The idea of ‘Equitable Resilience’ has several possible interpretations. As landscape architects, we define equitable resilience as the ability to adapt to or recover quickly from crises while supporting the needs of the city and simultaneously balancing power, knowledge, and resources by including multiple stakeholders. For a city to be resilient, it needs to provide people with the capacity to be responsive to change, both physically and mentally.
Bangkok is a city composed of more gray than green: 48 percent of the city is concrete, 18 percent is used for agriculture, and only 2 percent is devoted to parks. With a population of over six million people, the city provides only about 6.9 square meters of green spaces per person, according to Bangkok’s Office of the Environment, far short of the international standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) of nine square meters per person. Moreover, according to the United Nations Human Settlement Program, an effective green space should be accessible within a distance of 400 meters, or reached within a 5-minute walk from residence. In Bangkok, only 13 percent of green spaces meet this accessibility recommendation, meaning that green space is lacking in neighborhoods. Bangkok’s design does not correspond well to residents’ needs: people lack spaces for physical activities, the urban design does not respond well to floods: with at least 20 localities in four districts that are flood-prone together with ineffective drainage system, and the city lacks proper accessibility to green space. As such, the city is far from meeting the definition of resilience.
We see parks as small-scale interventions that can provide solutions to these problems and others, including mitigating floods, absorbing air pollution, reducing urban heat, tackling food insecurity, or increasing ecological biodiversity through the selection of plantings and green spaces. As the WHO observes, green spaces have a wide range of benefits, including providing opportunities for physical activity, supporting social and psychological well-being, and improving air quality. Moreover, a bountiful number of small parks is more effective than a few large ones.
One solution to limitations on green space in cities is ‘pocket parks,’ small-sized parks that can be inserted into unused or neglected urban space. Leveraging pocket parks as an important solution to Bangkok’s lack of green space in the context of equitable resilience, requires collaboration and engagement between stakeholders such as the government, private sector, and community. Integrating participation into the implementation of pocket parks helps urban dwellers feel a sense of belonging.
Private sector organizations need to work closely with the government in obtaining vacant land where then the public sector needs to be informed of how the space will be designed and transformed.
In response to Bangkok’s green space crisis, our team has created We!park, which is supported by the Office of Thai Health Promotion Foundation, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, and the Thai Association of Landscape Architects. We!park works toward creating a system of green spaces within the city’s infrastructure by identifying and designing pocket parks. It functions as an active platform and a mediator to connect various stakeholders and engage communities of Bangkok in an inclusive way. It empowers people and provides knowledge and tools for exploring, designing, and planning green spaces in the city. To contribute to equitable resilience, a pocket park must be designed according to specific local contexts and issues. We use a participatory process to help meet diverse needs within the specific context of each site, following five steps: initiation, planning, designing, implementation, and maintenance. The process is supported by a series of participatory workshops, and it draws on information such as the process of creating a pocket park, previous accomplished projects, and a database of quantitative and qualitative research.
We!park’s website provides a Green Finder feature that helps people to explore and visualize data on green spaces in Bangkok. It is designed to help residents learn about existing and potential green spaces and become engaged in the cause of identifying and developing parks. Residents can actively participate in updating the website database by inserting information on nearby unused spaces. When selecting a location, the interactive online platform will show a current amount of potential un-utilized spaces, a percentage of green accessibility (within a radius of 400 meters), a ratio of green areas per person, and a percentage of green canopy areas per person. Hua Lamphong Pocket Park in Bangkok is We!park’s first completed project, turning a 1,048-square-meter abandoned plot into a collaborative pocket park. This pocket park demonstrates how the participatory process impacts park programming and design. The park comprises an event lawn at the front, a compact playground for children, an exercise area for older adults, and a small edible garden at the back.
The process began with identifying potential abandoned land, and then brainstorming and designing the park through multiple co-creation workshops with students from the nearby school and university, community members, and private and public sector stakeholders. These workshops were a space to discuss and identify problems and needs of all generations, gather opinions, and imagine possibilities for the area. We then developed a 1:1 prototype park that allowed community members to experience the design and give feedback. After design revision, the park was ready to be fully implemented. Crowdfunding was applied as an engagement from the stakeholders and the community, who later contributes to the maintenance of the pocket park when it was operated. The participatory approach allows us to make sure that the needs of the community and park users are met in this shared space.
Choduk Community Pocket Park in Bangkok is another We!park project that revitalizes un-utilized space along the canal into a pocket park consisting of a playground, an exercise area with outdoor sport equipment, and a relaxation zone with benches and planting plots under the shade of existing trees. The design aims to create a public space for users from all age groups that encourages more people to explore and be active together in peaceful co-existence. From planning to implementation with multiple workshops shaping design criteria, We!park and local architects and partners worked closely with the government, private sector, and community to ensure that the pocket park met the needs of relevant stakeholders. This pocket park, now maintained by the community, is one of seven experimental nodes in a Klong Phadung Pop Park event that explored the possibility of a green network where each node could be accessed within 400 meters or a five to ten-minute walk.
