Tracking architectural sustainable development in Thailand: A professional architects’ perspective

Green architectural concept development has become a root principle in project concern for over two decades. The aim of this study is to track sustainable development in Thailand’s architectural scholars. The research method was to define sustainable green development by reviewing literature, finding a remarkable case study of the design approach and interviewing the designers. There have been several movements driving sustainable design approach. After the financial crisis in 1997, the overall economic status was frozen for at least three years and the real estate business had also been so for five years. Each wave of design approach had brought new ideas and collaborated with new partners in the architectural field. The first green development started in 2003 due to the first active green building approach, driven by an insulated house idea. The second wave occurred from the country’s energy policy and the global green building evaluation approach. Many green criteria emerged in Thailand along with the Energy Conservation Act B.E. 2535. Over a decade, Thailand was overwhelmed with the green building assessment. The third wave was a new paradigm of sufficient economy concept applied to the vernacular architectural design concept. It was an argument towards the former wave that would form the green criteria from the international standard which was a sustainable solution. Then, the fourth wave was to integrate a high energy efficiency building to a healthy occupant, following the Sustainable Development Gold’s United Nation approach. The fifth wave has been shifting along with sustainable journey in Thailand. It is a use of new technology for saving energy and being friendly to the environment. Smart city is the next sustainable trend. The Ministry of Energy in Thailand and the Thai Green Building Institute (TGBI) have supported Smart cities – Clean Energy campaign. The top 7 sustainable cities won a 10 Million Baht for development. The winners are NIDA Smart Compact City, CMU Smart city Clean Energy, CU Smart City, Thammasat Smart City, Whizdom 101, Khonkaen Smart City and Baan Chang Smart City. A major contribution of the study was learning from the past to improve the better future sustainable approach.