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DBALP Wins Design for Bangkok Airport Terminal Amid Claims of Plagiarism

The architecture practice DBALP Consortium has been selected to design the new terminal of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Led by Duangrit Bunnag, the firm was chosen after approval from the Airports of Thailand (AOT) board of directors. The scheme was designed to reference Thailand's lush landscapes by immersing passengers in a ‘forest’ environment. The proposal has received claims of plagiarism for copying Kengo Kuma's Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum in southern Japan.

"I didn't copy anyone else's work. Those who follow my work will know that I created a similar image in my previous designs, such as for a hotel in Sri Lanka," Bunnag told The Standard, a local online news portal. Rejecting these claims, Bunnag argues his inspiration comes from Thailand’s forests and green vegetation, which was translated into a series of cascading wooden trees. The second terminal is planned to be the first phase of a series of developments at Suvarnabhumi.

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