MQDC and CDAST Hold “MQDC Design Competition 2023 – RE-imagining Thai Social Space: City Festival as Design Intervention”after Last Year’s Smashing Success

May 9, 2023

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MQDC and the Council of Deans of Architecture Schools of Thailand (CDAST) are organizing the “MQDC Design Competition 2023 – RE-imagining Thai Social Space: City Festival as Design Intervention,” inviting design students and the public to design public and semi-public city spaces as festival venues that meet the future needs of modern urban residents. The spaces will generate economic value, stimulate tourism, enhance the civic image, and uplift the surrounding communities. These challenges will be met through practical architectural and festival design. The venues will support event and festival hosting to create a livable city for all. Winners will receive prizes totaling over 2 million baht, along with certificates and for ‘Gold’ winners, overseas study trips. Following last year’s huge success, this 2023 edition welcomed 1,222 designers, making it the largest design competition in Thailand. With the competition, MQDC and CDAST look forward to creating future urban event spaces at par with international standards.

MQDC and CDAST acknowledge that urban public spaces serve as a critical indicator of a livable city worldwide. As such, they recognize the significance of creating public spaces to enhance the city’s vibrancy, quality of life, and economic potential. This year’s MQDC design contest is themed “RE-imagining Thai Social Space: City Festival as Design Intervention” to support the development of functional urban spaces suitable for hosting festivals. The organizers aim to provide young designers with a platform to express their ideas for inclusive and sustainable urban spaces, taking into consideration their social, economic, and environmental impacts.

This year’s competition stays true to the project’s goals of enhancing public and semi-public city space for festivals that bring people together and serve communities in Bangkok and other provinces. By re-imagining the social space, the festival design will attain international standards, with the potential to engage community residents and foster new urban activities that generate economic value. The contest will also empower young Thai designers to innovate for better quality of life, in line with MQDC’s core principle of ‘For All Well-Being’ to create sustainable well-being for all life on the planet.

Assistant Professor Dr. Rattapong Angkasith, Representative of the President of CDAST, said, “CDAST is pleased to be part of ‘MQDC Design Competition 2023 – RE-imagining Thai Social Space: City Festival as Design Intervention’. Urban design around the world is now focusing on inclusive festival venues, public and semi-public spaces that can host events for everyone while enhancing city life for people of all ages. I believe that the key to the public and semi-public festival and event space design is letting everyone present their ideas and perspectives for inclusive festival venues.”

“Designers are presented with a challenge that requires them to compete with ideas based on the “RE-imagining Thai Social Space: City Festival as Design Intervention” concept, there are four areas of focus: 1) architectural design, which involves designing new elements of space that can be involved with the environment and community behavior (Design Intervention); 2) temporary event/festival design based on the context of the areas; 3) design that reflects the area’s identity and focus on community engagement; and 4) design that inspire and uplift people while creating a new image for the city. For the area requirements, each team must create a design that consists of three areas: Activity Area, Commercial Area, and Service Area, designed in the appropriate proportion. Each of the 20 teams that made to the final round has shown us that their design can be further developed into an architecture that meets social needs and enhances the quality of life,” explained Asst. Prof. Dr. Rattapong.

Mr. Chaiyong Ratana-angkura, Chief Advisor to Creative Lab by MQDC, as the organizer of the contest, said “The unique highlight of the competition is the fact that we are designing solutions that can be implemented in the real-world settings. The design challenge, therefore, is based on the scale of actual areas. There are two groups to choose from: contestants in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region will base their design on real locations in the South Sukhumvit, including 1. Phra Khanong District Office, 2. Phloen Phra Khanong, 3. The courtyard in front of Wat Thammongkol School, 4. 101 True Digital Park, 5. Cloud 11, and 6. Bitec Buri. Contestants outside Bangkok and its vicinity will focus on urban public spaces, such as open spaces in front of important buildings or the old town areas. All designs must adhere to specific principles and presented accordingly. Hosting public events is a complex undertaking that requires planning and management from designers, the public and private sectors, as well as the local communities. Therefore, we challenge designers to think how festivals can shape our city and country.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Singh Intrachooto, Chief Advisor to the Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), explained “City festivals play a crucial role in bringing people together in the community. Thai culture values social gatherings and sharing happiness. To create a vibrant event space, it is essential to consider the lifestyle of the residents and to make it a hub for people that can significantly drive the local and national economy. This design contest reflects the younger generation’s perception of “Social Space,” seeing public spaces as a way to express the identity of a neighborhood, with many teams presenting exciting concepts, including the integration of beliefs and superstitions into space design. We are delighted that designers can showcase their ideas for public spaces, which are pivotal for the development of communities and society.”

