Get to Know the Creative District Ahead of BKKDW2024: Siam-Ratchathewi

Opening the door to the history of a Creative District in Bangkok’s very heart.

The first images that come to mind when thinking of the Siam-Ratchathewi district for most are its billion-dollar real estate and teen hang out spots. The area is so vibrant with retailers, creative spaces, and eateries, each battling for popularity, you might find yourself completely lost after not having visited for just one year.

Amid the revolving door of businesses and trends however, is a hidden community that has maintained its peaceful composure for generations. Seemingly moving at its own speed as its surroundings zip by, that community has been Ban Krua.

Revealing the past, present, future and how Ban Krua is set to interact with the cosmopolitan world that encloses it during this year’s Bangkok Design Week are Thanasarn “Aj. Aon” Suthabunditpong and Dr. Nattawut “Mark” Usavagovitwong, representatives of a network of urban developers looking to uplift Ban Krua community, and Ms. Isariya “Ann” Poonnopatam, a representative of Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts, Co-Host of Bangkok Design Week in Siam-Ratchathewi District.

Peaceful Cham Muslims in an Area Changing Every Second

Serving as the focal point for the design of Bangkok Design Week in the Siam-Ratchathewi district this year is Ban Krua community, a Cham Muslim neighborhood described by Aj. Aon and Dr. Mark as the “yolk” of the area. On top of having a long history and a distinct identity, the community stands out for having held on to its ways of life despite countless cultural and landscape shifts over the generations.  

“Ban Krua has long been a strong community on Saen Saep canal. Historically, it was founded by volunteer Cham fighters who left Cambodia during the Ayuthaya era and setup homes near Jim Thompson, supplying the company with silk fabric. Due to this, the community is deeply rooted in textiles. 

“Originally, it was one large community that crossed Saen Saep canal and Banthat Thong Road. Today, it is divided into four regions with West Ban Krua, North Ban Krua and South Ban Krua delineated by where the canal and road cuts through the area. Development segregated the community and placed its members in different city districts.

“Our interest in Ban Krua comes from the fact it’s the yolk in this ever-changing egg, that it’s somehow resisted the rapid movement of the location around it. Siam has a train station, commercial spaces, and activities that attract scores of foreigners, but all that commotion hasn’t altered Ban Krua at all, it’s as if its running on its own clock that ticks at a different speed. We’re intrigued as to why this area has guarded itself from it surrounds and walked at its own pace.”

A Halal Kitchen at the Center of Bangkok

From that spark of interest, the two were inspired to get to know Ban Krua. What they found was a community that had become isolated due to two main matters, confusion over residential rights and religious beliefs.

“Once we started really studying the area, we found that it existed in this kind of grey state, it was both the quiet community it started out as and a crowded slum. There are quite a few rental homes here and a number of them are caught up in legal troubles after being built without construction permits. Add to that, private land intercut by small patches of property owned by the Treasury Department and development here has been stunted by the fact there is no single plot large enough to be sold.  

The isolation is also due in part to the community being majority Muslim, a self-sufficient faith that has made it difficult for the neighborhood to connect with others while maintaining its strict practices and customs. Coupled with the physical boundaries around the area and its narrow alleyways, Ban Krua is rather separated from the outside.”

With a clear objective, the two began discussions with networks that have long been operating in the district, such as Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts, finding out that efforts to open up the area to commerce and even tourism had begun years before.

“Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts had been working with residential community development institutes for 4-5 years already, trying to open up Ban Krua and show them changes that could be made for the benefit of the local economy. They showed them how to deliver food using Grab and how to leverage their culture for economic progress. The focus was on food but some members were even able to setup home stays.”

Finding those initiatives made inviting the community to join Bangkok Design Week that much easier and established a goal for the Ban Krua development network to empower the once closed-off neighborhood towards a new beginning by transforming it into a Halal kitchen at the very center of Bangkok.

“We wanted the people of Ban Krua to see the changes taking place around them as economic opportunities, ultimately leading to changes in their housing for better compliance with the law. That is the end goal that we are actualizing through the distinct Halal cuisine made here.

“The wider area would gain a new source for dining, as would Bangkok Muslims and tourists to the city, and everyone would be given the opportunity to appreciate the different beliefs and ways of life presented by this local community.”

Bringing Contemporary Flair to Spice up the Legend

Towards achieving their goal, the team explains that they want to set off an ‘exchange of culture’ during Bangkok Design Week between Ban Krua and the wider world, especially at the creative space GalileOasis, which has become a haven of young people.

“We are interested in the interplay between slow and fast, new and old, that is taking place between Ban Krua and its surrounding area. Through Design Week, we want to facilitate an exchange between Ban Krua and all those places moving at a different speed to it. We invited GalileOasis, an up-and-coming lifestyle and art space in the neighborhood, to discuss how this could be done.   

“What we found was that, in the just over a year they have been here, they have been working to connect with the community and have been trying to be a good neighbor. We felt that GalileOasis could serve as a space to draw in new people to the area but understood that its target audience might not even be aware that this community exists. That’s why we decided to add an element of Ban Krua to GalileOasis and an element of the modern outside world to Ban Krua. We placed pieces of each world into the opposing space to trigger an exchange of awareness.

