Projects / Learning     

Klong Toey Community Lantern, Bangkok, Thailand

Through a whole year of meetings, conversations and interviews, Tyin Tegnestue prepared the construction of a meeting place for people in the informal settlements of Bangkok. Who lives there? What do they have? What do they need?

The resulting little structure is a tool for tackling both practical and social challenges.

Architect: Tyin Tegnestue
Published 25 May, 2012
 
The structure encourages different ways of playing.

The structure encourages different ways of playing.

Meeting at the construction site. A whiteboard becomes a tool of communication in the process.

A before-picture of the football court. A lot of work to be done in only 3 weeks.

The area becomes full of life and activity as soon as school is over for the day.

When the night falls, the "Lantern" is turned on.

Cleaning the space and dismantling poor concrete was the first thing to do.

Children can sit and watch a football game.

Local architect discussing ideas with students inside the library next to the site.

Busy street during the construction period.

Children from the community helping out in the construction process.

TYIN discussing construction details over the whiteboard on site.

Real scale experiments on site are part of the process to test ideas.

Final touches.

The structure gives a new character to the street, creating a defined but permeable boundary.

Parents can now keep an eye on their children while they are playing.

View of the structure from the entrance point.

 
 
Completion: 2011

Address:
Klong Toey Lock 1-2-3, Bangkok, Thailand

View it on the map

Photo:
TYIN tegnestue

Klong Toey is currently the largest and oldest area of informal dwellings in Bangkok. More than 140.000 people are estimated to live here. This project was intended as a tool for the community to tackle some of the social challenges in the area.

During a yearlong preparation period, the team got involved with the community through interviews, workshops and public meetings. The final structure embodies several of the features lacking in the area, including a football court, new hoops for basketball, a stage for performances or public meetings, walls for climbing and seating both inside and around the edges of the playground. The simplicity of the construction allows it to be changed and adapted as needs arise.

Facts:
The project was sponsored by LINK arkitektur og Ratio Arkitekter. The total cost of construction was 4500 Euros.