THAILAND | AYDA Int’l Awards 2025/26 Finalist | Architectural | Theerapat Uparang

Summary

Theerapat Uparang presents “Monkey Shelter: Beauty Amid the Flood,” an architectural proposal to help macaques and nearby residents coexist in Kosum Phisai, Maha Sarakham Province, northeastern Thailand. The project responds to seasonal flooding, shortages of food and shelter for monkeys, and the resulting conflicts with people.

Context and challenges

Kosum Phisai Forest Park is described as a natural conservation area of approximately 200,000 square metres, home to around 800 monkeys. Flooding typically lasts from July to November, affecting the daily lives of both people and wildlife. When the park is inundated, monkeys move into nearby villages to find food and shelter, sometimes damaging property or injuring residents. Food scarcity in the forest is also an ongoing problem outside the flood season.

The park attracts visitors from December to April, particularly during a monkey-feeding festival. Local livelihoods include agriculture, handicrafts and traditional fishing.

The proposed site is near the park and river. It was selected because it is already open, avoids removing large trees, gives monkeys access to water and food sources, and remains accessible to residents and tourists.

Design approach and features

The proposal aims to create a shared sanctuary that provides safe refuge for monkeys while supporting community activity, tourism and local traditions.

• Design informed by macaque behaviour: The presenter says the project was developed after studying macaques with a veterinary professor. The design considers their semi-arboreal habits, social groupings, preference for open and well-ventilated spaces, and need for clear views and escape routes.
• Two elevated shelter towers: The towers provide vertical refuge from floods and space for the forest-park population. They have nine levels: two designated as feeding areas and seven as quieter refuge spaces.
• Modular, climbable structures: Timber modules can be stacked and expanded to suit population needs and site conditions. Platforms at varying heights connect like branches, allowing monkeys to climb and move through the structures.
• Open, visible construction: See-through walls give monkeys views in multiple directions and potential escape routes. Timber is intended to feel familiar, like tree bark.
• Food-inspired colours: The shading uses colours associated with macaques’ favourite foods, including watermelon leaves, Jamaican cherry, papaya and banana. The presenter says this makes the shelter resemble a fruit-bearing tree.
• Flood-adaptive feeding platforms: Floating bamboo platforms connect to existing trees in the forest. Barrels beneath them allow the platforms to rise and fall with changing water levels, while climbing areas help monkeys reach food.
• Wildlife care and management: A service area gives staff access to the shelters for maintenance and cleaning. The proposal also includes an operations office and a medical-treatment space for sick or injured monkeys. Integrated netting is intended to temporarily contain monkeys so sterilization can be carried out more efficiently.
• Community and visitor spaces: The plan includes a cooperative area for local products and handicrafts, an ecological museum, a visitor-feeding building and a walkway. A pulley system can carry food to feeding areas in the refuge towers.
• Cultural and festival functions: A bamboo workshop and festival building supports weaving and other local crafts, as well as traditional performances. The design incorporates traditional ornaments and Northeastern Thai cultural references. A sloped roof uses rotating bamboo elements intended to prevent monkeys from climbing across it.
• Climate-conscious design: Shading is oriented to reduce heat gain, while natural light and cross-ventilation are intended to limit energy consumption.

Intended outcomes

The project is presented as a way to provide monkeys with safer shelter and more reliable access to food during floods, reduce human–wildlife conflict, and support year-round tourism and local livelihoods. It also aims to preserve local cultural practices and strengthen the area’s ecological and cultural identity.

The subtitles describe a rare or endangered monkey species, but the species name is unclear in the auto-generated captions.

Speakers and sources featured

• Theerapat Uparang — the project presenter. The subtitles render his name inconsistently as “Teerapat” and “Jirapat”; the video metadata identifies him as Theerapat Uparang.
• An unnamed veterinary professor — cited by the presenter as a source consulted for the study of macaque behaviour.
• The presentation also uses maps, diagrams, images and an animation to explain the site, monkey movement, design features and sterilization process.