Kotchakorn-Voraakhom-TIME-100-Next
Callie Giovanna—TED

Kotchakorn Voraakhom

In 2011, Thailand suffered its worst flooding in half a century, stranding families, including landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom’s. In response, Voraakhom set out to populate the Thai capital with climate-resilient green spaces as buffers against the annual tempests. After winning a contract to build Bangkok’s first public park in three decades, she created an 11-acre “thirsty” plot capable of absorbing 1 million gallons of water through a combination of sloped gardens, wetlands and a retention pond. Later this year, her firm Landprocess will open a second, 36-acre park featuring the biggest urban farming green roof in Asia. As climate-related emergencies strike cities around the world, Voraakhom says, architects must rise to the challenge. “If we keep building business as usual, our survival will be at stake.” —Laignee Barron

TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.