Bangkok is a "Three-Water City" – constantly negotiating rain, river runoff, and ocean tides. As rapid urban expansion intensifies water stress, delta megacities across the Global South are sinking and becoming increasingly flood-prone. These cities have long relied on massive pumps and concrete walls to force water out, yet this infrastructure fails communities on the ecological and economic margins. Designing the process is as important as designing the solution. Bridging municipal planning with bottom-up community action, Kotchakorn Voraakhom will share how her projects transform rigid barriers into porous, nature-based landscapes. Central to this approach is amplifying the "voice of the voiceless" by co-designing with informal settlement residents bearing the brunt of climate impacts. Ultimately, she reframes landscape architecture as a collaborative practice that protects vulnerable communities, restores delta ecosystems, and builds social justice at the water's edge.

About the Speaker

Kotchakorn Voraakhom is a Thai landscape architect and a leading voice in global climate resilience design, using design to combat the climate crisis in Southeast Asia’s dense urban context. She is the visionary behind LANDPROCESS and the Porous City Network, organizations dedicated to creating porous, water-absorbing public spaces that help cities adapt to extreme weather with vulnerable communities. 

Her transformative work includes Bangkok’s first climate-adaptive park, Chulalongkorn Centenary Park, the Thammasat Urban Rooftop Farm, Asia’s largest organic rooftop farm, the innovative Chao Phraya Sky Park, and the transformation of Thailand’s largest government complex with nature-based solutions. Her global recognition includes a UN Climate Action Award, a spot on the TIME 100 Next list, and features in BBC 100 Women and Bloomberg Green 30. 

As a TED Fellow and one of the 15 Global Commission of World Economic Forum on Nature Positive Cities, she shares her expertise on landscape architecture for urban adaptability globally. Kotchakorn holds a master’s from Harvard University and an honorary doctorate from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.