MVRDV has designed an installation that presents a story of plastic waste and recycling at the heart of Bangkok Design Week in Thailand. 

Named Mega Mat, the project is a modular structure composed of more than 500 recycled plastic mats. The project is situated on the Lan Khon Mueang Town Square outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority City Hall. Creating a publis space, it demonstrates the potential of incorporating recycled plastic into commonplace items.

In addition to connecting the Mega Mat to its surroundings and bringing vitality to the design week, its vibrant colors create an 860-square-meter infographic depicting Thailand's plastic waste processing.

Around 2 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced in Thailand annually; as a result of industry and government initiatives to decrease plastic usage and raise the proportion of recyclable waste, the issue has gained national attention. 

With their contribution to Bangkok Design Week, MVRDV aimed to highlight the versatility of recycled plastic as a material for commonplace products in order to capitalize on this national momentum.

The "Sua," or mat, is a commonplace household object that Thai families have been sitting on for generations. 

The Mega Mat is made from recycled plastic. The city's supersized Sua is made up of 532 modular pieces that are stitched together using a traditional Thai textile design. 

Following Bangkok Design Week, the Mega Mat will be disassembled, with each module measuring 1.8 by 0.9 meters. The individual mats will then be given a third life, with some being donated to nearby temples, some being turned into yoga mats, and still others being repurposed into items like purses.

This Mega Mat's vibrant colors create a gradient that functions as an infographic representation of the nation's current plastic waste disposal practices: red denotes the proportion of waste that is dumped in unsanitary landfills, orange denotes the proportion that is dumped in sanitary landfills with ground pollution-preventing barriers in place, yellow denotes the proportion that is left uncollected, and finally, the green hues in the middle represent the proportion of recycled plastic. 

The concentric arrangement of the colors also alludes to the vibrant roofs of the temple behind the square called Wat Suthat Thepwararam.

"Around the world, people are understanding the need to think more about the objects they use, and to see products as part of a connected ecological web," said MVRDV founder Winy Maas. 

"In Thailand this conversation is already well underway. I encourage that. With our design of the Mega Mat, we also wanted to celebrate it as an opportunity, to see the possibilities that are created by putting an emphasis on recycled materials," Maas added.

The Mega Mat is raised on one corner, its upward-curving shape evoking the Wat Suthat Thepwararam's roofs once more. While the remainder of the installation lets people sit on and enjoy the Lan Khon Mueang plaza as their outdoor living room, this covered area offers a place to exchange information. Visitors can see an exhibition about Thailand's plastic waste and recycling history as well as the meaning woven into the Mega Mat's recycled plastic.

As part of its larger sustainability initiatives, MVRDV is recycling during Bangkok Design Week in an effort to shift its portfolio to a low-carbon, "Paris-proof" paradigm. 

From creating The Green Dream Foundation to offset the travel emissions generated during their work to developing the CarbonScape software to optimize the emissions of their projects, the firm's quest for carbon reductions is chronicled in the recently opened Carbon Confessions exhibition in Munich.

The Mega Mat was developed in partnership with the Dutch Embassy, PTT Global Chemicals, and the Creative Economy Agency. The installation is one of several MVRDV events during Bangkok Design Week. 

From February 13 to 15, the firm unveiled PROMPT PARK, a participatory AI project that reimagines a vacant area beneath the Sirat Expressway at Surawong Road, in partnership with We!Park.

Step story

Step story

Step story

Concert and performances

Dance events

Outdoor Cinema

Yoga and fitness

Playground

Market

Dismantling

Recently, MVRDV has wrapped the new Tiffany & Co. store in hand-crafted ceramic elements in the shape of diamonds in Stuttgart, Germany. 

In addition, the firm turned an old shipping container into a modular, multi-functional clubhouse to use the power of sport to aid refugees. Moroever, the studio completed the renovation and transformation of Dutch architect Aldo van Eyck's Tripolis Office complex in Amsterdam. 

Project facts

Project name: Mega Mat

Location: Laan Kon Muang Plaza, Bangkok, Thailand 

Year: 2024-2025

Client: Creative Economic Agency, Thailand

Architect: MVRDV

Founding Partner in charge: Winy Maas

Partner: Wenchian Shi

Design Team: Sanne van der Burgh, Sredej Bunnag, Americo Iannazzone, Zhijia Xiong, Jiani You, Dimitrios Kogkalidis, Sen Yang, Miruna Dunu, Marcela Tamez Cabello.

Partners: Creative Economic Agency, PTT Global Chemicals, Embassy of the Netherlands, Urban Ally

Contractor: D-63

Recycled mats: Rukchat

Lighting Designer: FOS Lighting Design Studio 

Exhibition collaboration: MORE 

Recycled Rubber Substrate: Patex

All images © DOF SkyGround.

All drawings © MVRDV.

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