GENSLER
During an internship sponsored by Gensler, I worked on design solutions for the informal and low-income communities of Bangkok’s underserved. This social impact initiative was a joint effort that included Gensler, Magnolia Real Estate group, and a team of 12 students (University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland, Chulalongkorn University, and Thammasat University). The goal of the project was to develop an ecologically and socially conscious low-income housing solution for the slums of Bangkok, a community center, and explore options for income generation to benefit the members of the low-income communities. Here is a video that summarizes the project.
The project started with a three week research phase in Bangkok. During this time I participated in extensive design research with the community members of the informal settlements to understand their needs. While in Bangkok the team also led collaborative design workshops with community members, thus giving them ownership of the ideas and designs. At the core of the final design proposal was a community center that would serve as a hub for community relations. From this hub, community members would gather and share their crafts-person skills in a combined effort to build individual homes for one another. Further leveraging the community’s crafts-person skillsets, an array of furniture designs were created to both fill the community and be sold as a source of income.
In many of Bangkok’s low income communities, individual families have settled on the banks of the city’s canals. These communities are unrecognized by the city government and often go without resources such as running water and electricity.
An aerials site map of the community the project worked with. The communities are very tightly packed and susceptible to fire.
The proposed design served as hub for community development and education. Through external funding the center would be built and serve as the epicenter of community redevelopment.
The community center was designed to take advantage of natural light and ventilation. By including passive systems, energy efficiency was greatly increased.
The housing design leveraged affordable and local materials that community members are familiar building with. These designs would be given to community members and they would be responsible for the construction, thus empowering them with ownership.
The community members of Bangkok’s informal settlements have extensive crafts-person skills. To leverage their skillsets, various furniture designs were created to not only furnish the community but to also be sold as a source of income.