Get to Know the Creative Districts Ahead of BKKDW2024: Bang Pho

Creating new value for the wood street, transforming a creative district through Thai woodworking artisanship. 

If one looks back to how Bang Pho used to be 3-4 years ago, one might visualize this neighborhood as a source for excellent woodworks and masterful craftsmen who can be entrusted with making a new piece of furniture for one’s home.

Indeed, the locality still retains this fame today, with the addition of the ‘creative district’ moniker that has become an inspiration for many undertakings in this district.  These works are guaranteed by the Creative City Award in the category of Branding Award, presented at the Creative Excellence Awards 2023.

What will the next step look like for this wood street, which has already witnessed no small amount of success over the years?  This will be explained by Mr. Jannarong “Jo” Takumi Saga, manager of the “Bang Pho Wood Street: A Living Legacy” project and the man responsible for successfully propagating the district identity of Bang Pho.

A District Home to a Wood-Processing Industry that Never Stops Reinventing

At the core of the Bang Pho District is Pracha Naruemit Road – also known as the Wood Street or the Carpenter’s Lane. This road that is neither long nor short links Pracha Rat 1 Road with Krungthep-Nonthaburi Road and boasts a concentration of furniture stores, carpentry shops, saw mills, upholstery shops, wood carvers’ establishments and numerous other venues related to wood processing. This allows Bang Pho to earn the undisputed title of Bangkok’s largest woodworking center.

Despite people living in Bang Pho in the past having made their living from wood processing since older days, the locality developed into a fully fledged wood street as a result of the influx and business activity of Chinese wood traders from the Saphan Khao area as well as people who originally were engaged in woodworking in the Damrong Rak Road area. The expansion of the latter group came about as their original locale could no longer sufficiently accommodate their activities.  The convergence of experiences that have been passed down over many eras and many localities resulted in a melding of knowledge that gave rise to the Bang Pho District’s identity — one that is blatantly clear and need not be confirmed.

Aside from the raw materials that originally existed within the neighborhood, one factor that had enabled Bang Pho to grow exponentially during a time when factories relentlessly replaced skilled labor was the grouping by the new generation of locals. This grouping has proven to be incredibly resilient.

“Here, there is a grouping by community members called the Pracha Naruemit Community. When we worked on Bang Pho Wood Street, we set up a new committee called Bang Pho Wood Team. This name came about partly because we were looking at a name that is easy to say. It was a new-gen committee, as the members’ ages ranged from the late 20s to the late 40s.

“We saw that the cooperation from diverse groups of people in Bang Pho enabled this drive to continue making progress. We feel that the most important group was the third generation group. The senior group or some of the business heads in the locality might not have understood what we were doing, not until the seniors started sending their third generation to help us out. They were sent to determine what they can help out with, and this made us realize they were opening up and were more understanding. This kind of work requires time; we have to slowly pave the way while also thinking about how to expand on the work and what to do next year.”

Rebranding for a Reintroduction in a Changing World

Looking back at the first day he started his work with the Bang Pho District, Mr. Jo explained that he saw there was something missing in the equation for the Bang Pho District’s success, namely, the creation of presence for the district.

“My background is in architecture. I studied architecture at Chula and had been a Bangkok local since birth. But not once have I learned about this locality having a road that sells wood-related products, not until I started working here and started to truly experience this locale. This led me to ponder whether there was a problem about the presence of this community in Bangkok, with it not being recognized even by myself who used woodwork products directly as part of my occupation.”

With the problem identified as having to do with the neighborhood’s visibility and outsiders’ awareness of it, Mr. Jo selected rebranding as the tool for the first phase of Bang Pho’s improvement. A new brand was to be created for this carpenter lane.

“Back then, we thought something needed to be done to create a presence for this district. The neighborhood itself already had a very clear community identity. But if we don’t help out somehow, this community might perish in the future and Bangkok might be left only with major retail centers who sell wood. We viewed that this locality was home to the sale of special and unique products and the local identity could be expanded on in an attractive way. This would also play a crucial part in making Bangkok a space that accommodates diverse cultures. Hence, we used the terms ‘Rebranding Community’ as our first working concept, thinking the word ‘rebranding’ was suited for a community that already has fuel, in spite of perhaps not being accommodative of present-day requirements.

