Social Sphere
Contribution to Bangkok Design Week 2020
For Bangkok Design Week 2020 Feeney & Raue were invited to design a site specific work for the historic grounds of cultural and civic hub Bangkok 1899. The site for the project is a precious garden that runs parallel to a three-story building once occupied by “Thailand’s father of modern education,” Chaophraya Thammasakmontri. At the end of the garden a space is defined by two trees and the intersection of two periphery walls. It is an ambiguous corner, vacant, as if something once existed there or perhaps ought to. In this corner a sphere will be placed, like an abstract boulder, a natural object for a natural setting. Inside the sphere will be an intimate room for gathering, for seeking shelter from the rain, heat, noise and pollution. The contemplative space forms a resilience to the city at large but also attracts, magnetising those passing by the site. At other times the sphere can be rolled to different parts of the garden where it can open and form a social space for events. The project will use sustainable methods of construction by sourcing and reusing timber and plastics found in proximity to the site and aims to be a model for building in ecologically challenging times. The 1899 sphere, with its unique identity will stand as a new beacon for a cultural organization rolling into the 21st century.
Commission by Bangkok 1899 at Ban Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri
Location: Bangkok Design Week 2020, Grand Postal Office, Bang Rak, Bangkok
2020