How can urban designers help solve thousands of city’s problems? Asst. Prof. Komgrit Thanapet, one of the co-organizing chairmen from TUDA will share with you.
Architect’23 has officially revealed its concept of “Tum Tad: Time of Togetherness,” which is the first time knowledge from all fields of architecture has been combined with the collaboration of five professional organizations, namely the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA), Thailand Interior Designers’ Association (TIDA), Thai Association of Landscape Architects (TALA), Thai Urban Designers Association (TUDA), and Architect Council of Thailand (ACT). What actions will each organization take? How does each of the professional fields function? All five co-organizing chairmen will share with you in the five following interviews before the exposition will be launched in a few months.
Traffic jams, water problems, electricity problems, waste problems, and many other issues mentioned are most likely well-understood through personal experience. All of these issues are relevant to our daily lives. But how well do you know about urban design? Asst. Prof. Komgrit Thanapet, a lecturer of Department of Urban & Reginal Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, one of the co-organizing chairmen of Architect’23, a representative from Thai Urban Designers Association: TUDA will clarify all popular questions about urban and also go into detail about the work process on how urban design architects deal with other related parties that’s fun like the taste of Tum Tad. Moreover, an update on the activities and exhibition booths that are preparing for Architect’23 will be revealed today.
An urban designer among different tastes of architects from different fields
Architect’23 will be TUDA’s first time participating as a co-organizer. Khun Komkrit revealed that, despite being an urban designer, he was familiar with the Architect Expo even before studying architecture. “I went to this exposition before enrolling in university. There was a Bangkok 2000 Imagination Contest at the time, which I remember to this day. I had encouraged my students to exhibit their work and absorbed architect being. Every year, the exposition grows bigger and bigger. It has surprised me because I have seen how quickly it is growing. When compared to a 35-year-old man, he is already mature.”
He told us about the Architect’23’s original concept of ‘Tum Tad: Time of Togetherness’ which was born out of the need to present the collaboration of four associations and one organization with a sense of playfulness like architect’s nature. The concept also talks about social concepts like Melting Pot and Salad Bowl. He saw that Tum Tad reflected the working nature of all four branches of architects that were totally different. They can collaborate but are not assimilated. “I think food as a key visual is interesting and can draw a lot of attention because Tum Tad is what Thai people are familiar with.” To stimulate the imagination of those who have seen it, the Key Visual design should have one aspect that “when you look at it, it’s still not clear in your mind what it is.” For example, if we make something in a curved shape and place it in front of the kids, they can pretend it’s a fish and ride on it or play as a rock or whatever. If we put a fish on it, they will only play with a fish and will not imagine anything else.
So, what exactly is an urban designer in Tum Tad? “At first, there was some discussion among TUDA members about whether we would be a tray,” he explained. It has even been suggested that TUDA has developed beyond a tray. It’s comparable to the Thai-Isan restaurant in front of the gas station, where people sit and eat. Tum Tad originated from preparing food for monks in the sermon hall, sharing food, and having fun together. This kind of pattern and behavior reflects Thai-Isaan food and street food which you can mix these types of foodas you want it and you can choose what to eat. Just like participants at the Architect Expo where the variety is provided for them all.
“What differentiates this year from previous years is the varieties that are added to make it exceptional.” Let’s just say that originally, Som Tum was the only highlight of the meal, but it’s turning out that now Tum Tad is adding something beyond imagination that may raise some eyebrows. Architect’23 aims to present the architect in different dimensions, beyond the commonly held belief that the architect is only the designer of the building.
The prominent features of urban design are urban issues and the process of solving them.
The responsibilities of the urban designers must be carried out in collaboration with multiple groups of people. While an architect may have a client as an employer, such as a resident landlord, an urban designer’s client is the public. “It’s difficult to tell who owns the city, but it is possible to tell who benefits from the urban development process.”
