The 11th Joint Workshop on Urban Design and Conservation (JWUD) was held from the 2nd till the 12th April 2016 at Mahasarakham University (MSU), Thailand. This is an annual programme between the Faculty of Built Environment (FAB), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and MSU and this year the JWUD was hosted by MSU.
For the first time, the 11th JWUD was attended by the National University of Laos (NUOL) who was also the co-organiser. A total of 65 participants from UTM, MSU and NUOL were present at the workshop. The delegation from UTM was headed by Mr. Chau Loon Wai, from the Department of Urban and Regional Planning (DURP), 3 postgraduate students who were also the coordinators of the programme and 16 undergraduate students (15 from DURP and 1 from the Department of Landscape) of FAB. Delegates were received by Associate Professor Dr. Pondej Chaowarat, Dean, Faculty of Architecture, Urban Design & Creative Arts, MSU.
The JWUD programme consisted of visits to sites reputed for its cultural heritage and recognised as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, local architecture, urban planning, urban conservation efforts in Thailand and Laos, workshops, lectures and presentation of students work. Delegates were driven from Thailand to Laos across the Mekong River on the famous Friendship Bridge. Vientiane was the city visited in Laos and the activities carried out in NUOL included a special lecture by Mr. Chau Loon Wai, a presentation of students work attended by local leaders from around Vientiane and the final evaluation of the students work. Amongst the cities visited are Ayutthaya, the historical development of the Siamese Government and Bangkok, to view the evolution and development of the main commercial, shopping and financial centres of “old” and “new” Bangkok. Delegates from UTM left for home on the 12th of April via the Don Muang International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand.