Ever since the first day of my journey to the Das Treffen 2 Porsche festival back in 2017, Bangkok has become a personal favourite city in Asia to revisit, courtesy of its inspiring character – a melting pot of cars, culture, food and muses. During my most recent trip in December 2024, my first stop was Curvistan Bangkok, a new cultural art space and cafe located in the heart of Thonglor, right next to the BTS Skytrain station. Curvistan has quickly become the latest hotspot for passionate drivers and design enthusiasts alike.
Following successful Curvistan pop-up galleries in Munich and Singapore, @curvesmagazin founder Stefan Bogner selected Bangkok as the next, more permanent stop on his journey exploring soulful driving, nature, motion and design.
He shared, “It’s more than just a place, it’s an open space where the Porsche community can connect, share their passion, and see their dreams come to life. Curvistan offers a unique blend of coffee shop, automotive and art gallery, and concept store, providing a vibrant experience for all Porsche enthusiasts. This was achieved through collaborations with distinguished local curators, each a specialist in their field, ensuring every element of Curvistan works in perfect harmony. I am thrilled to celebrate another milestone for Curvistan in this prime location of Bangkok.”
Bogner’s vision was shared by Chanond Ruangkritya, the Thai petrolhead with a deep Porsche passion that goes beyond owning and driving a 980 Carrera GT, who also happens to run his real estate company Ananda Development that will build the first ultra exclusive Porsche Design Tower luxury condominium in Asia just next to Curvistan’s location.
Stepping through the glass doors of the drop-off entrance, I entered an airily lit, design-rich space, where boldly coloured walls served as a backdrop for Stefan’s greatest photography and frequent Porsche collaborator Jeffery Docherty’s graphic artworks. Had I entered off the street via the bold signal yellow entry tunnel that partly references a turbocharger or the Beatles’ movie Yellow Submarine’s psychedelic periscope, it would have felt even more like stepping into a parallel universe. Everywhere I looked there was something else to marvel at, from artsy sculptured speakers to a three meter high Alexander Girard Mid-Century wooden figure; while Manu Campa’s faithfully illustrated depictions of iconic Porsche models highlighted the central display area. Minimalistic wooden shelving showcased other examples of Stefan’s previous works, while low glass cases exhibited official Porsche merchandise available to purchase.
Curated displays from the world of Porsche will be rotated throughout the gallery every two to three months; at the time of my visit the Porsche Unseen exhibition was ongoing to highlight several previously secret futuristic Porsche vision concepts. As a whole the Porsche Vision design program has enabled Michael Mauer and the design team to push the boundaries of their visionary creative talents, looking into the future and envisioning what performance cars will be like 30, 50 or even 80 years from now. The Vision Spyder took pride of place as the exhibition’s centerpiece, embodying the concept of a future agile, lightweight and compact sports car that has always been on the design team’s hearts and minds. It successfully pays tribute to James Dean’s favoured 550 Spyder, while looking forward with contemporary interpretations of classic design elements like the angular ‘Targa’ roll bar.
Several 1:3 scale model concepts accompanied the main display including the Vision 918 RS and Vision 920 hypercar concepts, Macan Vision Safari overlanding design experiment, and Vision E Formula E car envisioned for customer racing.
No attention to detail was spared in the cafe and bar areas either, with The Coffee Academïcs producing some fine brews while Socrates Delicious Syrup Company looks after the more fun drinks once night falls and it’s time to unwind. Furnishings including Jean Prouvé chairs that were as good to sit on as look at were supplied by the Swiss company Vitra known for producing iconic pieces and collaborating with world renowned architects and designers. Photos captured and this initial yet enlightening walkthrough completed, I sat down to catch up over lunch with a friend familiar with the local automotive scene whose genuine warmth made it feel like we had barely parted ways. Conversation flowed and some rather excellent open faced sandwiches were savoured. From here, the rest of this latest journey through Bangkok was looking rather good indeed.
