THE SECOND EDITION OF DESIGNNATION TITLED “LIVING TOGETHER” AT SAMYAN MITRTOWN FINISHED ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 WITH A SMALL TALK IN A RELAXING ATMOSPHERE BY SLOT MACHINE’S KARINYAWAT “FOET” DURONGJIRAKAN, CO-OWNER OF NIRAN APARTMENT IN NAKHON PATHOM PROVINCE, AND RAD STUDIOS’ PAWAN RITIPONG
TEXT & PHOTO: NAPAT CHARITBUTRA
The second edition of DesignNation, developed from Thailand’s first design festival Bangkok Design Festival (since 2007), titled “Living Together” at Samyan Mitrtown finished on Tuesday, February 25 with a small talk in a relaxing atmosphere by Slot Machine’s Karinyawat “Foet” Durongjirakan, co-owner of Niran Apartment in Nakhon Pathom province, and RAD Studios’ Pawan Ritipong.
Filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit’s sharing of the photo of Niran Apartment’s spaceship-lookalike atrium made it an overnight hit on social media. That aside, this unique project, with the official opening next month, aims to solve two pain points for Nakhon Pathom and student dormitory.
“I believe passion is very important in any business these days,”
“First of all, I’m a Nakhon Pathom native who’s not the only one who feels that although Silpakorn University [Thailand’s first arts tertiary institution] has a campus here, the town has no other arts spaces,” said Karinyawat. And that explains why he plans from the beginning for this dormitory to have an open space for such arts and cultural events as art exhibitions, creative markets and film festivals. It’s intriguing that two almost opposite functions can live together: an accommodation where peace is a key; and a public event space where noise is inevitable.
“That explains why white screens of gridded rebars are lined up from the ground to the ceiling, adding considerable privacy,” added Pawan, the architect for this project. He also explained the layout details of each type of rooms, providing more choices for the student tenants. “Dormitory sharing culture is adjusting oneself to live together in small spaces. With this space sharing in mind, Niran Apartment then offers various layouts.”
Another highlight which added more flavor to the talk was the active presence of Assoc. Prof. Chadchart Sittipunt, Ph.D. in the audience. With his experience in real estate, the former transport minister asked a few questions before pulling up from his tote bag ‘The Passion Economy: The New Rules for Thriving in the Twenty-First Century’. “I believe passion is very important in any business these days,” he said to the two speakers.