fars studio: chao phraya river landmark, thailand

chao phraya river landmark by fars studio all images courtesy fars studio

young thai architectural firm fars studio won first prize in the competition to design chao phraya river landmark in thailand.

at the confluence of four tributaries –  the ping, wang,yom and naan river – the chao phraya river begins and forms itself as the largest and bloodline river in thailand. nakorn sawan municipality and the association of siamese architects under royal patronage (ASA) held the landmark competition to commemorate and to highlight the symbol of this river at the particular spot where it begins. this site has an extraordinary context: during the flood season, up to 9 meters differentiate between the low and high tide. the river on the northern side of the island has a green color while the southern side is red. after the confluence of both tributaries, the green and red colors still keep tracking along the chao phraya river to create a resonance stripe.

the landmark by fars studio is designed to be situated on the tip of the island where the confluence takes place, in order to revitalize the area while attracting both local people and tourists from elsewhere.

inside the yom island the architecture complements nature. in one axis, parallel to the river’s resonance stripe, we optimize numerous locations, elevation at appropriate angles on the site for people to perceive all the sceneries of the rivers. in one route, the architecture leads the people to each interesting spot of key locations, such as: the point where people see two rivers all together; the point where people can see the whole city around the area; and the point where people enjoy the scenery confluence.

from the outer side of the island, the architecture becomes a symbol the river, in the form of weaving stripes. the bridge-like architecture accentuates a visual connection between both sides of the river, while actually creating physical connection between them – allowing people to sail through, thereby making the visual connection alive during the high tide period.

project: 2008-20XX location: nakorn-sawan, thailand status: 1st prize winner landmark for chao phraya river head by nakorn-sawan province municipality and the association of siamese architects under royal patronage brief: memorial/ landmark site area: 6400 square meters. cost: 200 million baht (6,000,000USD)