1. The Continued Rise of Thai Craftsmanship 

Plural Design
 
The influence which local craftsmanship had on Thai design last year continues into 2016 with brands capitalizing on the skills of craft communities for new products as well as lending their design talents to help develop existing ones. PDM’s polypropylene mat and Thinkk Studio’s Lanna Factory are two outstanding examples from the first group, with PDM’s designer, Doonyapol Srichan, winning Design of the Year at the Designer of the Year Awards 2015. This year she launched her new collection at the Thailand International Furniture Fair 2016, where Plural Design also debuted with its Gestalt stool and coffee table that take inspiration from the classic slatted screens used in tropical countries to block out sunlight. 
 

2. Support from SACICT

Go Went Gone
 
Bolana Lab
 
The job of connecting the dots between Thai craftsmanship and modern design has been taken up by The Support Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand (SACICT). The organization has launched a project that lets Thai designers like Trimode and Thinkk Studio connect with craft communities so they can breathe new life into their products. Now in its fifth year, the annual International Innovative Craft Fair took place on Mar 10-13 (see page 18 for the best new products). Some of the craftsmanship skills on display included indigo dye work from Mann Craft and Mae Teeta in Sakolnakorn and textile weaving in collaboration with Thailand-based UK company Maison Craft. New young designers to emerge from the event include Go Went Gone, Thxful for Small Mercies and the recently DeMark-awarded Bolana Lab.  
 

3. New eco-friendly materials 

Eqo/ogist
 
Pineapple leather was one of the biggest recent international discoveries, but Thailand Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) has also launched an initiative called Design from Waste of Agriculture (DEWA), which sponsors Thai designers so they can research and develop new eco-friendly products out of agricultural waste. This year, one of the leading designers from the program is industrial designer Anon Pairot, who has teamed up Japanese designer Wataru Sakuma (who’s worked with the project since it started in 2014) to create the new Eqo/ogist brand. Its first collection, called Anu, is made from cassava, a woody shrub that’s one of Thailand’s most important economic crops. They’ve used it to create a range of pendant lamps, which they exhibited for the first time at Thailand International Furniture Fair 2016 (TIFF). 
 

5. Moving to the Old Town

Teens of Thailand
 
Tep Bar
 
 
Let the Boy Die
 
Bangkok’s Old Town areas like Charoenkrung, Chinatown and Phra Arthit have been stealing much of the limelight from the city center. In Chinatown, bars like Tep Bar, Let the Boy Die and Teens of Thailand have brought a cool, creative crowd to the area, led by a design ethos which values preservation over renovation. Original structure, old facades and decades of unstripped paint make each space unique while tied together by a common thread of age. But the focal point of this burgeoning creativity will be the Thailand Creative and Design Center, set to reopen at the Central Post Office in 2017. There, TCDC will rent between 8,000-9,000 sq metres to deliver exhibitions, working spaces for start-ups and business matching services. Shma Designs, a landscape architecture firm who is working on the TCDC project, says it hopes to extend its plans to the whole neighborhood, creating a "creative district." 
 

6. Raw elegance

Jonathan Adler
 

Jonathan Adler boutique has made a splash. Here, you’ll find sofas sitting on slender brass legs and equally elegant coffee tables referencing mid-century California. Walk into Bangkok’s coolest cafes and bars and you’ll find a similarly refined approach. We’re sold on Rabbit Hole’s interior, which combines the raw structure of an old shop-house with a cool marble bar and huge rose gold spirit rack. 

This year, materials have been all about brass, copper, rose gold and marble. Meanwhile, 1950s-inspired furniture like that found at the Jonathan Adler boutique has made a splash. Here, you’ll find sofas sitting on slender brass legs and equally elegant coffee tables referencing mid-century California. Walk into Bangkok’s coolest cafes and bars and you’ll find a similarly refined approach. We’re sold on Rabbit Hole’s interior, which combines the raw structure of an old shop-house with a cool marble bar and huge rose gold spirit rack. 


BK ASKS

Norranit Suvanich 
Editor-in-Chief at Elle Decoration Thailand  

What’s the biggest design trend we’re going to see in 2016?

“I think 1980s Memphis style has had a lot of influence on interior design this year. You can see a lot more geometric shapes and bold colors in product design, while interiors have taken to color blocking in pastels. Copper, rose gold and marble are three major materials defining luxury right now, and I think we’ll see more shades of marble going into the year, like emerald green. Of course, the trend for green living continues to develop, now going down smaller routes like products featuring built-in solar cells. People are also taking on board 'green' cues in the way they decorate. Whether it’s forestry wallpaper, furniture made from natural materials or indoor cactus gardens, people seem to be seeking things that make them feel close to nature. One outstanding example of this is The Commons community mall. Aside from its concept of sharing space, it also incorporates an eco-friendly design that maximizes wind and natural light while also using sustainable materials." 

Essentials

Bolana Lab. 2/F, CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., BTS Chit Lom. www.bolonalab.com
Jonathan Adler. 1/F, Groove at CentralWorld, Ratchadamri Rd., 02-264-5080
Let The Boy Die. 542 Luang Rd., 096-695-6281. on.fb.me/1WYj9Cu
Mae Teeta. maeteeta.com
Maison Craft. www.maisoncraft.com 
Mann Craft. www.manncraft.com
Plural Design. www.pluraldesigns.net
Rabbit Hole. 125 Sukhumvit Soi 55 (Thonglor), 081-822-3392. www.fb.com/rabbitholebkk
Teens of Thailand. 76 Soi Nana (Charoenkrung), 081-443-3784. ow.ly/S4Q0G
Tep Bar. 69-71, Soi Nana (Charoenkrung), 098-467-2944. www.fb.com/tepbar
Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC). 6/F, The Emporium, 662 Sukhumvit Soi 24, 02-664-8448. www.tcdc.or.th
Thinkk Studio. www.thinkk-studio.com
Thxful for Small Mercies. www.fb.com/Thxful

 


Branching Out

 
 
Sabhat Rakitawan
 
Chanasit Cholasuek

How one group of designers worked with nature to create a community mall that preserves Bangkok’s trees.

Awarded Wallpaper’s design award in 2015, the Naiipa Art Complex has created a stir thanks to architect Chanasit “Dew” Cholasuek’s bold design for a community mall built around the existing trees on the site. 
 
It stands in the backyard of owner Sabhat "Kaey" Rakitawan’s house, winding between the trees planted 30-40 years ago by his grandparents. The idea, he says, came 4-5 years ago when the design team were briefed to create a community mall without having to uproot any of the old trees. Apparently, Naiipa is the very first project of its kind in Thailand, with the designers having to work in unison with arborists and tree surgeons to follow the lines of the trees. 
 
“It wasn’t just my idea,” says Kaey. “Back in the day my father wanted to build a house under these conditions but we didn’t have the knowledge to do it. So when I was planning to start Naiipa Art Complex, my biggest concern was preserving the trees—it’s the first thing I discussed with the design team. My father and I both believed this concept could become a reality.” 
 
Head designer Chanasit “Dew” Cholasuek says that, though challenging, the project was hugely rewarding: “I was so happy after receiving this brief. As a designer, I want to preserve trees but I also know that this comes with a high cost. Concepts like this are feasible to do in Thailand, but the client needs to have a lot of confidence. No matter what we say or how much we convince them, if the owner of the land doesn’t care about doing it, then the project won’t happen. I hope Naiipa Art Complex can lead with an example of good design projects to show people that there’s a way of doing something commercial without harming nature. In Thailand, there are still too few design studios which are serious about the environment.”