Amphibious Bangkok

Creating a resilient landscape framework for amphibious urbanisation and fostering human and water coexistence

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

A. Chongwattanaroj Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

S. Nijhuis Landscape Architecture - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
Fransje Hooimeijer Environmental Technology and Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
F.L. Hooimeijer Environmental Technology and Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
S. Milani Theory, Territories & Transitions - Architecture and the Built Environment (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2022 Akarapol Chongwattanaroj
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Published Date

21-06-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

Bangkok is located on the low-lying deltaic soil near the mouth of Chao
Phraya River. Like many coastal and delta cities, it has faced many floods
and environmental challenges due to human’s extensive alteration of the
landscape and consumption of natural resources. With climate change,
these cities are threatened by more destructive climate catastrophes which
can cause even more tremendous economic loss and deteriorated livelihood.

This graduation project “Amphibious Bangkok” aims to tackle these issues
by exploring the application of a resilient landscape framework to increase
landscape capacity in coping with current flood problems and future climate
uncertainties. The study draws on the historical human-water symbiotic
relationship to create the new landscape design and planning proposals.
These plans will integrate the top-down and bottom-up approaches and
provide the multi-scale amphibious landscape networks as the basis for
more sustainable urbanisation.
Landscape Resilience is employed as the theoretical framework. It consists
of two research and design approaches. The Landscape-based Regional
Design approach, which guides the overall project’s research and design
process (Nijhuis, 2022), and the Safe-to-fail Adaptive Design and Planning
approach (Ahern, 2011), which proposes five strategies to increase urban
resilience capacity. 
The project establishes an adapted Resilient Landscape Design Frameworkfor more water-resilient Bangkok. The key components of the framework
are 1) the design tasks to improve functions of the water systems, 2) the
core water-resilient design principles obtained and adjusted from precedent
case studies and indigenous water practices, 3) the landscape layers
contributing to the tasks, 4) the multi-scalar approach (Regional, District,
and Neighbourhood scales for analysis and design) and 5) strategic phasing.
The framework leads to the design exploration and spatial expression of
the landscape design approach on the strategic sites as a part of the larger
water management scheme. the cyclical research-design iteration allows
knowledge production through design explorations, which can serve as an
example of more water-resilient urbanisation. Ultimately, the framework can
serve as a guideline to understand delta cities in other geographical and
climate contexts.