I've never seen Charoen Krung district, which was the main site for Bangkok Design Week, look so vibrant and cool. Over the past two weeks, a large number of visitors, mostly young and chic, have thronged the once sleepy area that is now a creative hub.
A major attraction was the old building that once served as the Central Post Office but is now the headquarters of Thailand Creative & Design Centre (TCDC), the main BDW host. The rejuvenation of this area began a couple of years ago before the TCDC moved from its old office at Emporium.
The concept of the event, "The NEW-ist Vibes", was applied to different spots, from the TCDC headquarters to the small sois of Charoen Krung district, as well as bars and galleries in Talat Noi and old warehouses in Charoen Nakhon on the other side of the Chao Phraya River. Some places on Sukhumvit also jumped on the bandwagon for the Jan 27-Feb 4 event.
Sirinya Wattanasukchai is a columnist, Bangkok Post.
Charoen Krung possesses a rich history. It's the district where the first well-paved, modern road, with a tram line running through it, was built in the reign of King Rama V, who wanted to extend the development from the old Rattanakosin area to the east of the capital. This is the reason the area became known as "New Road" among foreigners. But, over the last century the area withered as new city centres popped up, until the TCDC began its rejuvenation project, making use of that old character but blended with new designs.
The project was well received by young creative minds. For them, this was a chance to rebrand old Bangkok so it can meet new cultural aspirations. There were a plethora of outdoor events including design and fashion markets, and art installations such as the wall lighting in Talat Noi.
In the "586 House", a group of architecture students from Thammasat University turned an old house on Si Phraya Road into a mixed-use property, while the floating park on Chao Phraya River was an effort to add green space to the city.
Some may see these events as too niche. However, Mayday, a group of young people passionate about improving the city's public transport, launched a new informative bus stop in front of the TCDC headquarters that will be useful for millions of commuters. The group had last year became the talk of the town after demonstrating an early prototype of the project.
Meanwhile, three young organisers successfully encouraged groups to learn the history of the town with their treasure tour into the small sois of Charoen Krung which also helped mix visitors with residents. Despite the efforts to accommodate old communities into the project, local participation remained low. The elderly, in particular, appeared to be lukewarm about the whole thing.
There was no clear reason for their lack of interest. When asked about inclusiveness, Sopistha Thunprateep, one of the treasure tour organisers, said some designers seemed to have urban mindsets and had concentrated on their own creations without connecting their work with the local environment.
So, what I saw was a gap between the worlds of the designers and the locals. It was good intentions on the part of the former combined the expectations of the latter, some of whom pinned their hopes on the "new vibe" helping to revive the area financially and socially.
Despite some setbacks, the idea of rejuvenation through a celebration of design deserves praise. Moreover, the government made it clear that BDW would be one of the elements used to pitch Bangkok as the "World Design Capital" in 2022 to the World Design Organisation next month.
A proposal to make Bangkok a potential design capital must be submitted by September. If accepted, Bangkok will have two years to implement its plan to make the city a real hotbed of design. In Asia, Seoul (2010) and Taipei (2016) have previously been named as the World Design Capitals, an award designated every two years.
Whether Bangkok becomes the World Design Capital 2022 or not, I hope the vibe and efforts remain. Some ideas are worth expanding, in particular Mayday's practical bus stops should be adopted citywide for both form and function.
I also hope this will be a good start for the TCDC in its efforts to reach out to communities for their help in building a more creative city, rather than just using them as background or props. It is also time for communities to try to keep up with trends and welcome newcomers into their midst.
If successful, Bangkok will become a real creative city where no one is left behind.