VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

Just north of the 18th parallel in Southeast Asia, between May and October, a slight shift in atmospheric currents brings monsoon rains north to the mountain ranges of Chiang Mai. These rains deposit a sacred mixture of water and nutrients in the headwater forests and alluvial valleys of Chiang Mai. This region is the historical capital of the Kingdom of Lanna, “One Million Rice Fields”. Seasonal cycles of precipitation bring rhythms to life just above the equator, setting in motion human patterns of planting, harvesting, and rituals that have shaped architecture for centuries. Guided by cosmologies in which forests (paà-ป่า) possess agency and rivers (mae nam-แม่น้ำ) organize social and natural orders, matrilocal lineages have shaped both household and communal life through the re-structuring of compounds. This paper draws on three cohorts of students who traced four villages in Chiang Mai, Thailand, along the Mae Kuang through fieldwork and spatial ethnographies. It argues that deep ethno-ecological engagement directly enriches architectural pedagogy by showing how local material practices, territorial formations, and everyday actions inform design thinking through deep operative histories. Using the alluvial plain’s resources, incremental construction grow in cycles alongside rituals such as the rice-welcoming ceremony, guided by deities like Mae Phosop (แม่โพสพ) and Phra Phum (พระภูมิ). The arrival of new highways introduces an urban economy, prompting matriarchs to adapt extended family compounds by adding dormitories, craft spaces, and restaurants. These practices reflect otherworlds dreaming beyond the ruins of modern architectural and urban planning.