“Forest House”, located in Chatuchak, Bangkok, has challenged the trend of rapid urbanization of the city, as green areas are sacrificed to meet the demand of residential area causing impacts on the environment in many ways, importantly, air pollution. We can see from the fact that Bangkok has been facing PM 2.5 concentration level of air condition throughout the year, leaving visible effects on people’s health.
To solve this issue, growing trees seems to be a straightforward way that helps trapping particulate matters and producing oxygen according to the research. Hence, “Forest House” aims to utilize this approach and find a sustainable and low maintenance way for bringing back greenery into a private residence while maximizing plot area.
A new bigger house is built to replace the previous smaller one in the same area to accommodate a larger family. Its layout is segmented into 3 sections providing 2 courtyards in-between, enhancing good wind flow to every room among a rich green environment.With a careful design, the limited space - 3 floors (including the rooftop) of 300 square meters in total can house more than 100 trees. It has provided far enough oxygen for 200 people, even exceeding the need of 7-people family since 1 tree can already produce sufficient amount of oxygen for 2 people.
Here, only 1-2 years old trees with trunk of 1-inch diameter size are selected due to their young root quality, having higher chance to adapt to limited soil condition. The chosen species are basically indigenous trees which demand less watering, resulting in a space with rich biodiversity that consists of more than 20 species including evergreen, flowering and fruit bearing plants. All trees will eventually thrive through years, rather than initially being an instant thick forest that might not last long.
Rooftop has then become an ideal space for urban farming as it exposes to plenty of sunlight. As a result, this space is occupied by 1-meter high planters, where Thai fruits and traditional herbs can be grown to serve fresh organic food for the entire family. Moreover, it can also be used for other functions such as dining and cloth drying.
In the long run, simple maintenance is planned to ensure this compact forest’s growth with no need of excessive resource. Slow drip irrigation system are chosen for water saving, along with perforated tubes running through the topsoil layer to maintain an adequate amount of humidity. Dry leaves fallen from trees are also collected to fill up the forest floor, and will gradually turn into natural nutrient-rich fertilizer during the degradation process. In addition, pruning is required quarterly to provide enough space for trees with slower growth rate to become fully flourished.
With this thoughtful and effective design, Forest House’s lush greenery has thrived beautifully, reintegrating trees back to the city once again.
