Students from School of Architecture presented their work as 1 of 17 selected pieces from 10 universities featured in Bangkok Design Week 2026 — a design festival showcasing visions and works that strengthen Bangkok's creative potential. Under the brief "SOMETHING TO STAY____ON", the completed installation was exhibited at Emsphere at EM District, and visitors could actually sit in the seating pavilion.
Team Members: Wannawisa Areeua (Jean), Weeraphong Phromwong (Nick), Rathanon Sanit (Rat), and Anawat Phraisaeng (Fluke) — Architecture students, Faculty of Architecture, and creators of SOMETHING TO STAY WITH NATURE.
How It All Began
"We were drawn to this project because it was genuinely interesting. Our shared idea was to create a seating structure that makes you feel as though you are inside a tree, in response to the 'SOMETHING TO STAY____ON' brief, which called for designs rooted in Thai identity for Bangkok Design Week's Academic Program. From the very first day we joined, through brainstorming and refining our ideas into a final submission, the entire process — right up to installation day — took approximately one month of collaborative effort."
The Creative Idea
"Our concept was inspired by the Ratchaphruek (Golden Shower Tree) — Thailand's national tree — a symbol of beauty, warmth, and gentle Thai identity. The idea came from observing the naturally overlapping and curving forms of the Ratchaphruek's blossoms, and the way its branches spread outward to create a sense of wholeness and interconnection. We translated this through PVC pipe — a material familiar and tangible to everyone — assembling it into the branching form of the Ratchaphruek spreading in every direction. This is how the name SOMETHING TO STAY WITH NATURE came to be."
Learning Across Every Dimension
"By participating in this project, all four of us had the opportunity to develop our designs alongside various artists, learning which aspects needed improvement and where adjustments were necessary. Beyond design, we gained experience in teamwork, building and presenting prototypes to panel judges, managing real problems — whether design issues or installation challenges — and creating work that is both aesthetically accessible and physically interactive for visitors. Incorporating feedback from each artist, we truly learned both theory and practice in full."
