Home Manifesto: Urban X

Chulalongkorn University, Architectural Design Studio, Spring 2012
Advisor: Fredrik Hellberg

The Home Manifesto was a series of projects exploring the meaning of the word “HOME”. Through the different phases, my definition of the word slowly changed.

Phase II - The Parameter: Urban X

From the previous study, I applied the concept attained into a design proposal. The site is a totally isolated unbuilt opera hall inside Siam Paragon, Bangkok’s most popular mall.

The Urban X project is a systematic accumulation ofarchitecture, programs and communities which aim to recreate new synergy and spatial relationships. As Bangkok is undergoing a lot of changes in terms of urban development, aging architecture and communities that do not have enough economic values will be demolished and replaced by something more efficient.

Nevertheless, hybridization is a way to preserve them in an intriguing way. To experiment on the methodology, I set up the initial scenario by doing deep research on a few pieces of architecture and communities located close to Siam Paragon that are under threat. The selections include; Scala Theater; an art deco cinema for offstream movies; Baan Krua Community, a Khmer-Muslim community famous for their silk production; and Seang-Kong, a Chinese-dominated district known for used auto parts. I have experimented with combining the architectural elements of
buildings for new usages, realign buildings to create new spatial relationships, and anticipated possible outcomes through story telling.