LAYERS OF BANGKOK
[ AN
URBAN
BRANDS
[ CHRISTIAN
STUDY ]
PHONGPHIT ]
[ FOR MY GRANDPARENTS PAUL & RUTH ]
LAYERS OF BANGKOK - an Urban Brands Study Photography Project
LAYERS OF BANGKOK is a playful attempt to convey visually the structural discipline that evolves within a chaotic Asian metropolis. The cityscape is divided into a matrix of 61 urban “brands” (i.e., filtered 'icons' that become a part of the numerous and contrasting layers that is often blind to the tourist as well as its inhabitants). Within this urban mosaic, I tried to enhance even the most subtle of objects, and so began a process stripping the cityscape to its core; decoding it. The city as an urban 'stage' will be split into two main categories: "Performance" (acting) and "Equipment" (the setting). The work is somewhat substantial (1200 pages, over 2500 photos). The appeal, however, derives from its various qualities; for example, the images will range from the more art-orientated (abstract) style to the somewhat banal 'snapshots'. This project differs from other existing books which focus on Bangkok, because (to my surprise) I have yet to encounter a book which encapsulates the vibrancy of this city, in this way, with this viewpoint. Rather, I wish to represent this city in a fresh approach, to viewing the interactions within a society, as well as seeking out the cultural divisions which, to my findings, most travel guides or coffee-table books tend to verge on a rather clichéd view of Thailand. In conclusion, my efforts are to create - and convey - in an artistic and illustrated manner, a book about the ordinary life that explodes daily on the vast highways to the intricate side-walks of Bangkok. I hope you will enjoy LAYERS OF BANGKOK, and that, just perhaps, these images will find an appreciative audience. Thank you for your time!
Yours sincerely, Christian Phongphit Berlin / Bangkok August 2006
[ PREFACE ]
During the Bangkok Design Festival 2008 on 14 - 26 October, everybody is welcome to join the Layers of Bangkok Showroom at the Bangkok Arts & Culture Center. One thousand E-Books on CD-ROM are installed and waiting to get picked up and spread out. Every visitor is encouraged to take one E-Book of the complete Layers of Bangkok Project for free. One by one, the 1000 E-Books will disappear and leave the showroom to an unknown destination. This Layers of Bangkok E-Book contains no interactive Menu, no page numbers, no CD-case, no CDbooklet, no CD cover: “just” the basic PDF-FILE of the complete book “Layers of Bangkok” on a raw silver disc. This format is a reflection of current, authentic Bangkok you can live with it but it could be much more user-friendly and well-organized in many ways ! The e-book format is without anti-copying protection. It allows file sharing for your private, non-profit use. The reason: since we know that most of the new ideas are a combination of existing ideas, feel free to get inspired, to wake up and be encouraged to move forward, to keep on designing Bangkok. This Layers of Bangkok e-book is devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The idea by doing so is to grant Gratis Freedom to all. Please feel free to make copies for your friends and spread “LAYERS of BANGKOK” around the world. To the publishers out there who want to publish the complete Layers of Bangkok Project as a Book or a Deluxe - Version DVD, please feel free to contact me. The Layers of Bangkok Showroom and the 1000 free E-books are powered by
[ E- B O O K ]
Born in the German Alps in 1976, Chris is a landscape-architect, consultant on international standards of design, artist and conceptual photographer. He has moved 35 times already and in the past seven years he has taught topics including critical & creative thinking, architectural presentation, design fundamentals and creative problem solving. After his studies he set up a landscape architecture office in Berlin. At the end of 2006, Chris left for Thailand. Chris currently runs his own Design Thinking Workshops in cooperation with Nospace & Tadu Art gallery and teaches at the School of Architecture & Design at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok. Chris created, organized and produced things in many fields: art projects, event management & exhibitions concepts, interior & furniture design, photography, graphic design, award winning landscape architecture design projects & competitions, university critic & guest lectures, publications in professional journals, university teaching positions, business creativity coaching, degree dissertation "THINK" - motivation & passion for students. You can contact Chris by email: artist@berlin.de
[ CHRISTIAN PHONGPHIT ]
I HEARD THAT BANGKOK IS A CHAOTIC STUCTURELESS INSIGNIFICANT CITY. IS IT REALLY ?
THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT TO FIND SOMETHING IN COMMON. TRYING TO FIND ORIENTATION AND IDENTIFICATION IN THE URBAN BANGKOK LANDSCAPE. AN INTERPRETATION OF URBAN SPACE AND DAILY URBAN LIFE. A REFLECTION OF BANGKOK'S SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY. THE READING OF OPEN SPACE. AN ATTEMPT TO UNCOVER THE TOPOLOGY, THE TEXTURE, THE CHARACTER OF BANGKOK. FINDING WAYS TO BRING STRUCTURE WITHIN. A PLAYFUL APPROACH. A 30-DAYS PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF BANGKOK'S DOWNTOWN STREETS. A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.
LAYERS OF BANGKOK
[ AN
URBAN
BRANDS
STUDY ]
M A T R I X
[ SKELECTAL STRUCTURE ]
URBAN S TA G E CITYSCAPE MOSAIC
LAYERS OF BANGKOK URBAN BRANDS STUDY
EQUIPMENT TYPOLOGY S TA G E SETTING
ACT TYPOLOGY PERFORMANCE
DISCOTHEQUE
PLAY
STREET DANCER VENDORS SOUND STREET FIGHTER PLAYGROUNDS WORK OUT
VERTICAL
SPIDERMANS
ESSENTIAL
STREET KITCHEN TAKE A NAP
RAISED LEVEL LOCATION BRAND
INTERSTITIAL GROUND LEVEL
IDENTITY RUSH HOUR
TRADING
PROTECT
HOME
FOOTPRINTS GOING TO WORK GOING TO SCHOOL CARPOOLS TRASH RECYCLERS BRIDGE MARKET FLOWER GARLANDS HAWKER POCKET STORES HUSTLE & BUSTLE TEMPORARY STRUCTURES CD REFLECTOR SUN PROTECTING FACTOR DUSK MASK YELLOW HELMET
PERMANENT
TIME BRAND
EPHEMERAL STATIOTEMPORAL
COLOUR BRAND
TRACK HOUSING WATERSIDE HOUSING SUPERHEROES
SUPER MONSTERS ELECTRIC COMPOSITION METAMORPHOSIS URBAN PARASITES
EYE-CATCHER
COOLING DOWN GREEK-ROMANORNAMENTATION BANGKOK CAGES CONNECTED
ATTACHMENT
PAVEMENT PIMPELS APPENDIX
OUTGROWTH
UNFINISHED DREAMS NIGHT MARKET VOIDS & FILLS
BACKSTAGE
MOTORCYCLE TAXI CIPHERS GARBAGE CANS METAL BLINDS URBAN ELEPHANTS BLUE PIPES TRANSVERSAL CUT RED CHAIRS BLUE CHAIRS RED & BLUE ROOF SHRINES CAR ALTARS OFFERING & BLESSING PASSING MONKS SEVEN ELEVEN
LAYERS / BRANDS PATCHWORK
FAITH
COMPANY
BLUE WHITE STRIPED GREEN SKIN SILVER CAMOUFLAGE
COVER
UFO 907 INVASION ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING BUSSES & TAXIS RED & WHITE SCRIPT YELLOW STRIPES
MAKE-UP
THEME BRAND
LAYERS
STREET OUTFIT
LAYERS
L A Y E R S
[ BOOK CHAPTERS OVERVIEW ]
STREET DANCER
POCKET STORES
PERFORMANCE ]
[ TRAFFIC
VENDORS SOUND
F R E Q U E N C Y ]
[ AU D I O
STREET FIGHTER
TERRITORY ]
[ PLAYERS
HUSTLE & BUSTLE
[ DAILY COMMERCIAL STAGE BUILDUP ]
TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
[ S T R E E T
WORK
OUT
STREET KITCHEN
[ FLAVOUR
S C E N E R Y ]
TAKE
NAP
[ TIMED STREET CHARACTER ]
GOING TO WORK
GOING TO SCHOOL
B O A R D ]
TRASH RECYCLERS
BRIDGE MARKET
BASE ]
FLOWER GARLANDS
[ SELLING
BETWEEN
HAWKER
[ MOBILE VENDOR ]
TRACK HOUSING
[ S A F E
D I S T A N C E ]
HOUSING
SUPERHEROES
[ SOCIAL
REMAINS ]
SUPER MONSTERS
[ CONTAMINANT
[ N E T W O R K
[ COLLECTING & SEPARATING ]
TRADING
PIXELS ]
POETRY ]
ELECTRIC COMPOSITION
CARPOOLS
[ SPATIOTEMPORAL BRAND ]
[ BREEZY
CITY
[ FOUL ODOR . TRAFFIC NOICE . EXHAUST FUMES ]
[ DAILY STREET SEQUENCES ]
O N
MASK
YELLOW HELMET
[ COLORFUL
WAT E R S I D E
FOOTPRINTS
[ S T R E E T S TA M P I N G ]
[ K I D S
T A N N I N G ]
A G A I N S T
[ BLACK SMOKE PROTECTION ]
CLIMBING ]
A
SUN PROTECTING FACTOR
[ G UA R D
DUST
SPIDERMANS
[ URBAN
PROTECTION ]
[ RIDE
SEQUENCES ]
[ SPORTS FIELDS DIVERSITY ]
M U T A T I O N ]
L E V E L
CD REFLECTOR
PLAYGROUNDS
[ KIDS
O C C U PA N C Y ]
[ SIDEWALK
CARS ]
A E S T H E T I C S ]
METAMORPHOSIS ]
[ HIGHER
AND
HIGHER
URBAN PARASITES
[ S U P E R
S C R E E N S ]
COOLING DOWN
[ FRESH
AIR
SYSTEMS ]
GREEK ROMAN ORNAMENTATION
[ A
TRIBUTE
TO
THE
WESTERN
C U LT U R E ]
BANGKOK CAGES
RED & BLUE
B R A N D ]
[ CITYSCAPE
[ M
CONNECTED
CAR
OUTGROWTH ]
A P P E N D I X
N
G ]
[ D A I LY
R I T U A L ]
PASSING MONKS
NIGHT MARKET
SEVEN ELEVEN
[ FRAGMENTED REMNANTS ]
&
S T R E E T
[ ORANGE MODIFIED TOWNSCAPE ]
FLUSH ]
EUPHORIC
A LTA R S
[ RELIGIOUS ROAD EXPERIENCE ]
UNFINISHED DREAMS
VOIDS
I
OFFERING & BLESSING
[ GROUND LEVEL SCULPTURE ]
[ INSTABLE
T
[ SPIRIT HOUSES ON TOP ]
PAVEMENT PIMPELS UNIT
E
ROOF SHRINES
[ THE GLOBAL PLUG ]
[ CONTROL
E
[ U B I Q U I T O U S LY
FILLS
[ RESIDUAL CONGLOMERATE LANDSCAPES ]
LABEL ]
BLUE WHITE STRIPED
[ M U LT I F U N C T I O N A L
MEMBRANE ]
MOTORCYCLE TAXI CIPHERS
[ NUMBERBOARD
S H A P E
VA R I E T Y ]
GARBAGE CANS
[ STREETSCAPE
METAL BLINDS
[ SCOPE
C R E AT O R ]
URBAN ELEPHANTS
[ A
NATIONAL
BLUE
SYMBOL ]
PIPES
[ AN OMNIPRESENT APPEARANCE ]
TRANSVERSAL CUT
[ B L U E
P O S T
P I P E S ]
RED CHAIRS
[ EXTERIOR FURNISHING ]
BLUE
GREEN
DÉCOR ]
CHAIRS
[ STREETSCAPE EQUIPMENT ]
SKIN
[ COVERED CITY FRAGMENTS ]
SILVER CAMOUFLAGE
[ WRAPPED
S T R E E T
I C O N ]
UFO 907 INVASION
[ GLOBAL
GRAFFITI
SIGN ]
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING
[ ONE
NIGHT
IN
BANGKOK ]
BUSES & TAXIS
[ MOVING COLOUR CHART ]
RED & WHITE SCRIPT
[ LINEAR
STREET
SIGNATURE ]
YELLOW STRIPES
[ SURFACE COLOUR CODING ]
STREET DANCER
[ TRAFFIC
PERFORMANCE ]
VENDORS SOUND
[ AU D I O
F R E Q U E N C Y ]
STREET FIGHTER
[ PLAYERS
TERRITORY ]
PLAYGROUNDS
[ KIDS
SEQUENCES ]
WORK
OUT
[ SPORTS FIELDS DIVERSITY ]
SPIDERMANS
[ URBAN
CLIMBING ]
STREET KITCHEN
[ FLAVOUR
S C E N E R Y ]
TAKE
A
NAP
[ TIMED STREET CHARACTER ]
FOOTPRINTS
[ DOGGY
S TA M P I N G ]
GOING TO WORK
[ DAILY STREET SEQUENCES ]
GOING TO SCHOOL
[ K I D S
O N
B O A R D ]
CARPOOLS
[ SPATIOTEMPORAL BRAND ]
TRASH RECYCLERS
[ COLLECTING & SEPARATING ]
