The New Thailand Zoo Project: Lessons from Participatory Design Process

Abstract

The design process of the modern zoo in Thailand is highly technical complicated since it requires achieving the needs from all sectors. In order to publicize the participatory design, to present lessons from failure, success, and academic viewpoints, this article was written from the drafted final report of the design project and also from personal experience in the Zoological Park Organization (ZPO) physical & academic committee. Besides, it analyzed the results and extracted the lessons learned. Findings show that the early process involved many data sets and stakeholders, required long period to get a program. The latter process involved fewer stakeholders, required shorter time to get an acceptable design scheme. Experience from this project could be used as a case study for other projects and could potentially contribute to sustainable development.