LANDSCAPE
Because of the construction, existing royal palm trees were removed and replanted somewhere else. The result is that a good amount of sunlight now could reach the ground surface, creating easier and safer walking environment for pedestrians. A green landform was created along the public pathway for both safety and visual proposes. The new design is a linear landscape slope, ranging from ground level to 2 meter high. From street level, ventilation void is now completely hidden by this inclined landscape, which also helps protecting people from falling down. Even though not connected to the new retails, the landscape appears to be the new green plinth of the building as well, providing pedestrians something nice to look on through their journeys.
A series of local shrubs and flowers were strategically planted to create blooming garden through out the year. Compared to the original hardscape-only design, this new landscape helps reducing the temperature on the ground level, making it much more comfortable to walk. At the same time, with its new sub-drainage system, the design also helps reducing the surface running water, which partially causes flood on the nearby street. Excessive water is then collected for irrigation of the plantings later on.
Other than the green landscape, the rest of the area is now dedicated for pedestrians only. Flat and clean hardscape was proposed to create a simple walking surface for everyone including the disabled. Motorcycle parking was removed, making the area motorcycle-free and safer for pedestrians to walk by.
Existing trees along the street are all kept in order to provide some shades during the hot summer days of Bangkok. In the past, pedestrians used only the skywalk, an elevated pathway below the train tracks, to commute through the neighborhood. The skywalk is basically nothing but a steel structure pathway, a bit dull and depressing atmosphere. The new landscape encourages the pedestrians to come down to the ground and get closer to the garden. This way, we believe they could have a better connection with nature and the people around them.
Since completed, the new landscape has been an example of what Bangkok's other footpaths could become. Pedestrians now walk freely and safely throughout the area. Car drivers now have something green to look on, reducing their stresses from bad traffic conditions in the neighborhood. Passerby stops and takes photos of the garden showing to friends and families. Once in a while, special events are organized to create more activities for pedestrians.
CONCLUSION
Groove is one of the most eye-catching architecture located in the heart of Bangkok. Its unique design and the aluminum façade capture the attention of more than a thousand passersby each day. The design concerns more than just the aesthetic aspect, but also the quality of space inside and outside of the architecture, including the flow of open air and natural light, the green landscape, and most importantly, it improves the quality of the people of Bangkok’s life.
With the help of the client, the architects are able to do something that has never been done before in Bangkok. Even though this is just a simple design gesture and the area is only a small section of Bangkok's public pathway system, but they believe that, in order to change something big, everyone has to participate. By doing this first, we also force our neighbors to start re-thinking of their properties. If everybody collaborates, we believe that we can create a better pedestrian pathway system for all people in Bangkok.