(Continue reading on the website below)
THEME : COMMUNITY-BASED
TYPE : BUILT PROJECT
SCALE : COMMUNITY
AUTHORS : YOSSAPON BOONSOM
PRAE LERTPRASERTKUL NUTTCHA PAOPAHON
COLLABORATORS : WE!PARK
https://equitableresilience.mit.edu/projects/small-interventions-to-overcome-big-challenges-pocket-park-networks/?fbclid=IwAR20X4bwhpCHQ6oJIlxxSCa_o0HSnvpSIPXN9819ceRu3l5x1PZor6h7yWI
https://www.archdaily.com/968159/come-on-calm-on-shma
‘Come on, Calm on’, a new project under ThongEk Creative Neighborhood that represents how people can ‘open’ to the new possibilities in design, to overcome the world of today's chaos through the healing process using nature as a means. . It is undeniable that the lifestyle of urban residents has gradually changed over time. Initially, people were fundamentally connected to nature.
Being connected and surrounded by nature allows us to feel relaxed and calm but with the current world situation, the present way of life cuts people off from nature. With little access to green areas plus the hustle and bustle of urban society, people are exposed to stress that can accumulate easily and quickly over time. According to research by the University of Exeter, stress can be reduced by interacting with nature at least 2 hours a week.
For this reason, Shma would like to present a 'gate' to the garden room. Stress can be dealt with by nature. Introducing a “Therapeutic Garden” designed to be a pocket space to relieve stress on a tiring day. This form of landscaping aims to balance the body, mind, and spirit in a stable state where it uses 70% of nature and 30% of hardscape allowing humans who visit the space to relax through all their 5 senses relieving the accumulated stress from the fast-paced urban lifestyle.
Adopting the use of healing plants starting from using flowering plants to create colors that have the ability to invoke insects, such as happiness, Arachnothryx leucophylla, pink and white Ruellia tuberosa, Verbena, Crape Myrtle, Ash bush, or Purple sage. As well as using ones that can be used for cooking such as basil, lemongrass, dill, calamint, Coromandel, Chinese violet, and kidney plant. Answering to meet the issue of food security in society. Moreover, aromatic plants like pandan leaves, Rajawadee, Gardenia, day-blooming cestrum, or even Ellwood's Gold are also used to generate a relaxing atmosphere.
In addition, Shma believes that the idea of a Therapeutic Garden can also be applied to each individual’s personal space whether it is a bedroom balcony or adapted to one's landscaping style to their homes. This idea can be implemented and acclimated to each individual to help relieve stress and get them prepared for the chaos of the next day.
Photographs :Napon Jaturapuchapornpong
Lead Architects : Yossapon Boonsom,Kwanchanok Kongchoksamai, Thita Cherdkiadtikul, Napajorn Srichatsuwan, Thita Cherdkiadtikul, Poohlawat Sangduean,Krittapong Yongkiatpanich,Passorn Pranpanichlert
Graphic Designers : Montree Sommut, Supatsorn Boontumma
Horticulturists : La-ongdao Intana, Jakkrapan Kongklum
Photographers : Nawin Deangnul, Nattapong Charoenloy, Pavarisa Pongtraitip
Contents : Nattawat Narkchaeng, Prae Lertprasertkul, Tanyaluck Kittithirapong
Cooperation Team : Jiratchaya Meerat, Patcharamai Saengow
Clients : Creative Economy Agency CEA
City : Bangkok
Country : Thailand
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Descriptive Writings
Facebook Post
The design concept of the Standard, Hua Hin, is a place to relax for people who want a new place to hang out or experience. With a common area designed to cater to a variety of activities, such as the court lobby, which is a waiting area allowing people to relax in the outdoor amongst the midst of nature, a beachfront swimming pool with sunbathing area, or the heritage tea house with an outdoor seating space and a spa with a long walkway covered with various trees. At the Standard, all common areas are surrounded by nature and these trees can also be used for cooking as well.
In addition to that, the villa itself, the villa walkway has been designed as a roof structure which is currently planned to be planted with ornamental plants on the top. Creating a beautiful setting for the visitors. There is also a Villa Court which is a court that connects many villas together. Designed as a garden with gravel paths and along with being surrounded by various types of trees.
. Another special feature of this project is preserving the existing trees in the area with the intention of not cutting them down and instead constructing buildings in other areas to preserve the trees. Based on the tree's characteristics, we were able to preserve 234 trees, as well as planning to restore beach wilderness to the site. For example, the large Chamchuri tree in the Villa Court area now serves to shade people and make the outdoor environment look pleasant and welcoming.