In this regard, the work of urban designers is no less enjoyable than that of Tum Tad. “A public hearing is like the process of making Tum Tad by knowing which stage and who is participating.” The answer is not always what we expect. There will be new things, such as the Chao Phraya Sky Garden, which began not with an architect who wanted to transform it into a garden, but with a public hearing in which the issue of how the area in the Khlong San would be developed was raised among villagers, architects, urban developers and landscape architects. The funny back story came from an ordinary man suddenly revealing that there was a bridge that was not in use. He inquired as to why it was not utilized. This is the charm of the urban design. He didn’t tell us to make a garden, but he did tell us that there was something that wasn’t being used. We went to accelerate the working process and took action until everyone was realized. It is similar to Tum Tad, which combines various ingredients in a tray to create an imagination of the eaters.
As you might not expect, the dimension of innovation or construction technology is related to city planning.
From the point of view of urban designers, they began to look at various material issues in the big picture, such as urban engineering, all sources of energy, and energy management.” I’d like to leave a message for the District Cooling group, such as the city’s production of electricity from gas, about electricity that doesn’t have to come from light poles anymore, buildings that don’t receive electricity from the streets, but build the electricity themselves and distribute to others. There will be technology that have existed for a long time in the world, but in the context of urban design, they will be used as a whole. It’s a new flavor that has been added in.
However, “there is no particular process for using technology to solve urban design problems” because the Thai context has Thai-specific issues. The electric vehicle battery, for example, designed to place under the car, will correspond to the city without flooding. You must, however, consider what type of innovation is required for such problems.” When discussing city-related innovation and technology, it covers issues such as energy and waste disposal, as well as lighting and safety. Furthermore, the term “innovation” refers to mechanisms other than technological in nature, such as social system or organizational system.
An opportunity to make people understand more about the city (where they live)
The main issues that really need to be mentioned in the TUDA exhibition area at Architect’23 are about urban development, both in terms of problems and opportunities for improvement. Water and environmental problem are examples issues that need to be clarified. “We must also clarify the issue of opportunity by anticipating what opportunities and obstacles are. However, urban designers are not responsible for developing ready-made solutions, but rather “people who encourage imagination in urban matters.”
“I’ll give you an example of what makes an urban successful and what issues urban developers discuss. Actually, in Singapore, it begins with allowing children to imagine about the city, just like I mentioned earlier that I have visited the Architect Expo since I was a child.”
We’ve been living in Bangkok for a long time, but we’re just learning how to live in a modern city
“We’ve been living in Bangkok for a long time, but we’re just learning how to live in a modern city,” he said, emphasizing the importance of understanding public transportation and housing management issues. Each branch of architecture may see these issues concurrently, but urban designers will focus on the big picture. Other branches may have their own ways of solving problems that are related to each other, such as developing public spaces in a city; architects may design buildings that respond to the plan by having a floor that connects to that public area, or having the garden outside the building. Instead of leaving it empty, it could be a connected area.
“The architect’s work is done on land with defined boundaries.” They must work with the owner of that location based on people’s interests to create a connection that results in a better life for everyone. “What problems will this cause? While these may appear to be minor issues, we must make everyone aware of the structure of these issues and how we can help find solutions.”
Gain a broader understanding and see more dimensions by combining cross-disciplinary knowledge at Architect’23.
Although the upcoming Architect’23 will feature lectures from world-class architects, the collaboration of four fields of the Thai Association of Architects and one Architect Council of Thailand will also create a concrete form of cross-disciplinary content that has not yet been seen much as a key highlight of the exposition. Architect’23 is a platform offering opportunities for visitors to experience an amazing “Tum Tad” with a variety of flavors. They can go visit any exhibition booths they would love to. This is in accordance with the organizers’ intention to keep visitors at the event for a longer period of time and to give them the opportunity to visit other nearby areas. Visitors will gain a broader understanding, seeing other dimensions, particularly the dimension of the city (public area), which we may forget we live in more than our homes.
