Jhanyar adds extra appendages to Bangkok's street food furniture

At Bangkok Design Week, Thai studio Jhanyar unveiled a collection of products that can attach to existing furniture to make dining at the city's street food stalls more enjoyable.

Studio founders Watcharavit Chanyakul and Siriwan Wattanajindawong are both fond of street food and based the GaGeeNang range on their experiences as regular patrons at some of the city's casual dining spots.

They reimagined familiar objects such as the plastic stools and folding metal tables found outside these eateries, adding functional tabletops or attachments for condiments that improve their usability.

"The project aims to enhance the quality of Thailand's charming street food culture while experimenting with new ideas such as highlighting gaps in behaviours and lifestyles," the duo told Dezeen.

The collection is named GaGeeNang after a Chinese word meaning easygoing or friendly, chosen due to the prevalence of Thai-Chinese food in Bangkok's famous street food district Yaowarat.

"This project adopts a Chinese word that conveys a sense of warmth, simplicity and inclusiveness, making it accessible to everyone," the designers added.

During Bangkok Design Week, Jhanyar collaborated with seven well-known establishments in the Yaowarat and Song Wat neighbourhoods, allowing customers to try their designs.

Chanyakul and Wattanajindawong based their products on the needs of two main user groups: the food stall customers and operators who prioritise aspects such as ease of cleaning and stacking.

Their solutions adopt a DIY or "design it yourself" approach, which they say is common among Thai people when repairing broken items instead of discarding them as waste.

The collection utilises common features found in everyday low-cost outdoor furniture. One example is the ubiquitous plastic stool with a hole in the centre, which Jhanyar adapted by adding a tabletop that clamps onto the hole.

The table surface is supported by a tubular metal arm and provides a convenient surface for resting food and beverages, replacing the common practice of using a second stool as a table.

The designers also produced their own version of a stackable stool featuring a telescopic arm with a semi-circular table. The stool can be positioned against a wall or alongside a second stool to form a shared circular surface.

The third product developed for the project responds to the issue of condiments taking up too much space on cafe tables. Jhanyar designed a container that clamps onto the end of a table to organise condiments and free up space on the tabletop.

Feedback gathered during Bangkok Design Festival will now inform how the prototypes are refined to make them even more practical and beneficial to all users.

The duo also plan to incorporate locally sourced recycled materials into the production process to enhance the sustainability of the products.

Chanyakul and Wattanajindawong both graduated with degrees in product design from Bangkok's Silpakorn University. Their projects harness what they call the "Thai way of problem-solving" and aim to deliver practical solutions that elevate various aspects of everyday life.

Elsewhere at Bangkok Design Week, architecture firm MVRDV used local plastic waste to create a public seating area that doubles as "860-square-metre infographic" on Thailand's pollution crisis.

Bangkok Design Week 2025 takes place at various locations around the city from 8 to 23 February. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

The post Jhanyar adds extra appendages to Bangkok's street food furniture appeared first on Dezeen.