Located in Trok Tuek Din on Dinso Road, near the Giant Swing and Wat Suthat Thepwararam, Baan Phra Phithak Yutthaphan, better known as Baan Phra Phithak, is a teak wood house built some 88 years ago. When Baan Phra Phithak became a non-performing asset under the management of Bangkok Commercial Asset Management (BAM), its executives recognised the value of the house and the surrounding property.
In order to restore and transform the historical area of Trok Tuek Din into a creative district and improve the quality of life for the community, BAM signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts to restore the area surrounding Baan Phra Phithak. If the project is successful, it will be a prototype for future asset developments.
Rak Vorrakitpokatorn, CEO of BAM, revealed that when he visited Baan Phra Phithak, which is a 540m² Western-influenced Thai house, his intuition told him not to sell the house.
"The potential selling price of this house is probably not more than 30 million baht, which won't make or break BAM. It would be better to implement the house as part of a environmental, social and governance or corporate social responsibility project, which is a coordination of three parties: BAM as the property owner, Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts as the expert in property restoration, and the local community," explained Rak.
Rak said the development plan for Baan Phra Phithak comprises three main components. The first zone is the house or Baan Phra Phithak. The second zone is an unfinished building next to the house which BAM will complete and transform into a boutique hotel with approximately 10-15 rooms. The hotel will include a Thai cooking school. The third zone is a community park, so that people in the community have space for rest, relaxation and outdoor activities.
"The hotel might potentially have a Thai cooking and dessert school because tourists who stay may be interested in learning about Thai culture. I also believe that people in the community have a lot of knowledge of Thai cooking, but they may not know how to generate income from it. Besides teaching tourists, they could share their knowledge with people in the community as well," said Rak.
"The idea of developing a public park was inspired by my student years in Scotland. The communities over there often shared a central courtyard, with beautiful wooden benches that everyone could use. I would like to see something like that in Thailand."
The building, which is expected to be a boutique hotel, is only 70% complete. Theeraphon Niyom, co-founder of the Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts and National Artist of Thailand for Visual Art and Applied Art (Architecture), explained that the renovated building must create harmony between old town style and modern vibes.
"This area is in an old town. The 88-year-old house is located in a large open space in the community, so we need to incorporate the surrounding ambience into our design criteria. The design must blend the old and the new together. The new design also needs to appeal to the taste of the younger generation," said Theeraphon.
This asset development project is structured as a community enterprise. Rak explained that BAM may provide a 30-to-50-year long-term instalment scheme to the community for Baan Phra Phithak.
"Suppose the community pays BAM 1 million baht per year, we would return it through CSR funding, so that the community can move forward. We hope this project will be an inspiration for starting businesses, creating jobs and opportunities for the community. People in the community will work as cooks, receptionists, waiters, cleaning staff, gardeners, park maintenance staff and security guards," said Rak.
"We have similar assets to Baan Phra Phithak in Phrae, Chiang Mai and Trang. If this project is successful and the community can become self-sustaining, we will apply the same strategies to assets in other provinces."
Sanisa Chayachang, secretary to the community chairperson at Trok Silp and Trok Tuek Din, stated that there are approximately 50 households in Trok Silp and another 50 households in Trok Tuek Din.
Sanisa was delighted to meet young people in the project who visited the community to collect data for creating the community map. She hopes that the project will help people in the community gain more income. Since there are many elderly people in the community, it would be nice if the new business hired them.
Prior to this project, Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts achieved success in creating many self-sustaining community enterprises, such as Talat Noi in Bangkok, Baanluangrajamaitri Historic House and Punyashthiti House in Chanthaburi.
Theeraphon explained that their work is called "Participatory Architecture For Change" which means they need to implement a participatory process which leads to change.
"At Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts, we believe that development should come from the cooperation of everyone equally and creatively. It is a development that involves everyone and leaves no one behind. We are not experts and we do not dictate what people must do. Instead, we come to learn from them and ask what they want. We evaluate the factors which contribute to this change," explained Theeraphon.
Baanluangrajamaitri Historic House is the first successful social enterprise in Chanthaburi. It is on Sukhaphiban Road in the Chanthaboon Riverside Community, which was previously a declining area. Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts teamed up with people in the community to bring this 150-year-old house back to life.
Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts renovated the Baanluangrajamaitri Historic House and rented it for 1 baht per month for 30 years. The Arsom Silp raised money for the renovation costs by offering 500 shares to the community. Thus, local people co-invested in the project and turned the house into a hotel. The Arsom Silp also provided hotel management knowledge to the local people. Currently, the Baanluangrajamaitri Historic House is run by Chanthaboon Rak Dee Company and has been in business for 12 years.
Not everyone achieves the same level of success as the Chanthaboon Riverside Community due to conflict between different groups.
"Success depends on the community itself. The communities that achieve success have strong teamwork and excellent collaboration. Their leaders have terrific communication skills or are experienced business people. Also, the community has a deep-rooted love for their hometown," concluded Theeraphon.
