Flying High
Renowned for his signature fashion label Flynow, Thai designer Somchai Songwattana took a a bit of a turn with his ChangChui Creative Park, an eclectic collection of taste
Nothing about ChangChui is what you might expect. First there's the out-of-the-way location, a 11-rai plot of land (4.5 acres) sandwiched between an elevated expressway and a busy road on what many Bangkokians consider the wrong side of the river. Then there's the architecture, a mis-matched collection of buildings that look as though they were built from corrugated metal and old doors and windows that were just lying about (which, in a sense, they were). In the heart of this open-air 'creative' mall is perhaps the piece de resistance, a decommissioned 1970s era Lockheed TriStar, with its distinctive engine in the tail, which was transported here from Don Muang Airport.
At the centre of this maelstrom of madness is Somchai 'Lim' Songwattana, the 58 year-old CEO and art director of Flynow, a contemporary Thai fashion brand he created more than three decades ago. However, sitting down in his onsite office preparing for our interview, it's apparent his day job is not his only passion – surrounding us, housed in a collection of early 20th century antique wooden furniture, are a menagerie of taxidermy animals, including a cheetah, zebra, monkeys and a flocks of birds. It's a startling setting, especially when Songwattana sits down for interview clad head to toe in his own signature black clothing, accessorized by tiny framed circular spectacles.
“Before I came up with the idea for this creative mall, I was planning to make this site a private museum for my collection of antiques and animals,” explains Songwattana. The son of an ethnic Chinese family, he grew up in a large house some ways outside of Bangkok. “I've spent more than 30 years of my life collecting things, which - as well as inspiring me with my designs - is also a way of helping me remember my childhood. You could say that I long for the past, but at the same time I'm discovering the future.” As he describes it, ChangChui is a grand experiment to see how Thai society reacts to his hybrid way of thinking, an evolving organic exploration of his taste and desires.
The name ChangChui roughly translates from Thai as 'careless artisan', but a clearer definition would be 'nothing is useless', an ethos which explains all of the recycled materials that have been used to make the structures. These variously house unique restaurants such as Insects in the Backyard, a gourmet twist on the working-class street snacks, a skull-shaped gardening center, drone-teaching school, a branch of highbrow design bookshop Booksmith, and the Hoay bar, where drinkers sip craft beer under a vintage Bell 47 helicopter. However, the best example of up-cycling has to be the Lockheed TriStar, which has been converted into a museum dubbed NAOH. The center of the space is inhabited by a taxidermy polar bear, and a zoo of dead creatures.
“The name NAOH is really a play on Noah's Ark,” explains Songwattana as I look on incredulous, while walking through the plane’s cargo hold. “Through this plane and all ChangChui my goal is to teach Thailand's new generation about the importance of the past, and how discarded objects can again be beautiful. It's really a journey for us all.”