Cloud 11 - Thailand's largest elevated urban garden
Snøhetta, in collaboration with A49 Architects, sets out to create a new neighbourhood in Bangkok for the Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC), one of Thailand’s leading property developers.
Named Cloud 11, the 250,000 square-metre mixed-use building will sit in the upcoming CyberTech district of South Sukhumvit, one of Bangkok’s centres and a central hub for street life, easily accessible via public transport.
Cloud 11 in Bangkok, by Snøhetta.
The large glazed building, raised above a central courtyard, will also feature a series of pocket parks, elevated gardens and a large central lawn which will be the largest of its kind in Thailand.
At less than seven square-metres per resident, Bangkok has one of the lowest amounts of green space per capita in Asia- the average being 39 square-metres per resident across 22 major Asian cities. Cloud 11 responds to local initiatives such as Green Bangkok 2030 and Enter Bangkok 2050, aiming to provide sustainability and liveability for those in the South Sukhumvit area. It will give the public round-the-clock access to green spaces, cultural institutions and modern amenities.
Cloud 11 essentially creates a new neighbourhood in the Thai city.
"As a resilient hub for the community, Cloud 11 acts as an urban lung and provides a calming space available to everyone,” says Snøhetta. “It responds to the existing environmental challenges and is designed to cope with ecological challenges that are becoming pressing issues in big cities like Bangkok, such as air pollution and the lack of green space.”
The courtyard will be the community heart of the development, and Snøhetta has designed the layout of its planting to enhance the effect of the urban garden without compromising open space. The emphasis of large openings through the structures opens out the entire space, allowing air to flow naturally through the vegetation and improve air quality.
Patches, small areas of vegetation and soil that differ from their surroundings, will be strategically placed in several locations throughout the site to create a continuous ecological corridor, enhancing the site’s biodiversity by attracting different species.
The development features a series of pocket parks.
A nearby canal will have its water treated with a deep shaft cleaning system, which will also be showcased to the public to promote sustainability.
The project aims to create a lifestyle environment, with several restaurants, a gym, retails stores and hotels. There are also cultural amenities such as a library, education venues and creative workspaces.
Cloud 11 features a new circulation network across different scales, with village-like alleys, streets, plazas, escalators and stairs.
“All the programs are interconnected to construct an efficient, diverse, and logical system beneficial to all its users,” say Snøhetta.
Cloud 11 will act as an urban lung.
“The Cloud 11 project will re-invent a part of Sukhumvit into a hub for innovation and tech companies in the city and provide the area with a large, green public space and spaces for artists, makers, and tech entrepreneurs. The scale of the project means that it becomes more than just a building, aiming to become a landmark – heralding the future of Thailand's renowned capital.”
Cloud 11 is already under construction and expected to be complete towards the end of 2024.