Fun Box is a transformative space for designers, artists and retailers that combines education and entertainment through a series of vibrant spatial experiences. Designed by JARKEN group of companies, helmed by co-founder and principal, Sasivimol Sinthawanarong, Fun Box brings together an eclectic and carefully curated mix of design brands and entities that include the DI concept store, Pye Palette clothing label, Pye Design School and TigerLily branding agency, and enables creative collaboration within the framework of its facilities.

Spanning four floors of a building, each level of Fun Box presents a different opportunity to get immersed in design, from learning about the latest design products and materials to participating in creative workshops and events. The different environments, designed to foster creativity, balance practicality and quirkiness and merge designated retail and showroom spaces with more loosely programmed work areas. Each floor of Fun Box offers a different environment and sets a different mood, allowing for a medley of creative styles to come together under one roof.

“Each floor is designed differently to accommodate different functions but is curated in such a way that [individuals] can express their own way of thinking, their own perception of design when it comes to their own executions,” says the design team.

The first two floors of Fun Box, known as the Little House of Design, contain the DI concept store and the DIY Workshop. The former showcases a curated collection of premium quality products from around the world, while the latter serves as a hands-on area for the exploration of various material possibilities. While the first floor space focuses more on solid and sturdy materials like wood and stone, the second floor workshop puts an emphasis on softer, tactile materials, with an extensive display of fabrics that line the perimeter walls.

The upper floors continue the immersive, creative edutainment experience, with the third level dedicated to the Pye Palette clothing store and Pye Design School that serves as an incubator for design ideas and a platform for sharing design experiences. Here, the concept of “White Canvas” – a notion that all great designs start as a sketch on a white piece of paper – strives to make a striking statement for young designers, inviting them to partake in design courses on topics like space planning, renovation techniques and elements and principles of interior decoration.

The topmost floor serves as an installation and concept space for the branding agency TigerLily. Here, designers can experience a culmination of the entire Fun Box experience. Embodying the limitless possibilities of design, the space is a podium that highlights unique products and creative services through a series of immersive, 3D installations.

“We link the fourth storey TigerLily space to the rest of the floors with a metaphor of a student having just graduated from a school and embarking on a new life of a designer,” says the JARKEN design team. “The space exemplifies what it is like to enter an explorative and mythical world of brand storytelling.”

While there is no single overarching theme for Fun Box’s collection of diverse, creative spaces, the JARKEN team is convinced that the imaginative and participatory design approach to each of the floors is the key to fostering the spirit of exploration and innovation from within. Says the team, “No particular elements are alike in the space… When you are in the space, it’s a design museum; everything should be a wonder.”

JARKEN group of companies
jarken.net