studio. Each post consists of a photo of an object and a close-up sketch as well as long shots with some descriptions.
"There are some urban vernaculars that I couldn't write into a column because there is not enough detail to develop it, however, they are interesting things that we can see every day and I want people to understand it more, which is why I made sketches in the album Everyday Architecture Sketch. While working on the sketches, I noticed that an important problem in Bangkok is uneven pavements. People trip on them. When street vendors want to stop their carts, they have to use other objects to make the pavement even. We should create an innovative item for street vendors which can make the pavement even and perhaps act as a septic tank as well. This innovative item would be useful," said Chatchavan.
When Chatchavan was in India for his internship, he noticed urban vernacular in India as well. Since Indian people like to hang out together, they design seats to serve their behaviour.
"There are many seats in Indian homes because people there like to sit down and talk. Window frames in India are also designed to be bump-outs where people can sit and hang out with their friends. Moreover, Indians also use wrought-iron bars for security like Thais," said Chatchavan.
Chatchavan has learned quite a lot by working on this book and his sketches. In fact, he even adapted ideas of urban vernacular while renovating his design studio, Everyday Architect & Design Studio, which used to be an old building belonging to his family. The decorative elements that feature in the studio such as wrought-iron windows and a lampshade are actually 40-year-old vintage items he already owned. His office is located on the second floor while the first floor is lodging for two workers who work for his family. The building is painted in dark blue and green because Chatchavan wanted the building to blend in with the neighbourhood.
"I used to work with a social architecture group, Young Thon, and wanted to use ideas that relate to the community. My next-door neighbour's home is also blue so my door is dark blue. Moreover, the building has a green colour tone that matches other houses in the area," Chatchavan added.
A wrought-iron window or door is a decorative item that helps residents to feel secure. However, many people feel that wrought-iron isn't aesthetically pleasing which is why Chatchavan repainted the green wrought-iron and used it as a window without glass to bring ventilation to the second floor as well as add security to the building. The architect said using vintage items can often reduce construction costs.
"This Thai style design can save many expenses. An old-style metal sliding door costs 30,000 baht while other aesthetic sliding doors can cost more than 50,000 baht. In addition to its low cost, the metal sliding door provides security to the building as well. Workers can also dry their clothes behind the sliding door which resembles a batten," he said.
As a writer, Chatchavan has received both positive and negative feedback and it made him realise that he should provide a balanced perspective when writing.
"I wrote about plant pots and provided only positive aspects about it. I wrote that pots of plants brought freshness to the city but a reader sent me a message and pointed out that placing pots of plants in front of homes, which is a public space, is illegal. The Cloud deleted the story and I had to write it again. This time, I did more research and found out that many neighbours fight over plant pots. For example, a house owner might put a plant pot in a spot that makes the neighbour have a hard time with his or her car. This experience taught me that I should look through all aspects before writing a piece," Chatchavan concluded.
Architect-Jer (Architect View) is available at Se-Ed bookstores and Salmon Books on Din Daeng Soi 3.
