Entering our fifth anniversary, we are happy to announce that we have teamed up with CISR and FiF House to form a consortium that mainly focuses on projects related to innovation in public spaces, communities, and urban/rural development. Please visit Cartesian Planning Lab’s Facebook Page for more details.

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Cartesian Planning Lab, a consortium for research, design, and exploration of possibilities for community and town development through studies of local regulations, culture, socio-economics, and technology to develop future scenarios and roadmaps for business, environmental, and social aspects.

Areas of expertise:
   Urban Analysis and Modeling
   Future Scenario Analysis and Planning
   Built Environment Design
   Urban Experience Design
   Urban Computing
   Social Innovation
   Low Impact Development

Partners:
   Center for Integrated Socio-Spatial Research
   FiF HOUSE
   Studio Aeroplane Co., Ltd.

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During the past few months our studio, as a part of ‘Cartesian Planning Lab,’ a design & research collaborative amalgamate, which includes urban planners, basic and applied researchers, design researchers, and designers, took on a design research project to study potentials/constraints as well as develop future scenarios and development directions for a small agricultural town in Central Thailand called, Chainat.

Being off the main path of railways and major highways Chainat is naturally embedded with laid-back, low-key charms of a rural life. With Chaophraya River cutting through from Nakhonsawan, a bigger, more developed province to the north where the river is formed, and mostly pristine river banks, the portion of Chaophraya River here is serene and rich with aquatic life. Because of its flat geography, there are also many rice fields. And, while most buildings in Chainat are no taller than two stories, we find the open sky here quite special, day and night.

It might seem as if it is suggested that Chainat is a perfect place to do nothing or lead a slow life. Inevitably, change and development cannot be avoided and compromises have to be made. We believe that future of a city is not to be pinpointed by any one individual but rather everyone within and around it. After several stays in Chainat and having been living in several fully-developed cities we have learnt that, like life, knowing what is worth preserving might be one of the most valuable lessons in development of a city or town.