Last week, the ‘Half-House’ we designed back in 2017 in which last week facing the severe impact of the heavy floods in Chiang Mai due to continuous rainfall. This has been one of the most intense floods I have experienced as a Chiang Mai native.
As we rethink the redesign of this house, we are faced with a critical challenge: how do we embrace the reality of flooding? We’ve considered engineering solutions like lifting the house or even demolishing and rebuilding it from scratch. But these measures alone won’t be effective if the rest of the neighborhood continues to struggle with the same flood risks.
The issue goes beyond individual homes; it’s a systemic problem. To truly address it, we need a community-wide approach that focuses on designing for resilience and learning to live with water. How can we as architects and urban planners contribute to solutions that protect not only single properties but entire communities?
