Preserving a district's character in nightscape planning

摘要

After the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (see p 54) I visited one of Thailand's most-recognised lighting designers/educators in Bangkok. She took me on a dusk stroll through the backstreets and alleyways of Talad Noi, one of Bangkok's least modern neighbourhoods. However, it retains the character and ambience of old Bangkok. It was a refreshing escape from the glass and glitter of all things new that are now overcrowding the banks of the Chao Praya River. Take for example, the very glittering and oddly shaped Icon Siam Shopping Mall that opened last year; it boasts all things expensive including recreated street markets inside. In the evenings, multi-coloured water features draw the crowds. Not so attractive in my view as it is rather too superficially showy.