Bangkok is set to welcome a groundbreaking urban regeneration project, Cloud 11, which promises to redefine public green spaces and address critical environmental challenges. This 250,000 m² mixed-use development, designed by Snøhetta in collaboration with A49 Architects and Shma Landscape, integrates a vast civic landscape as its ecological and cultural heart. The project, led by Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), is located in South Sukhumvit, a vibrant innovation hub, and is expected to open its doors in March 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Cloud 11 is a 250,000 m² mixed-use urban regeneration project in Bangkok.
- It features Thailand's largest elevated lawn and extensive green spaces.
- The design addresses Bangkok's urban heat, air pollution, and flooding issues.
- It aims to become a new creative hub for Asia, fostering innovation and community.
- The project is set to open in March 2026.
A New Vision for Urban Resilience
Bangkok faces significant environmental pressures. The city struggles with rising heat, persistent air pollution, and recurrent flooding. Public green space is also notably scarce, with less than 7 m² per resident. This contrasts sharply with a regional average of 39 m² per resident. Cloud 11 offers a sustainable, landscape-based solution, prioritizing openness, accessibility, and adaptability.
The development is conceived as a horizontal landmark, distinguishing it from the city's common vertical towers. Its design takes inspiration from Bangkok's layered urban fabric, including shophouse streets, elevated sky train lines, and high-rise structures. This approach creates a new 'in-between' realm, a generous public landscape that bridges different scales and reconnects neighborhoods.
"Cloud 11 is envisioned as a new creative hub for Asia — a place where talent, ideas, and culture can thrive," states Onza Janyaprasert, Project Founder and CEO of Project Development of Cloud 11. "We feel a deep responsibility to give something back to Bangkok. The elevated park reflects that belief: a generous green space for the community, designed to bring people together and offer comfort, inspiration, and possibility."
Elevated Landscape as Ecological Infrastructure
Central to Cloud 11 is an open-air courtyard, which acts as the project's social and climatic heart. This elevated landscape provides passive shading and natural ventilation, offering an innovative response to Bangkok's hot, flood-prone climate. It functions as an urban lung, filtering air, mitigating heat, and supporting local biodiversity.
Fast Fact
Bangkok has less than 7 m² of public green space per resident, significantly lower than the regional average of 39 m².
Carefully selected planting strategies ensure green spaces contribute actively to public health. Diverse vegetation species are expected to produce cleaner air. Shaded corridors with dense foliage will reduce the urban heat island effect, creating a more comfortable microclimate for visitors. Strategically placed soil and planting patches serve as ecological stepping-stones, encouraging wildlife and enhancing urban biodiversity.
A Creative Park for All Generations
The vast green space within Cloud 11, dubbed an 'Adaptable Highland,' is elevated above Bangkok's flood-prone ground. This creates a safe and inviting civic topography within a comfortable microclimate. It serves as a place where people can gather, play, and connect.
The centerpiece is Thailand's largest elevated lawn. This flexible plateau can host festivals, performances, picnics, and everyday recreation. A network of pocket parks complements the central courtyard, offering diverse activities for everyone. Sports courts and playgrounds cater to younger visitors. Therapy gardens and rest pockets are designed for older generations. Cultural spaces provide a stage for community gatherings and events.
By clustering these active, playful, and mindful zones, the design fosters intergenerational and intercultural exchange. Community farms, herbal gardens, and water playscapes invite participation, learning, and shared stewardship. This transforms the green infrastructure into a platform for civic responsibility.
Ensuring Universal Accessibility
Accessibility is a key design principle for Cloud 11. Universal ramps, outdoor lifts, shaded walkways, and a fine-grained circulation network ensure that everyone, from children and parents to the elderly and those with disabilities, can access the spaces. The generous public areas will be open 24/7, allowing diverse communities to engage with the landscape at any time.
Context: Green Bangkok 2030
Cloud 11 aligns with initiatives like Green Bangkok 2030 and Enter Bangkok 2050. These programs reflect Thailand's commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, aiming to foster sustainable urban development.
Integrated Sustainability and Cultural Roots
Cloud 11 focuses on both environmental and social sustainability. Green roofs, shaded façades, and natural ventilation reduce energy demand. Porous pavements, bioswales, rain gardens, and gravel filtration planters manage storm water through ecologically responsible infrastructure. Seating crafted from milled timber and recycled plastics reduces waste while providing durable, low-carbon furniture.
The project's plant palette features locally sourced flora. This enhances water retention during Bangkok's heavy rainfall and strengthens environmental resilience. It also fosters cultural resonance. Preserving mature trees as anchors of collective memory and integrating them as living landmarks ties ecological value to heritage.
The design reinterprets the site's history of orchards, reed fields, and rice paddies into a contemporary elevated park. This connects the community to its cultural roots while offering vibrant green spaces for the future. The elevated landscape creates a platform to seamlessly integrate living, working, and leisure functions, ensuring social sustainability.
Creator villages, advanced production studios, hotels, educational centers, and market halls interlock within a coherent urban framework. Circulation networks weave these programs together, enhancing accessibility and fostering spontaneous encounters. The result is an adaptable, 24-hour district where urban life unfolds across scales and levels for occupants, residents, and visitors alike.
Cloud 11 is more than just a building complex. It represents a transformative new creative park for Bangkok. By integrating sustainable landscaping strategies, the development cultivates a civic realm that gives back to its surroundings, fostering environmental resilience, cultural resonance, and community bonds. Here, sustainability becomes socially connective through play, rest, celebration, and care for the environment around us.