MQDC Organizes Sustainnovation Forum 2022

MQDC Organizes Sustainnovation Forum 2022

MQDC (Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited), reinforcing its position as the “Pioneering Developer in Sustainnovation for All Well-Being,” recently held the national “MQDC Sustainnovation Forum 2022” under the topic of “Future of Urbanization” at True Digital Park Auditorium. The seminar introduced innovative approaches to elevate quality of life and cope with crises arising from future urbanization. The forum gathered leading urbanists, researchers, and innovators, as well as university students and urban development enthusiasts, who joined the inspiring discussions on urban resilience.

Top Urbanists from 4 Leading Research Hubs Shed Light on Urban Resilience and Solutions for Sustainable Development

Bangkok, 25 August 2022 – MQDC (Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited), reinforcing its position as the “Pioneering Developer in Sustainnovation for All Well-Being,” recently held the national “MQDC Sustainnovation Forum 2022” under the topic of “Future of Urbanization” at True Digital Park Auditorium. The seminar introduced innovative approaches to elevate quality of life and cope with crises arising from future urbanization. The forum gathered leading urbanists, researchers, and innovators, as well as university students and urban development enthusiasts, who joined the inspiring discussions on urban resilience.

Mr. Visit Malaisirirat, CEO of Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC), said: “As a leading real estate developer that operates to global standards, MQDC has witnessed various dimensions of urban transitions and how they affect society and people. To live well, urban residents depend on city infrastructure. With that in mind, MQDC offers development plans and ways to address current and future challenges. Our seminar invited urban design experts, innovators, urban researchers, and analysts, as well as urban development enthusiasts and young city residents, to discuss urbanization trends and find ways to shape the future of urbanization to build a truly resilient city that supports sustainable development. The event is in line with MQDC’s ‘For All Well-Being’ mission. We hope to pass on knowledge to society and look forward to organizing more insightful seminars that bring benefits to people.”

MQDC Sustainnovation Forum 2022 was realized by 4 key organizations: FutureTales Lab, RISC, Creative Lab, and Unisus-EEC, to drive Bangkok towards becoming a resilient city using an effective and sustainable approach. The project reflects MQDC’s commitment to lead the industry as a pioneer in sustainnovation in the fields of urban design, residential development, and city management in an era of rapid change.

Drastic environmental changes and climate change are now threats to human civilization. Big cities around the world, Bangkok included, are experiencing environmental crises and natural disasters, making living and city development difficult. Global cities are facing flooding, pollution, climate variability, heat waves, melting glaciers, and more frequent natural disasters. These threats require urban residents to immediately act and adapt to the changes, not only in the way we live but also in the way we think, to create more flexible living. To act quickly, society must find ways to cope, adjust, and recover from crises stemming from natural disasters and social changes.

Dedicated to developing properties to create a society of happiness for all beings, MQDC places great emphasis on research in topics related to its development goals. The mission led MQDC to establish 3 private research centers. Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC) focuses on multidisciplinary research to enhance quality of life for all well-being through knowledge and innovation sharing for sustainable development. The center operates under 5 Research Hubs:

1. Plants & Biodiversity: studying biodiversity
2. Air Quality: studying indoor and outdoor air quality factors
3. Happiness Science: studying brain functions to create happiness through science
4. Materials & Resources: studying eco-friendly building materials for healthy living
5. Resilience: studying environmental risks and disasters to find coping solutions

FutureTales Lab collects data to interpret signals and predict future trends in urban living. The information collected can be used for developing property projects that better meet current city demands. The third organization is Creative Lab by MQDC, whose work focuses on understanding human needs and challenges to create experience innovation and new business models. The lab also collaborates with partners such as EEC Engineering Network, an engineering consulting service provider with over 46 years of serving local and international clients, and The Forestias. Creative Lab’s latest collaborations include a joint venture with MQDC and B.Grimm to establish Unisus Green Energy, a business aimed at easing the effects of climate change. The new utility company provides eco-friendly solutions including district cooling systems, district drinking water systems, on-site power generation, and renewable energy/energy storage.

The brainstorming session “MQDC Sustainnovation Forum 2022” was joined by leading lecturers in city development from the 3 research centers and MQDC’s partner Unisus. The group shared valuable insights, knowledge, and trends to build a resilient city. The seminar covered the following topics:

• Karndee Leopairote, Executive Vice President, FutureTales Lab, spoke on “How Future Cities Will Be Transformed,” giving the audience a glimpse of the future of urbanization including the factors that help shape a decentralized resilient city. The session also predicted urban lifestyles in the next 5-10 years.
• Prof. Dr. Singh Intrachooto, Chief Advisor, Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), in his session entitled “Resilience Framework for Resilient City,” inspired the attendees with models to address changes through the Resilience Framework, backed by research and innovations to create sustainnovation and sustainable real estate development projects.

• Parut Penpayap, Senior Director of Creative Lab by MQDC and Project Director of MQDC Metaverse, gave an insightful talk on the topic “From Urbanscape to Humanscape: Adapting towards Sustainability,” discussing creative solutions to develop urban resilience for city residents. The session also suggested creating urban solutions that put people at the center to meet urban lifestyles.
• Kecha Thirakomen, Chairman of the Board, EEC Engineering Network, and Chairman of the Board, Unisus Green Energy, introduced engineering solutions to “restore” and “reverse” climate crisis with a new mindset under the topic of “Engineering Model for Future Urbanization.”

The special seminar also welcomed famous Thai actress and environmentalist Khemupsorn ‘Cherry’ Sirisukha, Thailand’s first alumnus of the Oxford Leading Sustainable Corporations Programme, who enlightened the participants on concrete ways people can help to make the city more sustainable.

The forum was well received by urbanists, innovators, urban researchers, and analysts as well as university students and urban development enthusiasts who joined the inspiring discussions on urban resilience. The seminar brought together people who wanted to understand how they can help to create sustainable changes in society. The topics presented by expert speakers were in line with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) policies to make the capital a more livable city through several infrastructure projects including better roads, a new Chao Phraya River bridge, new train lines, connecting tunnels, as well as other green projects, moving the city towards a sustainable future.

“With MQDC Sustainnovation Forum 2022, we aim to be a force for positive change in the city of Bangkok, in the aspects of the environment, well-being, city management, urban design, and infrastructure. Our event is in line with BMA’s move to build a better Bangkok. We wish to share knowledge from the talented team of experts to help people get ready to cope with changes in the years to come. We hope that MQDC’s practical knowledge base can be applied to everyday life to benefit society,” said Mr. Visit Malaisirirat.