Art of creating inspiring community spaces and environment through placemaking

It aims to create spaces and environments that attract, engage and inspire people and create new destinations and communities where people want to live, work and play.
 The term may be relatively new in Thailand, but it is a concept that has been increasingly practised over the past five years.
 CBRE UK launched a ‘placemaking’ service line back in 2010, describing it as the practice of master-planning new communities with a research-led approach.
 In a nutshell, the term is used to capture all factors which combine a good place in which to live or work, including socialising, eating, drinking, shopping and in general soaking up the atmosphere.
 In the residential sector, markets have become increasingly competitive locally and abroad. Expectations of home-buyers have changed, and so have their requirements.
 Industry experts today acknowledge that the spaces between buildings are as important as the buildings themselves, and this is where placemaking comes in. This space is where residents will run, play, socialise with their neighbours, walk the dog, and so on – it is where they live their lives.
 This can be as simple as a landscaped common area or a more elaborately designed space. With increasing importance placed on people’s work-life balance, most large schemes today have a significant proportion of non-residential space.
 There is evidence in the UK market of a link between good placemaking and the value of residential properties.
 CBRE UK reports a 10-per-cent premium for properties within residential developments which adopt effective placemaking.
 For example, the regeneration of Tottenham Court Road in London has seen significant investment in the area’s infrastructure, connectivity, retail and leisure offering – all of which contribute to placemaking.
 The redevelopment will transform the area into one of the most visited retail, leisure and prime residential hubs in the country and unlock its value potential.
 In retail, placemaking is a strategy that retail developers use to create successful retail destinations by creating a unique, customer-oriented, experience-driven environment to gain competitive advantage.
 The rise of e-commerce has forced retailers to rethink how they attract consumers to their physical spaces and create environments which people want to go to and love to spend time in.
 Successful placemakers diversify their tenant bases by shifting from a traditional tenant mix and favouring more non-chain, service-oriented, high-growth tenants that are less susceptible to online penetration, such as food and beverage, and entertainment.
 Adding technology perks such as free Wi-Fi, enhancing the experience outside the leased space such as a heightened arrival experience, live music and events, water features etc are all part of placemaking in retail in an effort to create the right experience for the customer.
 The trend for placemaking has also grown into the office sector in two ways. First, there is the design, layout and internal environment of buildings.
 This is where the occupier can tailor a working environment that is fully suited to its operations and workforce, a phenomenon commonly seen in the tech sector today.
 Secondly, occupiers have recognised that to attract the talent they need, they have to select locations and an environment they are seeking to create.
 Again, the technology sector is most closely associated with the attractions of newly generated areas which appeal to younger workers, though this is expanding to other sectors as well.
 Locally in Thailand, placemaking is being incorporated to some degree in larger-scale mixed-use developments, although the actual term and concept may be less well known.
 Given its bottom-line benefit on enhanced property values, Thailand has a lot to learn and improve on from mature markets like the UK and the full scope of placemaking can be incorporated into the planning and design phase of our future development schemes.

ALIWASSA PATHNADABUTR, Managing Director of CBRE Thailand