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BAAN CHANG TOWN HALL

Baan Chang Town Hall

The Land coral: Baan Chang Town hall
Brownfield - tourism community revitalization

Project Summary

Baan Chang has been affected environmentally and socially by Map ta phut industrial estate. Along side the debates among sectors, community economy continually declined.

Architect and community leader advocated locals the significance of developing new attraction for sustainable revitalization, thus locals agreed to avoid spending funding for annual festival.Community members donated their funding to support the project, hoping to improve city perception from polluted to natural tourism.This action shows locals’ vision on self-reliance by perceiving the town hall as investment for future economic stability. The town hall is the sustainable transformation of waste into environmental friendly public space. The community is likewise ready to transform conflicts into harmonious collaboration

Project Details

GFA: 1,188 sq m
GV: 11,025 cu m
Construction cost: 1,478,875 USD
Site area: 4,994.40 sq m
Building height: 9 m

Ethical standard and social inclusion-people

The project started from locals’ wills to invest Power Development Funding on a city landmark instead of spending for annual festival, in which did not benefit future generations. The environmental friendly landmark will instead revitalize tourism, stimulate community economy by attracting visitors locally and internationally. The proposal passed through public hearing from members of village, municipal district and provincial levels leading to the approval within a year for new Power Development funding by the supports of architect, community leader, government officer and Map ta phut industrial estate. The collaborative action expressed the solidarity among all parties, overcome conflicts between locals and power plant industry, leading to sustainable energy security of the nation.

Resource and environmental performance-planet

The town hall utilizes the fly ash, coal combustion waste from nearby power plant as concrete mixture to gain concrete performance efficiency. Fly ash reduces cement usage, but increases strength and durability, suitable for seaside construction that requires acid and sulfate corrosion resistance. It lowers maintenance cost and risk of crack due to the higher exothermic rate than usual concrete. Using fly ash responses to government policy of waste reuse instead of placing in landfills, reducing risk of soil contamination, water and air pollution. Less cement usage also leads to less limestone mountain destruction.

The town hall construction reduces pollution and preserves natural resources by transforming fly ash into the environmental friendly habitat for human, plants and animals.

Context and aesthetic impact-place​

The town hall was designed to trigger consciousness of “living with nature” through realizing the overlapping between air volume and void space. The catenary shaped dome amplifies voices for assembly hall. Repetitive forms function as structure and planter while the bamboo formwork traced walls express delicate handicraft feelings. Perceiving various colors of the walls stimulates energetic sense, attracting people to get inside. The town hall will be the monument of industrial history, imprinting community's effort to preserve natural resource since coal power plant will be replaced by other renewable energy in the near future.

The aesthetic arises from polishing trash into diamond is, likewise, the beginning of city revitalization of abandoned brownfield to prosperous tourism economy.