When Chak Cherdsatirkul, owner of Kaomai Lanna Resort in Chiang Mai province's Sun Pa Tong district, planned to turn 70 rai near the hotel into a bird sanctuary, he envisioned a minimal, natural landscape design.
The property, which belongs to his family, had been left undeveloped since 1997. The 30-year-old businessman's plan was to transform the land into a bird sanctuary making it a wetland for migratory birds.
The area where 'Protective Wing' will be built.
His idea was inspired from his trip three years ago to the Buraco das Aranas (Sinkhole of the Macaws), a renowned bird sanctuary and tourist attraction in Brazil. This famous sanctuary was once a cave that collapsed a few hundred metres and became a giant sinkhole. Buraco das Aranas is the property of Modesto Sampio, who later cleaned up the cave and released a pair of red and green macaws. The exotic pair grew into a throng of birds who built nests between the sandstone-rock cliffs.
But for Chak, the project to turn his land into a bird sanctuary grew into a more ambitious design when his architect friends learnt about it.
"My friends proposed something very challenging, exciting and fun. Instead of creating a natural landscape for birds, I was challenged to create a space where birds can stay safely and bird watchers can visit," said Chak, while describing the origins of "Protective Wing", a green design award that received a gold medal from the Holcim Awards 2014 Asia-Pacific. The project will enter the renowned global Holcim Awards next year.
Eagles are regularly spotted over the land.
The Holcim Awards Competition is an architectural design competition organised by the Holcim Ltd, one of the world's leading building materials companies, and receives continuous support from Siam City Cement PCL (SCCC), a construction gypsum producer in Thailand. Organised by Switzerland-based Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, the award has been known for recognising architects, planners and engineers who create projects with innovation and design that champions sustainability.
Protective Wing, according to the jury, was awarded the top prize for its bird conservation aligned with the principles advocated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Many species of bird are regularly spotted on the area.
The design is a co-operation between Jariyawadee Lekawatana of Architect Kidd, and Asst Prof Singh Intrachooto, a celebrated green architecture lecturer at Kasetsart University. The design simulates the natural habitat and includes a small hotel and birdwatching towers. Construction materials come from nature — palm tree fibres discarded from agricultural production.
"We are quite surprised that the project won the award because Holcim Design awards are usually given to projects that use concrete material construction. The award means the organisers give priority to design," said Chak.
A blueprint of the bird sanctuary.
The project will be created in two locations. The major site will be where two birdwatching towers, wetlands and a main habitat for birds will stand. The second site will be smaller, but highly interesting as the design improvises 20 tobacco curing barns in the hotel premises into rehabilitation areas for smuggled exotic birds.
Construction will start next year and the first phase of the bird sanctuary will be opened to the public thereafter, according to Chak. Despite the fact that the idea is designed for tourists, Chak said he will put donation boxes to solicit funds for operational costs.
Another Thai architectural team took home the "Acknowledgment Prize" for a plan to restore old canals in the country. Santi Sombatwihaton from DI Designs Corporation Limited and his team impressed judges with "Resurrected Canals", an urban water transport system in Bangkok. The project aimed to restore canals and link them to mass transportation stations to create a modern network of waterways and supplement the existing Metropolitan Rapid Transit systems.
From left, Jariyawadee Lekawatana of Architect Kidd, Asst Prof Singh Intrachooto of Kasetsart University and Chak Cherdsatirkul discuss the design of 'Protective Wing'. Photos Courtesy of Chak Cherdsatirkul
