Bangkok, Thailand
Designed by Winy Maas and MVRDV for The Thai Creative Economic Agency, Mega Mat is a temporary installation for public gatherings and performances made from recycled plastic mats as a way in which to raise public awareness about plastic waste and recycling in Thailand.
Located on the Lan Khon Mueang Town Square outside the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority City Hall, the Mega Mat is a modular piece made of over 500 recycled plastic mats, showcasing the possibilities for using recycled plastic in everyday objects.
Its bright colors add a burst of energy to the square and connect the Mega Mat to its surroundings—and also form an 860-square-metre infographic about Thailand’s plastic waste processing.
MVRDV wanted to celebrate the versatility of recycled plastic as a material for everyday products.
The result is an infographic public space that, in addition to featuring bright, eye-catching colors, follows a color-coded system to organize information about the country’s plastic waste processing.
Mega Mat takes recycled plastic to reinterpret an everyday household item: the “sua” or mat on which Thai families have been sitting for generations.
This fresh take on a familiar object showcases the potential of using recycled plastic in daily life, embodied in a versatile public space now installed in the heart of Bangkok.
Thailand produces around two million tons of plastic waste a year; the issue has become a hot topic nationwide as industries and the government have introduced policies and frameworks to reduce the consumption of plastic and increase the percentage of waste that is recycled.
A total of 532 modular pieces, woven with a traditional Thai textile pattern, come together to make a supersized sua for the whole city.
With each module measuring 1.8 by 0.9 meters, the Mega Mat will be dismantled and the individual mats will go on to live a third life— some will be donated to local temples, others will become yoga mats, and others will be upcycled into products such as bags.
The bright colors of this Mega Mat form a gradient that serves as an infographic display of how plastic waste is currently disposed of in the country: red signifies the percentage of waste that is sent to unsanitary landfills; shades of orange represent the percentage that goes to sanitary landfills, with barriers in place that prevent ground pollution; yellow represents the percentage of waste that goes uncollected; while finally, the shades of green at the center represent the percentage of plastic that is recycled.
The colors, with their concentric arrangement, also reference the colorful roofs of the Wat Suthat Thepwararam, a temple located behind the plaza.
“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,” states 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. In a city dominated by concrete, this mat creates a soft space where you can drop your shoes, sit, lie down, read, and play.”
Project: Mega Mat
Architects: MVRDV
Lead Architect: Winy Maas
Partner in Charge: Wenchian Shi
Design Team: Sanne van der Burgh, Sredej Bunnag, Americo Iannazzone, Zhijia Xiong, Jiani You, Dimitrios Kogkalidis, Sen Yang, Miruna Dunu, and Marcela Tamez Cabello
Contractor: D-63
Partners In Charge: The Creative Economic Agency, PTT Global Chemicals, Embassy of the Netherlands, and Urban Ally
Client: The Thai Creative Economic Agency
Photographers: Depth of Field
