Somsook Boonyabancha

Somsook Boonyabancha is the key architect of the Baan Mankong — Thailand's landmark national programme for community-led housing development for low-income urban communities, recognized as one of the impactful models of people-centred upgrading in the world. Conceived during her tenure as Director of the Community Organizations Development Institute (CODI) of Thailand, Baan Mankong has transformed hundreds of thousands of households by placing communities at the heart of every action — from design and land tenure to finance. Its founding principle: people are not the problem; people are the solutions.

The programme has been similarly implemented across hundreds of cities in Thailand and adapted across Asia. Boonyabancha currently serves as Chairperson to the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) and Chairperson of the Baan Mankong Programme Committee. She holds a degree in Architecture from Chulalongkorn University, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Architecture in 2023