President Park (Ring Road Renovation)

President Park is a 228-unit high-rise condominium project situated on Soi Sukhumvit 24 Street, right in the heart of Bangkok. Completed and first used in 1996, the project’s ideal location can be accessed from Soi Sukhumvit 24 Street and Palaphongpanich Street, with the front of the building facing an 8-meter-wide road. The scope of the project’s landscape restoration includes the adjacent street and the pavement that runs along the project’s inner roadway, totaling 1,644 square meters.

Prior to the renovation, the building and roadway had deteriorated because of their extended periods of use. The 5- to 6-meter-wide space had previously been rented, preventing its use by the condominium’s inhabitants. Walls were constructed to divide areas and rooms in the structure, which is located adjacent to a local street. The rented space was returned to the project once the lease expired, and the co-owners agreed to improve the surrounding environment in order to permit a walkway that could connect to the building as well as the entrance and exit. After considering the site’s original conditions and the number of users who would use the landscape as the new circulation, it was discovered that the elongate site parallel with the roadway allowed the design of a linear garden, which would include a pedestrian section, a new guardhouse, a waiting area, the garden’s seating areas, and so on. The redesigned landscape was intended to restore nature’s presence to the walkway connecting to the condominium building, providing residents with the feeling of walking through a park before reaching the street, and revitalizing the appearance and livability of this urban accommodation.

The construction process began with the destruction and removal of the walls that had previously obstructed the area’s access. The design opens up the space to create a fresh natural environment with a green space by lining and separating the walkway from the roadway with trees and potted plants, improving the safety of building users. The additional green area also caters to users of all ages, with a wide walkway and a ramp for wheelchair and stroller access.

Curved lines and circular forms were inspired by the original site’s conditions and used to create a new pattern of wooden laths covering the pre-existing wall and ceiling in between the walkway and the plant containers. The wall’s design displays the wave-like curves and flow, rendering the continuity of the wall, pattern of the walkway, and ceiling, aiding both vertical and horizontal visual perception as one steps into the garden. Street furniture with a round, stone-like shape is employed in outdoor seating areas and can be moved to create new seating corners. The new garden sprouting beneath the high-rise building is home to plants that can thrive in an area with limited sunlight while still growing into a verdant green space. The chosen potted plants are those with thick, beautiful leaves that are easy to care for in the long run.