CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY CENTENARY PARK

Bangkok, Thailand
Landprocess

Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park was the first public park project to open in Bangkok for over thirty years. Responding to the concretization of Bangkok as well as the subsidence of the city compounded by sea level rise, this large urban park was designed to collect, filter, retain, and store water during major storms. The project uses the concept of monkey cheeks, where water and food are stored in cheeks, and then slowly eaten The park includes a university building that is the highest part of the park with a publicly accessible 5,200 square meter green roof covered with low maintenance, drought-tolerant grass and weed species that attract flora and fauna. The water from this roof is collected and additional water is channeled to a series of wetlands that occupy two other edges of the park. By sloping the entire site 3%, water is directed to a large retention pond at the end of the park opposite the building. A series of eight outdoor landscape classrooms include different biomes and different programs, with an herb garden, mediation area, bamboo garden and playgrounds. Social and cultural uses are seamlessly integrated into these water management solutions, including having the large slope toward the retention pond serve as an amphitheater for public performances. The park is exemplary of a design led by a landscape architect that meaningfully addresses flooding from the Chao Phraya river in the heart of Bangkok, while also creating popular recreational opportunities and public open space in the heart of Bangkok’s downtown.

2017
11 acres
15 feet above sea level

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