The Last Dweller

Project Title: The Last Dweller

Condition: Built

Date: 02/2020

/ The Last Dweller is a body of corrugated galvanized iron themed multimedia experiential space exhibited at the back alley of Soi Charoen Krung 22, Talat Noi during the event Bangkok Design Week 2020.

The truth is that nothing lasts forever.

On a cold and windy night, the sky is pitch black with an absence of stars, the villagers walking through the alley will come across a dark open field at the end of Soi Charoen Krung 22.

The individual noticed a silhouette, so he turned his head to face the void. Standing in the middle is a figure of the past. It calls to whoever strides pass its territory.

However, not with an intention to evict the guest, but with the disenchanting purpose of invitations

This blank area once hosts an ordinary old-style wooden Thai house that became obsolete and inhospitable through changing of time. The installation aims to embrace the element of subtlety in architecture to provoke thoughts toward our habitable environments and constructed space.

The house is the last member of your family.

What comes after death?

Comparing the structure of a human to the body of architecture. When a person has passed away, the heart stops beating, body perished, and flesh decayed. What's leftover are skeletons and bones which take slower to decompose than other organic material and tissue.

Portrait of Charoenkrung, Bangkok

Photo by Tipaphon Puangmaha

What comes after a demolition?

On the contrary, when a former non-maintenance Thai house had collapsed or demolished, the natural construction material such as the biodegradable wood tissue; broke down and withered. What remains are those synthetic constructions such as the galvanized iron steel plates, which were utilized extensively in an old district period use as partition and roofing.

The materials used are that remains of dead architecture. They're scraps that hardly decompose naturally and cling onto this earth for a much longer period.

It symbolizes the wandering spirit of a house that still roams and cling onto this land.

The installation consists of partitions that formed into five smaller subspaces or half-circular rooms. Each space, at daytime, reflects off pieces of the environment that it engulfs and occupies to represent the spirit of the house that's senselessly trying to find occupants and host functions that no longer exist.

All that remains is what nature left for us

A piece of land. Grass and dirt.

The lost soul is straying. It's trying to form a room and be a dwelling by establishing itself into various positions.

At nighttime, each unit lost the ability to reflect off the context owing to the absence of natural light. However, space starts to illuminates, and the reflection reveals the invisible bodies that are wandering in the center. It symbolizes an unnatural phenomenon that we cannot see with bare eyes but only through the reflection on the galvanized iron sheets where it can be perceived. /

Sound reflection angle

The original formation holds the secret sound reflection characteristic. If someone stands inside one of the units and emits voice, the other person who's standing across will perceive the resonance as if someone is whispering from behind.

Combine with the drifting lights that aimlessly search for a sign of life. The purpose is to invite visitors to inspect the atmosphere in each room to experience architecture from the 4th dimension and become a guest of the last dweller. /

Credits:

Lighting support by Yimsamer & photonbkk

Construction support by Permporn Peetapa

Yimsamer is a design team that mainly focuses on producing multimedia and entertainment products. The team has specifically explored and engages technology into each designs creating varieties of work including interactive installation arts, stage design, experiences design, lighting design, and visual effects. Check out their inspiring productions at https://www.yimsamer.com/