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Thailand’s green roof solution - 10th September 2021

Torrid temperatures in Bangkok leave many no option but to seek the cool sanctuary of air conditioned buildings. Nevertheless, the volume of CO2 emissions produced by such equipment is a colossal cause for concern and is actually exacerbating the situation.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom is a landscape architect with an environmentally conscious approach. She’s an advocate of a green revolution for the city’s rooftops, thus transforming concrete jungles and insists that climate change should be seen as a significant player at the heart of urban planning.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: "Think about all the wasted space, millions of square meters of wasted rooftops is actually part of our problems can turn into the solution; like this green roof. "

Voraakhom realised her vision with an innovative design at Thammasat University where food can be cultivated and harvested on the roof for staff and students to consume and a labyrinth of waterways reminiscent of rice pastures, flows into a lake. Flood prevention measures are integrated and crucially, the design signifies a reduction in the reliance on air conditioning.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: "Green roofs can protect the use of the energy in the building because you reduce heat that is coming into the building but you also reflect heat outside into the environment. So actually it benefits both ways.

A bombshell report from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) disclosed the extent of the issue, confirming scientists’ assertion that we’re on the brink of a calamitous eco disaster. Voraakhom’s urging people to help stem the tide of climate change.

Kotchakorn Voraakhom: "I think humans have to adapt rather than thinking about over-consuming to fix the problem. We can fix your own problem but it actually creates a bigger global problem. So I just feel like it's time for us to really change our lifestyle."