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Creative Urban Thinking from Southeast Asia’s Design Voices
What does it take to design better cities?
Sometimes, the answer lies not in grand visions but in how we respond to the everyday limitations of urban life.
At the recent room x Living ASEAN Design Talk 2024, held under the theme (Re)Thinking Inside the Box: Vol. 2 – Better Design, Better Community from an ASEAN Perspective, designers from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand came together to explore urban challenges — and how design can bridge the gaps that still exist in city development.
Hosted by room, Living ASEAN, and Amarin Academy as part of Sustainability Expo 2024 (SX2024) on October 4, 2024, the event spotlighted voices from three Southeast Asian metropolises:
Officine Gặp – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Presented their research on “Tube Houses” and the spatial dynamics of narrow living, offering a new lens on density and micro-urbanism.
Ng Sek San – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Shared his journey of turning abandoned land into community green spaces, using design to reconnect people with nature in the heart of the city.
Chatpong Chuenrudeemol – Bangkok, Thailand
Introduced Bangkok Bastards, a provocative project that finds value in informal urban environments and reimagines them as architectural tools for public life.
Designing for Connection
Each speaker offered a powerful takeaway: that urban design is not just about buildings — it’s about people. By working within real-life constraints — whether physical, social, or economic — these creatives are reshaping how we think about space, community, and sustainability in fast-growing Southeast Asian cities.
Watch the full session here: