As a part of the exhibition “Water Brick” held by the Association of Siamese Architects (ASA) in The Architect’12 Expo this last April, Shma shared with us their Water City proposal. Their visionary project focused on a response to the severe flood that inundated most of central plain of Thailand in 2011. They focused on Ayutthaya, the old capital of Thailand and the UNESCO’s World Heritage, in the project named “2050 Ultra Flood Plain”. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The goal of modern development has created a clear separation between agricultural and industrial activities, between human and nature, between fluid and solid territories, which become a threat to human living. As we move forwards and slowly detach from nature, we neglect the power of it and forget how we once live with it. Ayutthaya is the city which illustrates such on-going situation clearly, from the day when water was city’s breath to the day when water become city’s catastrophe to local economy, society and environment. In planning for the prospect Ayutthaya we shall try to understand the formation of crisis, in order to determine the new balance between water, Ayutthaya living and Chao Phraya river basin.