“When you’re in GalileOasis, you will be aware of Ban Krua. Before, visitors would come and drink coffee, take pictures, and leave without knowing about the surrounding community. It was a theme park people would just visit and not look back at. We wanted to reflect Ban Krua in GalileOasis, so people would understand that they coexist and gain a sense that there is more in the area. Visitors would have their attention drawn to the Muslim community while the community would be shown what is possible.”

Exchanges between Our Home and Our Neighbors’

“We started out knowing very little about the Muslim world. We just had this notion that there is a wall between us and them and we couldn’t understand their ways and rules. I think I only really started to learn about the religion when I started my work here and I can see that there are a lot of challenges.”

A core challenge of working with a community deeply rooted in faith is striking a balance between instigating new possibilities and imposing new ideas or damaging the existing way of life. Failing to maintain this balance could lead to resistance or discomfort during collaboration. The programs conceptualized for this Bangkok Design Week were accordingly made without any expectation of blending new and old, rather it was about having the community and GalileOasis see each other as ‘neighbors’ that could visit with one another and then return home when they felt the need.

“While we designed the programs, we didn’t think that the community and GalileOasis would have to become one. It was more about ‘our home’ and the home of ‘our neighbor.’ There is no obligation to move between the two homes, they don’t have to break down any walls and become a single unit. It was about both homes coexisting in the long term in a single space.”

The festival will see workshops, trips, food markets, exhibitions, and more, simply divided between experiments in redefining life in Ban Krua at GalileOasis and applying creative ideas collaboratively within the community.

Happenings at GalileOasis

“The yoga for Muslim women program came with some questions. We noticed there was a sports ground where young people would come to run, but we never saw any Muslim women exercising. Finally, we found out that it was because they couldn’t remove their hijabs in front of people who weren’t members of their family. At the same time, we found a lot of snacks and desserts in the community, most were sweet and causing weight gain. That brought us to the idea of creating a work out space for Muslim women, a fitness center for only women. This program brought some challenges.

“Another is all about massage and touch, but this is challenging in a Muslim community where personal space is a big deal. People here don’t regularly touch others. This made it a challenge to get this program running, we had to find out how people touched one another in their homes, was it through hugging? How do they express affection? Using massage, we think we can bridge this gap between different generations in the community and promote touch. We might push through some religious requirements, but we’re not 100 percent doing away with them.

“Then there is a workshop on contemporary Arabic. Anyone can take part and try their hand at writing Arabic letters. When we were doing our research, we noticed that Arabic writing is beautiful and graphical. The language has been applied to graphic art extensively abroad. Artists familiar with the writing from Ban Krua are heading the workshop at GalileOasis.”

Activities taking place in Ban Krua

“Cuisine and travel were the two areas the community wanted to experiment with the most. When we were speaking with them, they showed a lot of interest in cooking workshops teaching recipes they’ve been making throughout history, like Satay, Curry Puffs, and Roti. Many members of the neighborhood said they wanted to try hosting these workshops or even organizing chef’s tables. There are three homes that want to try that.

“There was an idea to teach a Cambodian sour curry recipe and other curries with unfamiliar names. That led to us realizing this community has the potential to produce DIY products such as ready-to-eat meals. On top of its history and architecture, we discovered that the gastronomic background of Ban Krua is also very interesting, with varying ingredients and origins from other places, and a practice of passing down recipes from generation to generation. There is real value here that can be developed into products that could one day become a source of revenue for the community. The challenge today is opening up the secrets of the neighborhood and then getting their goods into name brand stores.

“Two culinary history walking tours of the area have also been plotted. The first route will focus on history, starting at Jim Thompson to show the community’s connection to silk before visiting a century-old home for a meal and then ending at a masjid for a lesson on the community’s history. The second route is about the community’s development and starts at its sports ground, a landmark of the area that once held off the encroaching expressway. The route continues to historical homes, the masjid and then to the century-old house, where the focus will be placed fully on revising the community through art. The end of the second route involves pasting ceramic fragments on to the wall of Unchel Wipol’s silk weaving house, an interactive way to experience a local story. Each of the two routes is different, but we hope they serve as models for more tours in the community once the festival concludes.

“Most notably, Bangkok Design Week is taking place concurrently with the community mosque’s annual religious studies building event, an important occurrence that raises funds for students and is an opportunity for families to gather. Making the most of this opportunity, visitors during Design Week will be able to witness a way of life in the community and design work is being used to enhance the fair’s entry with lights and lighting installations. An exhibition of storytellers will also be a part of the day, making it a worthwhile visit.”  

Visit the home that is Ban Krua and engage in a cultural exchange this Bangkok Design Week 2024 in Siam-Ratchathewi district.

Explore Siam-Ratchathewi in greater detail through the neighborhood’s recommended programs:

YOGA SAM-RUB-BAN-KHRUA: ARABIC AEROBIC (YOGA)

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/72015 

SAM-RUB-BAN-KHRUA: ARABIC HANDBOOK

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/89031  

SAM-RUB-BAN-KHRUA: CURRY ME / CARRY ME (GRAB n’ GO)

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/71250   

SAM-RUB-BAN-KHRUA: An Edible History 01 Tour

www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program/71192 

Click to view all programs of Siam-Ratchathewi here:  

Siam www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program?nbh=50629  

Ratchathewi www.bangkokdesignweek.com/bkkdw2024/program?nbh=84248  

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Bangkok Design Week 2024

Livable Scape

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27 Jan – 4 Feb 2024

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