Bangkok's Recycler
Bangkok’s Chinatown is one of the areas where productive process used to be highly active. As time changed, these productive processes are also fading leaving behind just a few business owners that still manufacture and sell their product altogether within the area. The business I was focusing on is a product made from plant fiber ranging from everyday-use object to ritual product. This is another example of a business that is vanishing from the city center area and move away to neighbor province instead. The reason this happens is due to the access to fabrication material, Plant-fiber. It usually comes from local plants that are abundantly available throughout the country. People were harvesting them and turn them into a product they can use daily for their lives. However, the urban sprawl in the city has also caused the disappearance of these plant around its area. The lack of material is one of the driven force that push this productive process away from the city and it is also a challenging opportunity on how could it be introduced into the city again.
The absence of natural material in city area is opening up a chance of introducing new type of material that could be harvested easily within the city area. Recyclable rubbish such as plastic, paper and aluminium can have a high potential for a replacement. The reason is not only because of its active presence in the city but also relating to the notion of cleaning the city and help fasten the process of recycling. The societal hierarchy of Bangkok is based on the concept of top-down development where the order will be desired and sent by the government before the action could be taken and this is including the recycling process and trash management. With globalization nowadays, the system can now be reversed and recycling process can be started by ourselves.
The project proposal cycle will consist of 4 steps from material scavenging where the recyclable trash will be bought from anybody around the city promoting an extra income for those who are seeking or needing one . A part of the proposal is to provide an application that allows you to call a guy to come at a desired spot so you can sell these trash in exchange with money before it will be transferred to the proposed facility for further development. The idea is derived from an existed occupation in Thailand where someone are driving around looking for valuable trash to sell. With the integration of technology, these person can now work for the facility by buying trash from individuals and sell them to the proposed facility. Not only that this application will allow them to know the exact location to collect trash but the facility also provide the permanent space for them to sell their product. The possibility of individual selling trash is also broad open, they can use this application or can just simply walk-into the facility to sell trash. The next step is to clean and process the collected trash into raw material so it could be created to product further on. Unlike natural material, some of these trash require machine to process them while some only require human energy. These machines are including shredder which will turn plastic container and paper into smaller pieces. Extrusion machine is where plastic will be melted, squeezed and rolled to be used for 3d-printer. Another simple hand-processes are for example scissor cutting for plastic bag and stomping to flatten aluminium can. The introduction of machine usage along with technology is also a sign of evolution that is developed with time making this proposal more relevant to time context.
The raw material gained will now be turned into many types of product using many different methods including the traditional one that was used to create product from plant fiber. With the development of technology and variety of material, the use of different machine and material can generate numbers of beautiful outcome. The plastic flakes will be heated and injected into selected mold for desired product. This idea can also apply with aluminium can where it will be melted in furnace before shaping in mold. Paper can be mix with glue and special solution before shaping it in mold until it’s harden. As for plastic bag after being cut in a strip, It could be used as a knitting and weaving material where the traditional productive method will be spotted only with the adaptation of material. Finally , the facility will also provide an exhibition space and shop area where the produced product will be displayed and sold as a design object which can work both functionally and aesthetically.
For the spatial property of the project, it should be a mega platform located above the Chao Phraya river that takes place behind Chinatown area. In terms of location, it will be standing in a non-touristic places unlike yaowarat street to draw out people from the crowded area. The reason why it should stands above the river is to avoid the interfering with the urban area since it is still highly active location where no building should be eliminated. Ideally, there should be a space of production,mountain shaped storage, hangout space, retail space and educational space as we are hoping to share this fabrication knowledge to those who are interested for desired application as.Hangout space is aim for an outsider who doesn’t have part in the cycle but would like to experience the space to come and also feel aware from a huge pile of trash that surround them. This facility is imaged to be monumental landmark using mountain of trash not only for being noticeable but also a symbolical physicality that raises the awareness on the amount of trash people are piling up nowaday. To even embrace the technology in a larger scale, all of the buildings within this facility should also be digitally fabricated using trash combining with the use of technology. This results in a very broad possibility of the outcome and will even more expand as new technology and digital fabrication method will always be introduced and developed as time is changing. Apart from the main facility, small recycling checkpoint will also be added to every pier along the Chao phraya river within Bangkok region in order for trash collector to drop their items at the nearest checkpoint and for the trash collector boat to collect these trash before transferring to the main facility.
