After the crash : reclaiming Bangkok's city of ghosts

Abstract

This thesis addresses the issue of ghost buildings in Bangkok, Thailand - buildings left unfinished since the financial crisis of 1997. Predicated by massive foreign investment, profligate lending and speculative construction, the crash left over five hundred 'interrupted' projects - buildings upwards of fifty storeys - standing as unwelcome monuments to global capital run amok. This project proposes reclamation strategies that would enable 'small agents' to inhabit and revive the abandoned structures. The design intends to echo both the populist, nativist movement that has taken root in post-crash Thailand, as well as the myriad informal systems that allow the overtaxed city of Bangkok to function vibrantly.