“We viewed that the people here have immense knowledge about woodworking. For example, wood selection, the special properties of each type of wood, their functions, wood joints in furniture work. With every component, there is craftsmanship and knowledge at play. But if this neighborhood was to continue to exist, it needed to change. Solely trading in wood like previously will not do; a repositioning is needed to turn it into Thailand’s largest learning hub about wood. Ultimately, once the rebranding is complete and the district’s identity is well-established, there will be more attention paid to the district and the locals will come to realize the very high hype value in terms of closure identity, on top of the trading in wood. This can be used to tell stories and attract outsiders, creating business gains for the locals.”

Taking the next step by creating new knowledge from the wisdom treasure trove

The determination at play from then until now, reflected in the Creative City Award in the category of Branding Award, demonstrated to everybody what Mr. Jo was trying to nurture. With the challenges facing the people of Bang Pho being a magnitude higher than in other districts, the locals have to give themselves the answers to the question of what to do to expand upon the current success and step toward the future by elevating the neighborhood to another level.

“With the people in Bang Pho District, we talked about how we have succeeded in brand creation for Bang Pho Wood Street. We then ask them about what they would like to highlight next. Everybody agreed we wanted to highlight Thai woodworking crafts, and this culminated in the theme ‘Master of Craftsmanship’. In truth, we sell hand-crafted items and will never be able to place stress on large production work like Ikea. But we possess our own value, which is of a different kind.”

This determination was important as the locality’s new objective, while it also impacts the overall preservation of Thai woodworkers’ knowledge and expertise so these attributes are well-maintained into the future.

“A charm of wooden crafts is how every piece has its own distinct identity. The diversity in pressures applied by different craftsmen give rise to this uniqueness. With the use of machines, everything is a result of mass production and is thus identical. We view that preserving this uniqueness would also enable us to preserve the jobs of wood craftsmen.”

Mr. Jo explained that to bring this to realization, the most important aspect would be the creation of knowledge. This starts simply with educating people in the community as well as outsiders who fell within the target group.

“I view that educating various groups of people would close the loop by making them understand that the wooden item has more value than being just a material product – it illustrates Thailand’s deep-rooted use of wood and how it was a country with very abundant knowledge about woodworking.”

“Importantly, we need to communicate with these two groups of people. Firstly, educate the locals so they understand they are in possession of something valuable and knowledge that others do not have. They also need to learn that the world has changed and be aware of how to adjust to this. Secondly, educate outsiders so they become aware about how when they are looking to buy a wooden item, there is more value than it being a functional piece of furniture. When you buy a piece of work crafted from natural wood, you are simultaneously supporting sustainable products and locally made items, while also promoting the continuation of the wood artisans’ careers.”

Immersive Workshop that seeks to turn a one-time woodworker into a lifelong carpenter

In regard to the activity for this year’s Bangkok Design Week, Mr. Jo explained that he wanted to expand the boundaries of experience creation to touch on expanding knowledge and creating new, concrete opportunities for wood crafting as a career. The walking tour in the district is being deliberately changed into an immersive workshop were participants try out woodworking and learn about the relevant techniques in earnest. The target group is identified as designers who are able to apply knowledge about wood crafting in real life. 

“Last year, we came with the concept ‘Living Museum’ where we guided outsiders in learning about wood through a walking survey of the district, enabling them to become aware of the process that spans from downing a tree to processing. This year, we carry the view that in order to preserve the knowledge, we want to pull in groups of people that are truly interested in carpentry as participants. Thus, the focus is on designers and on pulling in this group to truly learn wood crafting.”

“Expanding on the previous walking tour, we set up stations that involved a different procedure each, so the participants would get hands-on and truly understand wood crafting. Examples include wood selection from among the various types of wood, each with their own characteristics, and having people get hands-on with interlocking wood. This delivers an Experience Day where people who participate do not just watch but get to try out and experience different types of wood, so they would gain real skills relevant to design work and be able to maintain the knowledge acquired.”

To get a glimpse of how the expanded Wood Street is taking shape, come see for yourself at Bangkok Design Week 2024 Bang Pho District.

Get to know Bang Pho District in more detail through these highlight local programs

Bangpho Phenomenon

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/93452 

Craft your Masterpieces

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/93435 

Taste of Bangpho

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/93727 

Click to see all of the programs for the Bang Pho District:

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program?nbh=49831 

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Bangkok Design Week 2024

Livable Scape

The More People Act, The Better The City

27 Jan – 4 Feb 2024

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