Cylinder by cycle

Depending on the size, cylindrical objects have their own ways of being transported around Bangkok by motorcycle; whether by repurposed plastic storage bins (secured with bungee cords), or interwoven bungee cords. The interwoven cord solution reminds me of this betel stand goods display method - also reliant upon tension created by twists in a thread to suspend an object.

Bangkok waste solutions

To one unfamiliar with Bangkok's sidewalk trashcans, the nighttime photograph would look like a thoughtless act. Only when municipal cleaners have caught up with local residents' pace of garbage generation and this key piece of sidewalk infrastructure is effectively "reset" does the act become recontextualized as considerate: one that saves the waste collector time and effort by keeping trash  concentrated in its "intended" space. A minimalist approach to a trashcan (a bare wire frame) becomes even more minimal (sans large bag) but not too minimal (spread all over the sidewalk).

Considering both the official municipal rubbish bin and the improvised rebar-crafted number next to this Bangkok construction site, could you take anything away from these two solutions and still call them "rubbish bins" (or trashcans, depending on context)? If you took something away, what would they become instead? Although possibly just hanging a bag on a wall, the part of a rubbish bin that identifies it as a rubbish bin to the rubbish-producers is necessary (perhaps a sign could be worked around by simply placing some "starter garbage" in and hoping crowds follow your example). Nonetheless, when you want the rubbish bin to entreat passerby to use it, best to make it at street-level, and include an appeal to use it. 

"Pitch in!"

Good for mouth/heart/constraints

The sign on the side of this Bangkok foodcart advertises its "right (for your) mouth, right (for your) heart" crispy (Halal!) non-pork sausage. Space and weight constraints coupled with costly (both monetarily and spatially) combustible fuel, this "arched" grill doubles productivity while halving fuel consumption. Also space-capitalizing is the repurposed Pocari Sweat bottle hung and used as a grease catcher (as the grease is also "recycled").

Taste mismatch

Considering the message's medium, this is assurance for tourists who are wary from prior experiences with the "locally calibrated" orange juice suited for Thai tastes. All knowledge has a price associated with its acquisition, and I'm interested what that process for this juice stand owner; was such knowledge acquired passively through watching the wincing faces of non-locals as they experienced the disconnect between their expectations of how orange juice "should" taste based upon past experience (sweet) versus the present experience (salty)? Or was such knowledge acquired more actively, or perhaps even forced upon the owner by a non-local (or perhaps several over the course of time) voicing their dissatisfaction with the orange juice and/or demanding a refund?

Murphy table

These combination tables+benches pack seamlessly into their surroundings during daylight hours - the "Murphy Bed" of tables. These are installed along the wall of a busy driveway leading off a bustling Silom soi. After dark, as motorbike and car-based commuter traffic segues into pedestrian and local resident foot-traffic, down come the tables and the space is repurposed into a street restaurant.

Tile-wrought E.T's

Could the fact that the sidewalks of both Bangkok and Pittsburgh feature tile mosaics of space aliens be a coincidence? That they are the exact same size, with the exception of one small tile? What was each artists' source of inspiration? There are a few cultural insights that can be gleaned here, perhaps some "tile-alien norms" if you will. Bangkok's distinctively more Space Invaders-like alien lives on the sidewalk just outside of Sukhumwit Soi 21, near a  trendy new retail experience designed to mimic an airport terminal. All sorts of good stuff there - impressive attempt to package the burgeoning desire for Thais to join the ranks of the global cosmopolitan jet set, or rather give the Thais who already claim membership a greater sense of validity in their ability to critique shortcomings in accuracy ("In real airports that I've been in, the models of the Golden Gate Bridge were not this large."). Thankfully, Thai airport-like malls have more reasonable food prices (and far more food and retail options) than the Thai airports I've visited. This mall may augur well for global airports whose designers would take notes and adopt a more customer-centric approach towards airport design/refurbishing.

The Steel City alien was spotted in the up-and-coming East Liberty neighborhood, whose moderately-paced gentrification has been kicked into overdrive with the opening of a Google campus. This character appears to be an homage to the classic American Area-51/Roswell style of space aliens. 

Note what becomes accented about each alien once the mosaic medium is adopted: Thai alien gets more expressive, less threatening eyes than the American, while the American alien's gesture would most likely be interpreted as a friendly wave ("I come in peace/pieces").

There may also be some relevant insights to pull out of the fact that they are almost-but-not-quite-identically sized, though placed at different heights. The Thai Space Invader clocks in at 143 tiles (142 tiles if you count that missing one above its antenna there) and sized 11x13 tiles, and is doing its thing right at ground level on a fairly high-pedestiran trafficked area. The American, waving hello farther up at eye level, is tucked discreetly into a sidewalk alcove on a relatively less crowded street. At 12x12 tiles, this more symmetrical work clocks in at 144 tiles.

Thai condiment norms

The condiments on the table of this Bangkok street restaurant have been arranged to advertise the proprietor's sensibilities around freshness and cleanliness. At the same time, the owner's priorities reveal much about local tastes. Liquids, powders, and other processed condiments are all contained: Sauces are stored in bottles and glass containers, chili powder and salt are placed into glasses or plastic cups and placed under a red plastic fly-cover. There's the sense that these must be kept protected/contained to prevent contamination. Raw, unprocessed condiments -  chives, bean sprouts, basil leaves - are left out, stored only in water, their freshness prolonged by storage in conditions approximating those that originally allowed them to grow. What are the fixin' display norms for street eats in your neck of the woods?

Restaurant rings

Though unlikely this was installed to give street restaurants a place to hang their towels and stash their mops, Bangkok street-restauranteurs didn't wait for a gilded invitation to start repurposing the sets of mysterious pink rings bolted to the large concrete structure in the middle of this patch of sidewalk near Ari Station. A clever means of pulling latent functionality out of pre-existing urban infrastructure. 

How can cities more intentionally design multipurpose sidewalk-level infrastructure that, instead of discouraging sidewalk-based commerce, actually encourages it? In many places sidewalks are not viewed merely as people-ways, but as a commercial space. Instead of instituting challenging-to-enforce across-the-board bans, this potential commercial space should be embraced and sensibly moderated to accommodate both the free movement of pedestrians while also facilitating commercial exchange between them. Jane Jacobs has written at length about how mixed-use development encourages street life, so shouldn't such a philosophy be extended to sidewalks as well? That is where multipurpose infrastructure suited to accommodating street-based enterprises comes in - what better way to naturally regulate sidewalk-based commerce than encouraging and supporting it with infrastructure that naturally manages density of vendors in a given location?