Heaviness of a city, from its physically built atmospheres and speeds, somehow makes us feel fatigue and lost. Without realizing, this heaviness has been shaping the way we think, feel, consume and design things; like city planning, architecture, our built environment which later on become a part of our life living in a city.
My question, for further dialogue, is how to make our city lighter and softer. A soulful city that we sense humane qualities. In our Asian way of thinking, we believe that everything has its own soul. Soul in this sense means a natural quality that we commonly and collectively feel and share. City also has a soul like us. This soul cannot be separated from its surrounding nature and people who live there. And this soul is a foundation of all creation and creativity in our daily life. A healthy and soulful city can be represented by the rich and complex network between city, nature, and people.
To make a city lighter and softer in most challenging situations. Somehow, we must revive this mindset back in contemporary ways through our design and planning process of a city. An insensitive system of how cities have been managed and functioned in the decolonized context. We need a new story of future development that can be connected to our own roots, our own language, our own people, and our mother nature. It is a collective process of maintaining the flow of nature, restoring and rewilding the mutual relationship between our life and other species, as well as uncovering the living soul that still exists in our land and people. All these can be a clue for a common future.
Supawut Boonmahathanakorn
Supawut Boonmahathanakorn is a Thai architect and urban practitioner. He leads the Chiang Mai-based practice JaiBaan Studio, which is determined to strike the right balance between human needs and nature. His work in both urban and suburb focusing on resilience and the cultural dimensions of urbanization in Southeast Asia. Supawut often explores how traditional knowledge systems can inform contemporary design challenges, particularly in the context of climate change, biodiversity lost. He has contributed to regional and local projects that bridge architecture, landscape, urban planning and social justice. His work reflects a commitment to creating more sustainable, inclusive and nature-based solution in urban environments.