Bangkok Design Week 2020: FabCafe Bangkok explores the new potential of solar living

It’s going to be a Fab-ruary month for FabCafe Bangkok: From February 1 to 9, the team are set to join more than 1000 artists, designers and entrepreneurs, as they take over Thailand’s capital with their creative visions for Bangkok Design Week 2020 (BKKDW2020). 

This is the third edition of BKKWD, now both a significant event on the design calendar in Thailand and a major growth engine for the country’s creative industries. It is organized by the Thailand Creative Design Center, or TCDC, a government-run organization founded in 2004. 

This year’s BKKDW takes on the theme of ‘Resilience: New Potential for Living’, which is centered around the idea of the ‘resilient cities’ – cities that can “absorb, recover and prepare for future shocks”. As Thailand’s largest urban center, as well as one of the world’s most populous cities, Bangkok will be met with issues pertaining to sustainability, migration, tourism, climate change and more, in the near future.  While the ideas and discussions generated during the festival may not be brought to fruition in the immediate, it’s hoped that they can “lay down the building blocks of resilience capacity,” according to the TCDC. 

FabCafe Bangkok has whipped up four events as part of the festival, including workshops, talks and exhibitions. From the technical to the whimsical, participants will be able to experience firsthand the collaborative and innovative spirit of FabCafe.

Solar Vengers

With the aim to promote solar energy usage in Thailand, Solar Vengers is a collaborative innovation project made up of designers, engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs and government – including FabCafe Bangkok. In the lead-up to BKKDW 2020, three teams of ‘Vengers’ – Creative, Design and Maker – have been busy conducting a series of design thinking workshops to prototype solar energy products, with the winning team set to showcase their prototypes at the festival and receive 2 million Thai Baht in funding.

Led by FabCafe Bangkok cofounder Kalaya Kovidvisith, the ‘MakerVengers’ team has attempted to carve out a space for ‘solar lifestyle’, bringing solar energy into the everyday life. The ‘Foresee’ project, for example, is a prototype of a solar-panelled, bluetooth-integrated smart helmet, making the cyclist both a consumer and producer of energy. Meanwhile, ‘Soundplant’ is an indoor plant growing system using light and sound generated by solar energy, tailored for all kinds of households.

Tajima: Enjoy Your Stay

What if the ordinary hotel experience can be ‘hacked’…through embroidery? A creative collaboration between Japanese embroidery machine company Tajima and FabCafe Bangkok and FabCafe Kyoto, the traditionally sentimental craft has been utilized as a communication tool between hotels and their guests, with everything from customized hotel amenities to aromatic embroidery spa experiences. 

As part of BKKDW 2020, ‘Enjoy Your Stay’ will bring to life the many components of the Tajima project, as well as the art of storytelling through embroidery, via an exhibition and Fab Meetup talk from 3pm to 6pm on Feb. 8, starring up-and-coming textile designers Patipat Chaiwitesh and Khanittha Nualtaranee.

Event: FAB Meetup Vol. 14: Enjoy Your Stay
Date: Feb. 8, 2020 (Saturday)
Time: 3pm-6pm
Venue: FabCafe Bangkok TCDC
RSVP: Here

Edible Fonts

Dessert and design come together at this pop-up cafe. Giving a new meaning to ‘eat your words’, pastry chef Apatcha Siripachana and ThaiGa (Thai Graphic Designer Association) font designer AlphaBloc will make fonted Thai desserts through 3D printing! Fusing the traditional and the ultramodern, this delectable menu consists of Thong Ek (wheat flour dumplings with egg yolk), Woon Krob (crispy jelly) and Woon Tubtim Krob (water chestnuts in syrup and coconut milk).

Everlasting Forest by GC

Everlasting Forest showcases the coexistence of human beings and natural surroundings, and the kind of design needed to maintain the balance. The project by Piboon Amornjiraporn of Plural Design (with computational design support from FabCafe Bangkok), focuses on materials with production and installation processes that have the least impact on the environment, such as reused materials, reduction of excess waste and that which is biodegradable.

Bangkok Design Week 2020 is on from February 1 – 9, with exhibitions, talks, workshops, markets and more happening in creative venues all across the city. See more.

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About FabCafe Bangkok

FabCafe Bangkok is the fifth addition in the global FabCafe network. Located in the Thailand Creative and Design Center in the city’s hip neighborhood of Ari, visitors of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to ‘fab’ things using fabrication machinery, such as 2D laser cutters and 3D scanners and printers. It is founded by Kalaya Kovidvisith, Chutayaves Sinthuphan, and Samustpon Tanapant.

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