Chulalongkorn University’s International Students and Professors Jenchieh Hung and Chomchon Fusinpaiboon Explore Bangkok Identity
Source: https://www.arch.chula.ac.th/arch-cu/TH/recentnews/march_inter_2026.html Parent: https://www.arch.chula.ac.th/arch-cu/TH/home.html
\ Chulalongkorn University Visiting Professor Jenchieh Hung has led a design studio in the Master of Architecture in Architectural Design (i+mARCH) in collaboration with Assistant Professor Dr. Chomchon Fusinpaiboon at the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University. Through this collaboration, Jenchieh Hung has contributed his extensive expertise in architectural design and research to both the university and its students.\
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Jenchieh Hung has been actively involved with the Faculty of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University as a visiting professor, demonstrating a strong commitment to architectural education within the i+mARCH, alongside Assistant Professor Dr. Chomchon Fusinpaiboon. This semester, he continued to lead the design studio in the Master of Architecture in Architectural Design, drawing on his experience from his research-based and internationally acclaimed architectural firm, Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS Design and Research, which he established together with Kulthida Songkittipakdee. The firm is widely recognized for its exploration of “patterns,” employing pattern formation as a design tool to simulate both urban and natural spatial forms, whether conventional or unconventional. Since 2020, Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee have demonstrated a strong commitment to education and academic research at Chulalongkorn University, serving as visiting professors in the Department of Architecture, the Department of Interior Architecture, and the International Program in Design and Architecture, guided by Faculty of Architecture Dean Sarayut Supsook. In Jenchieh Hung’s design studio, known as the Hung And Songkittipakdee Laboratory (HAS Lab) at Chulalongkorn University, students were tasked with selecting topics related to Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown district, and identifying a keyword connected to the theme “AM/PM at Yaowarat: Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok.” Five students identified key concepts—street, vendor, signage, food, and canopy—which represent essential elements of local identity. These investigations culminated in a final architectural design project titled “Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory,” located at the 22 July Roundabout in the Yaowarat area of Bangkok.\
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The results of the studio, led by Chulalongkorn University Professors Jenchieh Hung and Dr. Chomchon Fusinpaiboon, together with their Master’s students, demonstrate the concept of Sustaining Bangkok Identity. The midterm and final reviews included five distinguished design critics: Dean and Assistant Professor Dr. Antika Sawadsri from the School of Architecture, Art, and Design at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang; Manatspong Sanguanwuthirojana from Hypothesis; Kulthida Songkittipakdee from Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS Design and Research; Acting Head and Professor Dr. Atch Sreshthaputra from the Department of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University; M.L. Varudh Varavarn from Vin Varavarn Architects; and Amata Luphaiboon from the Department of ARCHITECTURE Co. The students investigated and represented both single and multiple urban events based on their analysis and research, summarizing and presenting their findings through narrative diagrams. The work explores the sustaining and transformation of Bangkok into a new era of imagination. It highlights the main factors and phenomena that govern the “stability” and “variability” of Yaowarat’s interrelationships, examining the connections between the site surroundings and the overall functioning of the city. The final design projects reveal a prototype model as the presentation method for the conclusions of the overall research stage. The design focuses on viewing patterns as a system of systems, with “AM/PM at Yaowarat: Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok” serving as the driving methodology to initiate this research and design system.\
\ Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory – [AM/PM Street] as an Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok, by Nora Bull Langehaug, led by Chulalongkorn University visiting professor Jenchieh Hung. This project explores Bangkok’s Yaowarat Street, known as Chinatown, one of the city’s most dynamic areas, celebrated for its diversity of uses. Unlike traditional urban streets, Chinatown’s streets are constantly transformed through appropriation, infiltration, and blending, as people turn public streets into private or semi-public spaces, generating a unique and transformative shift in their meaning.\ \ The design reimagines the street as a “street park.” At the Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory, the spatial relationship of Yaowarat Street is transformed from a horizontal to a vertical dimension. The space accommodates a variety of activities while encouraging a reconsideration of the role of open space. Incorporating greenery, the project fosters a welcoming, pedestrian-friendly environment that blends urban life with public leisure.
