Reuse Abandoned Infrastructure
Situated in Bangkok’s most significant historical area, the 360-degree view bridges the city‘s historic town and modern skyline at one glance. From vacant to vibrant, CPSP exhibits few possibilities for public green space in such a dense urban fabric to redefine their neglected infrastructure, the health of the citizens with the health of their city.
Project Details
Client
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
Typology
Master Planning, Landscape Architecture
Status
Completed March 2017
CHAO PHRAYA SKY PARK
Forming Sunrise and Sunset Outlook by intertwining walkways
Thailand's first pedestrian bridge park
Amidst the pandemic, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration opened its remarkable public space, the Chao Phraya Sky Park (CPSP). Left abandoned for almost 40 years, the halted infrastructure project has now been given a second life as the newest Bangkok landmark, the nation's first pedestrian bridge park across a river. By merging two juxtaposed sides of Bangkok and existing parks on both ends, CPSP shows the importance of much-need public green space, walkability, creating low carbon-emission construction from adaptive reuse while restoring its citizens' physical and mental health. By utilizing the remains, CPSP has shown the countless future possibilities for placemaking that increase urban adaptability and all the city's abandons and wasted spaces that could not be left behind.
Chao Phraya Sky Park’s hill curve midpoint
Bridging Past and Present
Cutting across the shortest section of the river, the bridge length of 280-meter appears straightforward in the visual distance. However, the designers' team aims to create a sense of exploration for pedestrians by hiding visual endpoints on both ends. For that reason, the outlook steps on both ends are rising as part of intertwining walkways that lengthen users' experience.
Lengthening experiences through the narrowness
"Completing an unfinished dream, the CPSP is an example of how we can adapt and healthily coexist with one another and our environment"
Kotchakorn Voraakhom
Founder and CEO
Not competing, but respect
From Vacant to Vibrant
Inspired by the elements of the Memorial Bridge, the team of landscape architects and architects decided that the new structure should not compete with its predecessor but rather respect it. Emulating the curves of the Memorial Bridge in a contemporary manner, the CPSP humbly weaves the slopes of its precedent counterpart to adorn the city’s skyline in unison. The CPSP opened during the first pandemic lockdown in Bangkok as a call for action that we need to further address public health together with public green space, climate crises, and how urgent we need to build our resilient cities.
Connecting people with various moods of speeds and activities
Pedestrian road
Despite all adversities in making CPSP possible, the project is a big step forward in collaboration with all stakeholders, all professionals at par, urban designers, landscape architects, architects, and engineers. Solving the city’s most pressing issues in a low-carbon context, CPSP offers the solution by reducing carbon emissions in the construction process with adaptive reuse. The bridge park also increases green space and walkability and enhances public health and climate resilience
Bridging Bangkok’s past and present at a glance
Design with Lumination
With space and time constraints, the designers built all bridge park structures with a module system of precast GRC blocks, saving both construction time and cost. These GRC blocks were assembled into various units, forming walls of diverse topography, planters, railing, seating, framing the whole walking and driving experience inside out and outside in.
Connecting people from the abandoned infrastructure