Flow or Fence: Learning, Preserving, and Redefining the Riverfront Cultural Landscape

The Chao Phraya River and the network of canals or “klongs” are the origin of Bangkok’s nick-name “Venice of the East”. Its amphibian nature of lower delta area where used to be covered by the sea around 5000 years ago provides a water-based settlement for the citizens. Rivers as an agricultural irrigation system are also used for daily consumption, transportation, and drainage channels. Bangkok was established in 1782 as the capital of Thailand by King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty. The location is on a flood plain delta of the Chao Phraya River with the same consideration as the up north old capital Ayutthaya;the river is performed as a natural defense against enemies and also provides a water-based settlement for the citizens. The worst flood in Thailand’s history occurred during the 2011 monsoon season;July to November;that became the severest flood disaster hit parts of the capital city of Bangkok and resulted in a total of 815 deaths and 65 of Thailand’s 77 provinces were declared flood disaster zones, and over 20,000 square kilometers (7700 square miles) of farmland was damaged. The most affected areas were the recent capital Bangkok and the old capital Ayutthaya. The major causes were not only from the natural disaster but also water management failures from the human disaster. The studies aimed to include the survey of after-flood areas, reviewing the history of the waterfront communities and their attitudes toward development and changes, then discussed threats and crisis to the cultural landscape, the cause and effects of the disaster, the theoretical framework of the best management practices and the resolutions models proposed by the involved authorities. Whilst, history also gives us a sense of identity and traditional wisdom, the paper tried to find a paradigm shift and invented best practices for future generation flood protection using “the meaning and spirit of cultural landscape” model.

Ethnic Differences in Thermal Responses between Thai and Japanese Females in Tropical Urban Climate

The outdoor thermal environment might become worse than at present. It causes health injuries through the deterioration of the outdoor thermal condition. It is necessary to study how humans stay outdoors and adjust to thermal conditions. The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of the outdoor tropical urban thermal environment on a subject who has been acclimatized to the environment studied using the outdoor thermal environment evaluation index ETFe. In addition, the tendency of human impacts was clarified through comparison to subjects from a temperate thermal environment region. As a result, it was found that an ETFe of up to 35°C could be recognized as a temperate thermal environment. However, when the ETFe was greater than 40°C, the subject could not tolerate the environment. There was not a significant difference of psychological reaction between Thai people, who were acclimatized to the tropical climate, and Japanese people, who were acclimatized to the temperate climate.

Seasonal Differences of Psychological and Physiological Responses in Tropical Urban Climate

This research aims to use the outdoor thermal environment evaluation index ETFe to quantify effects on the thermal sense of the human body of a tropical region climate with small annual temperature differences, and to examine seasonal differences in the thermal sense. Given that the average temperature of the earth is forecasted to rise, studying the effects on the human body from outdoor thermal environments in tropical regions is important for considering how to spend time outdoors in the future. This study clarifies seasonal differences in effects on the human body by comparing the effects on the thermal sensations of the human body from outdoor thermal environments in the winter and the dry season of Bangkok, Thailand in the tropics. The mobile measurements were carried out on the campus of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. The subjects reported the thermal sensation and the thermal comfort that they experienced while exposed at the observation point. Air temperature, humidity, air velocity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, ground surface temperature, sky factor and the ratio of green and water surface solid angles were measured. We found no large seasonal difference between the winter and the dry season in skin temperature due to body temperature regulation. It is clear that in the winter season, people prefer a lower temperature than in the dry season, and in the dry season they tolerate higher temperatures than in winter. The effect of the seasonal difference appears in the amount of change to thermal sensation. We found that it is difficult for seasonal differences to greatly affect the amount of change to thermal comfort. We found that the effect of seasonal difference is that people show stronger responses to thermal comfort for thermal sensation in winter than in the dry season.

Skin Temperature and Body Surface Section in Non-Uniform and Asymmetric Outdoor Thermal Environment

In indoor environments and shady outdoor environments, there is little influence of short-wavelength solar radiation, so a strikingly non-uniform and asymmetric environment is not formed. In outdoor sunny environment, however, shaded areas occur even for the same site of the body, and a remarkable difference in skin temperature is considered to occur under the influence of the short-wavelength solar radiation. The purpose of this study is to clarify the influence of the non-uniform and asymmetric thermal radiation of short-wavelength solar radiation in outdoor environment on the division of the body surface section and the calculation of the mean skin temperature. The skin temperature of the front of the coronal surface, which was facing the sun and where the body received direct short-wavelength solar radiation, and the skin temperature of the rear of the coronal surface, which was in the shadow and did not receive direct short-wavelength solar radiation were respectively measured. The feet, upper arm, forearm, hand and lower leg, which are susceptible to short-wavelength solar radiation in a standing posture, had a noticeable difference in skin temperature between sites in the sun and in shade. The mean skin temperature of sites facing the sun was significantly higher than the mean skin temperature of those in the shade.

Green Design and Planning Resolutions for an Eco-Industrial Town: A Case Study of Polluted Industrial Estate in Rayong Province, Thailand

Map Ta Phut was designated for development in national policy as an Eastern Seaboard Industrial Port. It is located in Rayong Province with growing demand from Eastern Seaboard industries and is heavily affected by serious environmental problems as a'pollution control zone'. While the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking, representing the national business sector, claimed that the area generated total revenues of 1.1 trillion baht per year, or 11% of Thailand’s gross domestic product, and employed more than 100,000 workers, the declaration of the area as a pollution control zone severely limited investment and business operations. Thus, controversies arose among the investment business sectors, the residential sector (residents have been affected by a decrease in their quality of life and health) and environmental concern sectors. This paper aims to find an efficient and practical mitigation practice to balance the purposes of the industrial port with protection of surrounding communities and natural resources. The author will apply physical design and planning such as the application of “buffer zones”, “greenbelts”, “set-back”, “green corridor”, “green wall” and “protection strips” along with environmental measurements such as the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI), which can be adapted for pollution protection as best practices of landscape architecture.