BRIDGE MARKET
[ BREEZY
TRADING
BASE ]
FLOWER GARLANDS
[ SELLING
BETWEEN
CARS ]
HAWKER
[ MOBILE VENDOR ]
POCKET STORES
[ SIDEWALK
O C C U PA N C Y ]
HUSTLE & BUSTLE
[ DAILY COMMERCIAL STAGE BUILDUP ]
TEMPORARY STRUCTURES
[ S T R E E T
L E V E L
M U T A T I O N ]
CD REFLECTOR
[ RIDE
PROTECTION ]
SUN PROTECTING FACTOR
[ G UA R D
A G A I N S T
T A N N I N G ]
DUST
MASK
[ BLACK SMOKE PROTECTION ]
YELLOW HELMET
[ COLORFUL
CITY
PIXELS ]
TRACK HOUSING
[ S A F E
D I S T A N C E ]
WAT E R S I D E
HOUSING
[ FOUL ODOR . TRAFFIC NOICE . EXHAUST FUMES ]
SUPERHEROES
[ SOCIAL
REMAINS ]
SUPER MONSTERS
[ CONTAMINANT
POETRY ]
ELECTRIC COMPOSITION
[ N E T W O R K
A E S T H E T I C S ]
METAMORPHOSIS ]
[ HIGHER
AND
HIGHER
URBAN PARASITES
[ S U P E R
S C R E E N S ]
COOLING DOWN
[ FRESH
AIR
SYSTEMS ]
GREEK ROMAN ORNAMENTATION
[ A
TRIBUTE
TO
THE
WESTERN
C U LT U R E ]
BANGKOK CAGES
[ CITYSCAPE
B R A N D ]
CONNECTED
[ THE GLOBAL PLUG ]
PAVEMENT PIMPELS
[ CONTROL
UNIT
OUTGROWTH ]
A P P E N D I X
[ GROUND LEVEL SCULPTURE ]
UNFINISHED DREAMS
[ INSTABLE
EUPHORIC
FLUSH ]
NIGHT MARKET
[ FRAGMENTED REMNANTS ]
VOIDS
&
FILLS
[ RESIDUAL CONGLOMERATE LANDSCAPES ]
MOTORCYCLE TAXI CIPHERS
[ NUMBERBOARD
S H A P E
VA R I E T Y ]
GARBAGE CANS
[ STREETSCAPE
DÉCOR ]
METAL BLINDS
[ SCOPE
C R E AT O R ]
URBAN ELEPHANTS
[ A
NATIONAL
SYMBOL ]
BLUE
PIPES
[ AN OMNIPRESENT APPEARANCE ]
TRANSVERSAL CUT
[ B L U E
P O S T
P I P E S ]
RED CHAIRS
[ EXTERIOR FURNISHING ]
BLUE
CHAIRS
[ STREETSCAPE EQUIPMENT ]
RED & BLUE
[ M
E
E
T
I
N
G ]
ROOF SHRINES
[ SPIRIT HOUSES ON TOP ]
CAR
A LTA R S
[ RELIGIOUS ROAD EXPERIENCE
]
OFFERING & BLESSING
[ D A I LY
S T R E E T
R I T U A L ]
PASSING MONKS
[ ORANGE MODIFIED TOWNSCAPE ]
SEVEN ELEVEN
[ U B I Q U I T O U S LY
LABEL ]
BLUE WHITE STRIPED
[ M U LT I F U N C T I O N A L
MEMBRANE ]
GREEN
SKIN
[ COVERED CITY FRAGMENTS ]
SILVER CAMOUFLAGE
[ WRAPPED
S T R E E T
I C O N ]
UFO 907 INVASION
[ GLOBAL
GRAFFITI
SIGN ]
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING
[ ONE
NIGHT
IN
BANGKOK ]
BUSES & TAXIS
[ MOVING COLOUR CHART ]
RED & WHITE SCRIPT
[ LINEAR
STREET
SIGNATURE ]
YELLOW STRIPES
[ SURFACE COLOUR CODING ]
SPECIAL
THANKS
[ TO THE BANGKOKIANS, TO BANGKOK AND
TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED MAKE THIS BOOK ]
A L L P H O T O G R A P H Y A N D T E X T BY C H R I S T I A N P H O N G P H I T GRAPHIC DESIGN / LAYOUT BY CHRISTIAN PHONGPHIT COPYRIGHT C TEXT / PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR [ C H R I S T I A N P H O N G P H I T ] 2 0 0 6 A R T I S T @ B E R L I N . D E 2 5 4 9
LAYERS OF BANGKOK
[ AN
URBAN
BRANDS
[ CHRISTIAN
STUDY ]
PHONGPHIT ]