Bangkok Kunsthalle - Bangkok, Thailand

Deep within Bangkok’s Chinatown, the Bangkok Kunsthalle rises as a striking tribute to the city’s industrial past. Likely constructed in the 1960s or 70s, the complex once housed the Thai Wattana Panich printing house. Designed by an architect whose name has since been forgotten, its Brutalist form, stark, geometric, solid, still carries the weight of its former life.

I arrived on foot, the heavy heat of Bangkok bearing down as a sudden downpour stalled my journey. By the time I reached the Kunsthalle, I was drenched, flushed, but oddly energised. There was something profound about earning my way to a place shaped by endurance. Stepping inside felt like entering a discourse between destruction and renewal. The building doesn’t hide its wounds, it embraces them. Charred beams, fractured stairwells, and weathered concrete are integral to the space, now animated by contemporary artworks in various rooms.

After a fire in 2001, the complex sat derelict for years. Its resurrection came through the vision of philanthropist Marisa Chearavanont and architect-curator Stefano Rabolli Pansera, who approached with the idea for it to be reclaimed. Artists are invited to engage with the space as it stands, letting the building’s history and form shape each installation.

Inside, I felt awe, not only for the Brutalist architecture but for what it had become. A forgotten structure, left to decay, has found a new purpose as a living canvas. Revival,resilience and reinvention.