“One Roof, All Possibilities.” This is the ethos of True Digital Park, designed to be Thailand’s and Southeast Asia’s largest assemblage of startups.
For the first time in Thailand, the epicenter of the national and regional startup ecosystem has a destination to call home. True Digital Park is a place for technology innovators to come together and explore new possibilities all under one roof. Spanning over 35,000 sqm across three buildings, the vertical campus houses the largest collection of startups in Southeast Asia, featuring cutting-edge coworking, meeting, collaboration, and event space, with world-class amenities designed to support a holistic lifestyle experience.
Bringing the True Digital Park vision to life necessitated the planning and design of a destination that could best attract and cultivate such an unprecedented concentration of entrepreneurs and established tech players, a facility that could effectively unlock the latent energy and potential of Thailand’s emerging startup ecosystem.
Despite the scale of the project, Gensler was able to create a collection of unique spaces while maintaining a harmonious feel throughout. While large open areas fostered a sense of community and functionally support large gatherings, it was equally balance with ample touchdown points and various collaboration zones and areas for more intimate conversations.
Given that the campus is spread out among multiple buildings with multiple floors, a key concept to encourage openness and connectivity was the incorporation of internal stairs and community areas at strategic locations. This encourages users to utilize and share the whole of the space throughout the campus, further creating opportunities for planned and impromptu collaboration. Auditoriums, amphitheatres, and numerous flexible gathering spaces offer ample room to spread out and call the entire campus (not just one’s personal workspace) home. This ‘connective tissue’ ensures that the activity and energy of the campus is thoughtfully dispersed. The result is a general atmosphere of buzzy energy and controlled chaos, dynamically social without in any way inhibiting intensely productive focus work.
Designed as an urban oasis, True Digital Park is an eclectic collection of neighbourhoods, a sort of city within a city. What seemingly ties it all together is the overall spatial configuration and porosity, with expansive voids framed by large structural elements that lend a sense of alignment and organization to the experience. There is also a more subtle design language throughout the campus that incorporates gentle angles and rounded corners in places, giving users different vantage points along their daily journey and allowing movement and interaction to flow organically. A raw, exposed, and industrial materiality is carefully juxtaposed and interwoven with a palette of natural beauty, warmth, and refinement.
Focused on the idea of “urban connected communities” when developing the interiors of True Digital Park, the large campus was partitioned into functionally distinct zones while uniting them with a common design language. Much like how different neighbourhoods within the same city might have their own individual characteristics, the same idea of connection was applied to the different groups and organizations that would eventually call the park home.
According to Anulak Siwabut, Senior Design Manager at Gensler, “We integrated elements of natural material, warmth, and greenery into the existing infrastructure. We mixed them all together at the right scale to create a journey for people moving from space to space.”
True Digital Park is set up for a bright future, one which will spark Thailand’s and Southeast Asia’s emergence as a globally competitive hub of knowledge and innovation in the digital age. For those who join or interact with the True Digital Park community, whether they be emerging or mature startups or simply members of the business community, the public, or other users, it’s much more than access to desks or physical office space. It’s about access to other like-minded entrepreneurs, to local and global tech giants, universities, and investors. It’s about access to new ideas, connections, and perspectives, supported by R&D, training, and full government agency resources, and initiatives. Thus, the vision for True Digital Park goes beyond any traditional development or ‘innovation hub’ type of complex, but rather to boldly serve as the premier accelerator, incubator, and academic environment to speed the growth of Thailand’s digital economy.
Project: True Digital Park
Location: Thailand
Design Studio: Gensler
Photo Credit: Gensler
Website: gensler.com