The project has been completed and is ready to open for reservations in December 2021.
. Credits
Design Director : Yossapon Boonsom
Landscape Architect : Worawe Jamsomboom,Supanuch Krairavee,Thanakrit Kittianukul,Kawisara Teeratha
Horticulturist : Panita Onsaeng
Contents: Prae Lertprasertkul
CM : Patcharaporn charoenporn
และก่อสร้างอาคารในบริเวณอื่นเพื่อรักษาต้นไม้ โดย พื้นที่และคอร์ทต่างๆที่เราได้ออกแบบมานั้น สร้างตาม คาแรคเตอร์ของต้นไม้โดยทำให้เราสามารถเก็บ ต้นไม้ไว้ได้ถึง 234 ต้น รวมถึงยังมีการวางแนวทาง เพื่อฟื้นฟูสภาพความเป็นป่าชายหาดให้กับบริเวณ ไซต์ ยกตัวอย่างเช่นต้นจามจุรีที่มีขนาดใหญ่อยู่ บริเวณ Villa Court ซึ่งปัจจุบันได้ทำหน้าที่ให้ร่มเงา
สำหรับโปรเจกต์ The Standard หัวหิน มีคอนเซปต์ เพื่อเป็นสถานที่พักผ่อนหย่อนใจสำหรับวัยรุ่นวัย ทำงานที่ต้องการสถานที่ใหม่ๆ
. Please scroll down for English
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ที่มีศักยภาพ บ่งบอกถึงภาพลักษณ์ที่เป็นพื้นที่สำหรับคนเมืองอย่างแท้จริง
Update on new photographs that were recently taken. Celes Asoke is one of our recently finished projects and has been fully operational since the beginning of the year. Shma has designed the landscape features and the public gathering spaces of the project
Located at one of the most iconic intersections of Bangkok in Asoke neighbourhood, CELES is inspired by this vibrant urban setting which translates into both physical space and lifestyle. The landscape configuration is planned with a rectangular shape with 3 dimensional spaces to resemble a city block. Series of these landscape blocks create an interesting visual connection from one space to another, from seeing and not seeing.
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Landscape Architect: Shma Company Limited
Design Director : Prapan Napawongdee
Landscape Architects:Tarntip Tantprasert
Horticulturists: Pornpun Chairat, Nicha Loetlam
Content: Prae Lertprasertkul, Tanyaluck Kittirapong
Client & Developer: Lucky Living
Architect: A49
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[Project Update] Le Meridien [สามารถอ่านภาษาไทยได้ด้านล่าง
Located in the center of Zhengzhou, China, Le Meridien is a small scale hotel project, approximately 6000 Sqm. Le Meridien is currently completed. This project is a luxury hotel designed by Neri & Hu back in the year 2013. Due to the renovation requirements back in 2019, Shma was invited to design the landscape space in front of the hotel.
In this project, our approach was to design and create a sculptural-like landscape that represents the weaving textile industry in Zhengzhou. This feature is to be introduced as a frontage demonstration landscape for Le Meridien. As it is a renovation hotel project, Shma had also cooperated to solve many site problems during the construction progress, and as a result made the hotel to finally become a landmark in the neighborhood of Zhengzhou and its surroundings.
ได้รับเชิญให้ออกแบบในส่วนของแลนด์สเคปของโครงการด้านหน้าตัวโรงแรม ในโครงการนี้ ความตั้งใจคือการสร้างสรรค์แลนด์สเคปสื่อถึงธุรกิจสิ่งทอในมณฑลเจิ้งโจว โดยในส่วน นี้จะได้รับการนำเสนอตรงส่วนหน้าของโครงการ Le
บริเวณของโครงการได้กลายเป็นหนึ่งในแลนด์มาร์คของมณฑลเจิ้งโจวและบริเวณใกล้เคียง
Credits
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Design Director: Prapan Napawongdee
Landscape Architect: Qiwen Huang, Yossit Poonprasit, Thanapol Masuchand
Horticulturist: Tanee Sawasdee
Content: Prae Lertprasertkul
. On this last day of the year, Shma would like to say thank you to all our employees along with our clients and collaborators. We will continue our process in making a sustainable earth in the next year and many more years to come. We would like to wish you all the best and Happy New Year 2022!
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Descriptive Writings
J18 Project is located in Zhengzhou, China. The project’s concept is designed based on the natural landform of the Yellow River, which is the main leading river across Zhengzhou and China. All the elements come from the Yellow River, for instance, the sandune, the natural meandering water body, and mountains surrounding the Yellow River.
