Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park Forest in the City, an Accessible Green Space for All People in the Community

Chulalongkorn University has more than 29 rai or 46,400 square meters of green space in the central part of Thailand’s capital, which is part of its Green & Clean City Creation policy. The goal is to follow in the spirit of King Chulalongkorn’s royal intention when he offered land for the university to be used for learning, and to return the benefits of land use to society as a whole. It was in this spirit that CU Centenary Park was created and opened to the public on March 26, 2017.

The green space of Chulalongkorn University is open for all members of the public to use free of charge. People can come to breathe fresh air, walk or exercise while enjoying a cool breeze, watch a sunset amid a calm ambience, and stay close to nature in the heart of busy Bangkok.

CU Centenary Park was designed with a constructive idea to not only increase green space by planting many big trees for surrounding residential areas, but also to promote biodiversity through the use of various types of plants. These trees and plants are part of a naturally grown “Forest in the City”.

In line with a mission to provide surrounding communities with lush greenery, freshness and beauty, the park’s design was inspired by the way Chamchuri branches grow and expand. The Chamchuri (rain tree) represents Chulalongkorn University. In addition, the park was created with an aim to become a center for ecosystem connection at the level of urban green infrastructure. Architects cleverly considered how the park could help balance water flow by means of water resource circulation. The park has thus become a prototype for an urban public park that can contain water, creating a healthy ecosystem and providing recreational opportunities for surrounding communities. [ https://pmcu.co.th/chula-centenary-park/ ]

Activities and Space Usage

[ https://www.facebook.com/chulalongkornuniversitycentenarypark/ ]

CU Centenary Park is a venue for recreation, exercise, and a place for get-togethers or hangouts for people of all ages, especially those living in nearby communities. It is open every day from 5am to 10pm and is free of charge.

The space in the park is designed for multiple forms of public activities and open for all, free of charge, year-round. These include outdoor exhibitions, music festivals, social-impact activities, and campaigns by independent groups to disseminate public information. The university encourages the public to take the opportunity to make the most use of CU Centenary Park, creating a link between neighboring commercial and residential districts and the university compound with no boundaries. More importantly, the park helps reduce social inequality among community residents from different walks of life in a multicultural society. Below are examples of the variety of activities that took place in the park in 2022-2023.

Village Tourism Festival, June 18-19, 2022

The Village Tourism Festival offered new perspectives on local Thai-style tourism for Thai people. Visitors were able to learn more about traditional knowledge from local communities that showcased their unique identity through a variety of tourist activities. This helped generate income for local communities and promoted sustainable tourism under the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) model. Several winners of the Thailand Tourism Awards were represented, helping to raise public awareness of quality village tourism and activities. The event was also useful in creating more marketing opportunities and adding value to local tourism products and services.    

Source: Thansettakij Online [ https://www.thansettakij.com/general-news/529373 ]

“Music in the Park” – a Joyful Entertainment and Environmental Conservation Event, August 4-6, 2022

“Music in the Park” featured a wide variety of international and local Thai music. Participants, who were students from many faculties, were offered a chance to showcase their musical skills on stage. Many different booths featured additional entertainment activities such as games, crafts, astrology, hand-made soaps, etc.

The event welcomed both students and the public to participate, including disabled people who were provided with a specially designed restrooms and wheelchairs to help them move around. The activity was also created with environmental concerns as a priority. For example, visitors were requested to bring their own water bottles and plastic bags were not allowed inside the park. In the waste disposal area, waste separation was required, with separate bins for recyclables, wet waste and food debris. All the waste was later recycled. [ https://www.chula.ac.th/news/80732/ ]

“Chula Sustainability Fest 2022”, September 2-4, 2022

Chulalongkorn University organized this special event as an exchange of knowledge, inspiration and public awareness about the importance of sustainable living according to the SDG guidelines. [ https://www.chula.ac.th/highlight/83534/ ]

Visitors had a chance to explore and enjoy a variety of projects and activities that have been continuously promoted by the university. These covered several aspects of sustainability including environmental development, health and wellbeing, and social development. Throughout the three-day event, there were a wide selection of activities: an exhibition and presentation to share knowledge on sustainability; forums and workshops on sustainability education; healing arts, music in the park, greenery markets, Chula SDGs, an outdoor theatre and more.

Chula Sustainability Fest 2022 was free of charge to all CU staff, faculty members, students, alumni and interested members of the public. The organizers intended to use the event as an exchange of knowledge in ways that made it easy to understand. By doing so, participants could learn and be inspired to adjust and change their perspectives on living and work. This will ultimately benefit them personally, along with society and the environment.  [ https://pmcu.co.th/?p=25342 ]

CEO Festival, February 2-3, 2023

Office of Property Management, Chulalongkorn University has invited interested public people to join a CEO Festival between 2-3 February, 2023 at Chulalongkorn University’s Centennial Park from 16.30 p.m. onwards. At the festival, there will be a concert by leading singers from Thailand such as Foolstep, Lipta, Serious Bacon and Stamp Apiwatch. There will also be booths from participants at the Beat the Biz 2022 Competition, food stalls and beverages from various brands, games, a photo booth and other activities. [ https://www.chula.ac.th/news/103128/ ]

A Workshop on “Urban Green Infrastructure” for Sustainable City at Chulalongkorn University’s Centennial Park (Workshop: “Urban Green Infrastructure”), March 16-22, 2023

The Swedish Embassy in Stockholm in cooperation with the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, invited a group of experts in reforestation and Wood Cities architect from Sweden to conduct a trip to greenspace at Chulalongkorn University’s Centennial Park, located in the center of Bangkok. A workshop on urban green infrastructure to design green space for sustainable cities will be held by Sajjabhong Lekuthai, design director for LANDPROCESS Co Ltd. He will exchange experiences and share inspiration with the participants on what is behind his work to transform deserted areas to a greenspace in the city. Flood related issues will also be discussed.   [ https://www.chula.ac.th/news/107781/ ]

Zero Waste Day, March 30, 2023

In celebrating the UN’s World Zero Waste Day on 30^th March, 2023, Chula Zero Waste Project organized a Zero Waste Day’s potluck dinner for students and zero waste staff who are interested in the environment’s issues to get to know one another at Chulalongkorn University’s Centennial Park. At the potluck dinner, they have brought in a variety of food and joined a networking session. [ https://www.chula.ac.th/news/110826/ ]

Photo by Pawitra Chamnanrot, Chula Zero Waste

BY   Office of Property Management, Chulalongkorn University