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Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory – [AM/PM Vendor] as an Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok, by Ni Kadek Adini, led by Chulalongkorn University visiting professor Jenchieh Hung. Street vendors are an essential part of Bangkok’s Yaowarat Chinatown, creating vibrancy and continuous activity through everyday buying and selling. Their distribution is shaped by the linear structure of Yaowarat Road and its dense network of alleys. Some vendors occupy permanent locations integrated into shophouses, while others appear temporarily, arriving by car, bicycle, or pushcart. Vendors vary widely in their opening systems, roofing types, materials, functions, and operational methods, offering rich potential for architectural interpretation.\ \ The Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory draws inspiration from the contrast between daytime and nighttime street-vendor activities. During the day, the area remains relatively calm; after sunset, Yaowarat Road fills with visitors and expanded dining setups. Visitor movement—shaped by time, spatial conditions, and vendor placement—informs the design of a multifunctional observatory comprising street-vendor spaces, markets, food exhibition areas, and an observation deck. Respecting the historical significance of the 22 July Roundabout in the Yaowarat area, an existing fountain is preserved as a key interior focal point, creating layered spatial transitions that reflect Chinatown’s dynamic and evolving character.\
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Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory – [AM/PM Signage] as an Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok, by Junyi Chen, led by Chulalongkorn University visiting professor Jenchieh Hung. This project explores Bangkok’s Yaowarat Chinatown through its most striking feature: oversized signage, which forms the district’s defining visual identity. Four key characteristics of Chinatown’s signage are identified: parasitic—attached to buildings yet visually dominant; extensible—projecting freely into the street; directive—guiding sightlines and pedestrian movement; and clustered—individual signs merging into a collective urban expression.\ \ The design of the Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory begins by treating each sign as a spatial unit. Behind every hanging sign is an independently replaceable functional module, such as a shop, exhibition space, or public facility. The direction of the signs’ extensions is translated into internal pathways, walkways, and visual guides, while dense layers of signage form the building’s skin, façade, and roof, integrating lighting, shading, and wayfinding functions. A Signage Growth System allows the architecture to adapt and expand over time. More than a building, the project invites visitors to step inside the signs themselves, creating a dynamic, living environment that reflects Chinatown’s hybrid cultural vitality.
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Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory – [AM/PM Food] as an Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok, by Lwin Myat Swe, led by Chulalongkorn University visiting professor Jenchieh Hung. The project investigates Bangkok’s Yaowarat Chinatown through its identity as a food paradise, where culinary heritage, urban intensity, and public space intersect. Along Yaowarat Street, the site reveals a striking contrast between long-standing food traditions and the pressures of modern development. The design explores how food-related public spaces—such as street-food corridors, market lanes, and informal dining zones—shape the neighborhood’s character while preserving its cultural depth.\ \ Guided by the concept of “drifting and becoming,” the Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory maps daily culinary flows, including vendor setups, cooking activities, pedestrian circulation, and peak dining hours. This analysis informs design interventions that protect Chinatown’s atmosphere while creating new opportunities for residents and visitors to engage with its culinary environment. Memorial zones reflect the history of food culture, while experiential areas support contemporary urban life with tasting spaces, gathering spots, and interactive installations. Shaded pathways, green pockets, and sustainable strategies address environmental and social challenges, making the observatory both a cultural anchor and a resilient urban model.
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Bangkok Chinatown Memorial Observatory – [AM/PM Canopy] as an Identity in Drifting and Becoming Bangkok, by Yulin Duan, led by Chulalongkorn University visiting professor Jenchieh Hung. In Bangkok’s Yaowarat Chinatown, the canopy and arcade are not only distinctive spatial forms but also the most vibrant areas of daily life. They provide shelter from sun and rain while connecting vendors, shops, and neighbors through social interactions. This gray space is neither fully indoors nor completely open; it serves as a vital carrier of local culture and community memory. \ \ The design proposes a new prototype for a vertical community: a floating extension canopy tower. Using a core tube for vertical circulation and structural support, the building extends outward into staggered platforms covered by continuous canopies. These Sky Arcade levels accommodate night markets, community plazas, street food, and pocket parks, transforming the tower into a vertically extending street. Connected by bridges, staircases, and corridors, the tower offers a three-dimensional, meandering experience. The canopy becomes a cultural and spatial language, linking multi-level street life while reflecting the vibrancy of Chinatown both day and night. This design preserves the social and cultural atmosphere, elevating familiar urban life into the sky and creating a living, vertical community.\