Banfai Temple Stool

In 2017, the studio embarked on a deep cultural and material immersion in the Isaan region of rural Northeast Thailand. This project, titled Banfai Temple Stool, was born from the team’s participation in the Bun Banfai (the Flying Cylinders Festival), a traditional Buddhist celebration centered on the creation of massive rockets designed to bring rain to the infinite rice fields of the region.

For one month, the design team joined a local rocket-making temple, participating in the labor-intensive rituals of producing gunpowder and assembling the 3-meter-tall flying cylinders. In a context where spoken language was a barrier, the studio used craft as a common language, allowing them to integrate into a small community that shared their passion for making and structural experimentation.

The materiality of the project reflects the modern evolution of this ancient tradition. While the rockets were historically made from bamboo, today’s workshops utilize industrial materials like blue PVC pipes and other synthetic residues. Observing the temple grounds loaded with production leftovers, the team saw an opportunity to gather these discarded elements and combine them into a functional object that spoke to the specific context of the site.

The resulting Banfai Temple Stool is a masterpiece of raw assemblage. Following a strict design philosophy, the studio used no tools, no glue, no screws, and no nails. Each component was incorporated into the final arrangement exactly as it was found, performing its role without any modification. This piece, now part of the "elements" collection, was left behind as an offering to the local community and the spirits that hosted the team, standing as a testament to the power of design to foster connection and the creative potential of upcycled industrial materials.