Open-Fi DEF CON Event at The Siam Society, Bangkok

Open-Fi at a Glance

What We Delivered for Open-Fi

• Event production engineered around heritage constraints: freestanding video walls, wireless solutions and non invasive rigging throughout
• A 3.5 x 2.0 metre LED screen (1346 x 769 pixels) as the sharp, bright centrepiece for every presentation
• Furniture rental, styling and branded printing to transform the space without touching it
• Full on site event management with a crew experienced in protected venues, plus AV engineers on call all three days
• Lighting design that showcased the architecture rather than fighting it

Venue Facts

• The Siam Society, Bangkok, a heritage protected compound opened in 1933, with a museum
• Zero fixings permitted anywhere: every structure freestanding and ballasted
• Site power capped well below normal tech event draw, requiring a low consumption technical design
• Sayan, our technical director, engineered the power plan; Dylan R. designed the lighting that flattered the architecture

Run of Show: Event Day

Permits and Compliance

Working in a heritage venue means the venue's own conservation rules are the permit. Every structure, cable run and light position was approved by the Siam Society's caretakers in advance, with daily inspections before doors.

What We Would Do Differently

"We would bring double the cable ramp stock," says Sayan. "Nothing was unsafe, but in a heritage garden the neatest cable path is the longest one, and we used every metre we had."

The Results for Open-Fi

A 10 person crew, three show days, six freestanding structures built without a single fixing into the building, and a 3.5 x 2.0 metre LED wall running 12 hours daily. When the venue capped our available power well below what a normal tech event draws, we re-specced to low draw LED and wireless audio, and the presentations never dimmed.

Polly, Open-Fi's marketing lead, said: "You treated the venue like it was your own and the event like it was ours."

A thoroughly modern DEF CON event, perfectly at home in a landmark more than ninety years old. The venue's caretakers complimented our crew on leaving the property "exactly as we found it." Precision like this is what an experienced event organizer in Bangkok brings to sensitive venues.

How We Delivered It for Open-Fi

Our event organizer Bangkok team managed the venue relationship and the three day schedule, event production built the freestanding structures and lighting, and our AV engineers designed the low power LED and wireless audio. Furniture rental and branded print came from our own stock. This DEF CON event also used our own battery-operated wireless lighting with wireless DMX control (8 to 10 hours of battery life), which needs no cable runs, alongside white RCF EVOX 12 column array speakers from the same fleet, available to hire in Phuket and Bangkok.

Planning an Event at The Siam Society, Bangkok

The Siam Society stands at 131 Asoke Montri Road (Sukhumvit Soi 21), on land given to the Society in 1931. Its main building, designed by British architect Edward Healey, opened in 1933, and the compound also houses the Kamthieng House, a traditional northern Thai teak house. It is a short walk from BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit, which makes it easy for guests to reach. For events, expect conservation rules: freestanding structures only, limited power and caretaker approval for every layout.