One of the features of this project is the playspace where small hills and lines are created on the landscape of the project. The landforms of dunescape are built into patterns, planters, outdoor furniture and gathering spaces. In this space, children can enjoy various outdoor and recreational activities such as a climbing net structure and the talk tubes. The project contains elements that allow children to engage their curiosities and critical thinking skills. The landscape surrounding the building on ground is more like a forest garden that encircles the whole building and landscape. This forest garden mainly contains jogging paths and rainwater management. As a result, J18’s design offers a management system that provides long-term eco-friendly benefits to the people and the environment.
, ที่ปลูกต้นไม้ , เฟอร์นิเจอร์นอกอาคารและที่รวมพล โดยในพื้นที่นี้นั้น
Credit : Fusang Ren
Landscape Architect: Shma Company Limited
Content: Prae Lertprasertkul
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[Project Update] Shrewsbury International School
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Descriptive Writings
When was the last time you remember truly enjoying playing as a kid and where was it? The front lawn of your house? Your vacation at the beach? Amusement park? or the school’s playground? A playground is a space where children can enhance their exploration senses and social interaction and a facility that would assist child development in the process. Therefore, Shrewsbury International School’s playground was designed and constructed with the concept of ‘Exploring the Senses and Exploring the Spaces’.
. This ‘Play Field’ was proposed for a new kindergarten playground for Shrewsbury International School. The existing playground was ‘defined’ with traditional all-in-one play equipment, which the ways of playing is limited and does not encourage child brain development as much as it should. With our goal of aiming to break through this typicality, the architect introduces a more appropriate play space for the young to enjoy.
. The playground and space design itself offers a generous and flexible ‘Play Field' that can also accommodate a range of outdoor class activities aside from playing. Various 'Play Pods' are placed randomly on the field creating a more intimate space with different characters defined by the shape of 1.2 m. high wooden partitions. These comprises of ‘Swirl Pod’ that mimics the experience of moving though snail shell, ‘Island Pod’ which encircled with water plant, ‘Herb Pod’ to develop smell sense with Thai Herbs, ‘Classroom Pod’ with roof for gathering of the whole class, and ‘Sand Pod’ for their all-time favorite sand play. The partitions are high enough for children to create their own world yet allowing teachers to see inside for safety. Circular holes at intervals reinforce another layer of space interaction. The third element of the playground is the ‘Bicycle Track’ which meanders between these pods and sometimes cut through the pods to provide fun rides for their bike class.
. Green colour tint of the rubber floor (EPDM) is chosen to simulate the feeling of playing on a lawn. This also improves the overall environment which is more pleasant to children’s sensitive eyes than typical strong primary colour flooring. All existing trees are kept for their shade and shrubs are selected for their variety of texture quality highlighted with ‘Iris’ which move softly along with the wind and ‘Elephant Ear’ which feature an upright giant leaf that easily surpasses the height of the pupil. It’s an ultimate play garden experience.
. By exploring the playground, children are faced with constantly changing spaces from inside to outside, from not being seen to being seen, and from private to public with endless possibilities. The Playground will perhaps prepare them to explore and develop their social interaction skills which are vital for their future.
Design Director: Prapan Napawongdee
Content: Prae Lertprasertkul
[Project Update] The Standard Hua Hin - Photographs Update
The Standard Hotel, located in Hua Hin, Thailand, is a place that will provide people a new experience or new place to hangout with a change of scenery. With a common area designed to cater to a wide range of activities, such as the court lobby, a waiting area allowing people to relax in the outdoor amongst the midst of nature, a beachfront swimming pool with sunbathing area, or the heritage tea house with an outdoor seating space and a spa with a long walkway covered with various trees. At the Standard, all common areas are surrounded by nature and these trees can also be used for other purposes such as cooking as well.
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In the private area, the villa’s walkway has been designed as a roof structure to be planted with ornamental plants on the top. Creating a beautiful setting for the visitors. There is also a Villa Court which is a court that connects many villas together. Designed as a garden with gravel paths and along with being surrounded by various types of trees.
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Another key feature of this project is preserving the existing trees in the area with the intention of not cutting them down and instead constructing buildings around it to preserve them. Based on the tree's characteristics, we were able to preserve 234 trees, as well as planning to restore beach wilderness to the site itself.
. Credits
Design Director : Yossapon Boonsom
Landscape Architect : Worawe Jamsomboom,Supanuch Krairavee,ThanakritKittianukul,Kawisara Teeratha
Horticulturist : Panita Onsaeng
CM : Patcharaporn charoenporn
Content: Prae Lertprasertkul
Photographer : Panoramic Studio
One of our Directors, Prapan Napawongdee is invited to join the Department of Architecture Talk Series 2021 .
The session is open to the public via Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 962 9760 4669
Password: 827725
