Landscape Planning for an Agricultural Research Center: A Research-by-Design Case Study in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Abstract

Effective planning at the landscape scale is a difficult but crucial task. Modern landscape planning requires economic success, ecological resilience, and environmental justice. Thus, planners and designers must learn to use a deliberative approach in planning: an approach in which decisions are made with the common understanding of stakeholders. This notwithstanding, there is a lack of localized and site-specific design examples for deliberative planning. One of the lacking examples is agricultural research station, which is unique because it balances economic, academic, and public uses. This study used a Research-by-Design Method to explore deliberative planning for an agricultural research station in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Field surveys, interviews, and archival search were conducted for database. Design decisions were delivered via linear-combination suitability analysis. We found that the site was viewed differently by different sets of users. The basic and safety infrastructure was the top priority, and clear direction of governance was crucial to move the site forward in the future. This study was one of the first recorded attempts to design an agricultural research center via the Research-by-Design process. The method and results of the research contribute to the growing body of evidence to support the need of evidence-based design and planning for all sites.

Rain garden design for stormwater management in Chiang Mai, Thailand: A Research-through-Design Study

“…This study used the Research-by-Design Method (RDM), which has been used for landscape architecture research. RDM is a new way by which research and design can be developed together (Zimmerman & Forlizzi, 2014) to understand design issues in real world contexts (Charoenlertthanakit et al, 2020). RDM has great potential in bridging the gap between research and application, and the process is continuing to develop and change with the real world.…”

Is 1-Minute of Nature Enough? : Durations of Nature during Walking and Attention Restoration

“…This situation makes air pollution a large health threat, especially for developing countries in a specific time of the year (Romieu et al, 2002). For example, the smog season in Chiang Mai, Thailand, spans late winter-midsummer (Charoenlertthanakit et al, 2020), a time during which the city has the highest air pollution rate in the world (Wiwatanadate, 2014). This also means that while we know that spending time outdoors with nature can benefit health in several ways, breathing in the outdoor air during the high pollution season can cause more harm than indoors, and spending time in pollutionfree spaces that are mostly airtight becomes a safer option than outdoor exercise.…”

“…During the pandemic, simply bringing 'nature to every doorstep' might not be enough. Designers and planners need to work to bring 'nature to every window sill' to make sure that urban nature and green infrastructure can equally benefit all citizens alike and to communicate such benefits during deliberative planning and participatory designs (Charoenlertthanakit et al, 2020).…”

A Research by Design Strategy for Climate Adaptation Solutions: Implementation in the Low-Density, High Flood Risk Context of the Lake District, UK

“…Spatial planning based on research by design is a growing field and in its application to a diverse set of urban and rural contexts, it is also used to tackle the uncertainty of environmental problems [9][10][11][12]. While these studies show great diversity in comprehending research by design, they share a commonality in their non-linear, yet integrated, research approach.…”