Mr. Pichit Virankabutra, Deputy Director of the Creative Economy Agency, stated “A contest of urban space design like this deserves support from all sectors. Apart from providing a platform for city residents to take part in the creation of their own space, these designs can also be implemented in undeveloped areas not only in Bangkok but in other provinces as well, thereby boosting the community and country’s economy. With unique and innovative festivals held at these spaces, there is potential to expand this design competition to an international level in the future.

The contest has separate awards for students and public entries, with three prizes and three honorable mentions awarded for each category. Winners in each category will receive certificates, cash prizes, and the ‘Gold’ winners will also receive a study trip abroad. Winners will be announced on May 1, 2023, and the Popular Vote award winner will be announced on June 2, 2023. The Popular Vote recipient also receive certificates and cash prizes.

The project has announced the finalists as follows:

10 teams in the student category:

A035 from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok with “KAL-THESA MONK”
A049 from Thammasat University with “SNAKE SNAKE RICH RICH”
A050 from Chulalongkorn University with “Maha – Nakorn”
A112 from Thammasat University with “THAI – MU(NG)”
A133 from Chulalongkorn University with “Krao Nee Pop Gun FESTIVAL: CLOUD 11”
A158 from Chulalongkorn University with “Cherry FESTIVAL (ARTxFOODxCULTURE)”
A222 from Chulalongkorn University with “LARN LA KORN”
A265 from Chulalongkorn Universityย with “Asadong Ruamkan”
A313 from Khon Kaen University with “KHONKAEN FESTIVAL”
A322 from King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok with “Dek Khanong – Khek Khanong”

10 teams in the general public category:

B009 with “MAZE WATER FES”
B044 with “Yok Khanong”
B073 with “Pakphanang Young Mhap”
B081 with “Lor Len”
B102 with “X.CO (DIGITAL X PHYSICAL AND COLLABORATION)”
B106 with “Lamphun Art and Craft Festival”
B114 with “THE SANG TAWAN RAMA THEATER”
B124 with “Aw Ma Ka Sa”
B137 with “Art in Aram Festival”
B152 with “Rak Long Hon”

In the student category, Team A112 from Thammasat University impressed the audience with their work “THAI-MU(NG)”, which showcased interesting design concepts. The project involved using the space in front of Wat Thammongkol to organize a festival of beliefs aimed at lifting the spirits of people from diverse societies and beliefs. This project shed light on aspects of belief beyond superstition, such as the Coin Wishing Well area. Another noteworthy project in the student category was from Team A322 at King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok. Their work, “Dek Khanong – Khuek Khanong”, highlighted the importance of creative expression spaces, such as the Co-Creation Space, in enhancing the skills and creativity of the new generation of community members. The team was inspired by their own experiences, particularly the issue of education inequality, which led them to create a space in the Phra Khanong area where young people could express their thoughts without restrictions. This project aimed to not only organize events but also foster sustainable co-existence between youth and adults in the Phra Khanong District.

One of the standout teams in the general public category was Team B152, whose work entitled “Rak Long Hon” showcases a creative concept that captures the uniqueness of the area. The team utilizes the space near Wat Thammongkol to host the “Rak Long Hon” festival, which allows attendees to experience the intangible emotion of love. The Thai-style space features four distinct concepts: “casual seating,” “tropical shade,” “adaptability,” and the “skeleton-like structure,” with the aim of connecting people and beliefs through a space that seamlessly blends with the surrounding nature. The team proposed a collaboration between the private sector and Wat Thammongkol to help the community generate income through donation boxes and almshouses. Another notable work was the “Lamphun Art and Craft Festival” from Team B106, representing northern Thailand. Inspired by the 2019 “Lumphun Baan Hao Suk Guy Sabai Jai” festival, the team designed three spaces in the Lamphun City Moat area: Hariphunchai National Museum (Historical Area) utilizing the design principles of Creative Economy and Creative Space, the Old Lamphun Provincial Hall (Future Area) featuring a pavilion structure inspired by weaving patterns, and the Tha Sing, Kuang Riverside (Relax and Reflect Area) which features a Creative Art Garden, among others.

Find out more about the competition and the winner announcement at Facebook: Facebook: MQDC Design Competition 2023.