REVITALIZING THE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THAI HOUSE

Abstract

When most Thais think of 0Thai house2 or BanThai, the image of Thai traditional houses in the Central plain that is acclaimed as 0national symbol2 immediately occurs to their imagination. This is something like a stereotype because they 0receive2 one-sided of distorted information, which only focused on the physical appearance of Thai houses. Therefore, Thais have seen Ban Thai as an 0old aesthetic2 that caused limitation and misleading to the development of Thai houses which can only be done by 0adapting2 some modern materials and construction technology into the Thai traditional form of architecture. Then adopted 0alien architecture2 (unconformity architectural form: Sarawuth Pintong) as 0new aesthetic2, which is incompatible with Thailand?s environment, and as a consequence, it has impacted us in the various forms of unavoidable natural disasters. The forgotten of 0Thai architectural wisdom2 which is the core ideology of Thai house that has been improved through time until it becomes 0the fundamental elements of architecture for living2, conforming to a place and time among the diversity of Thai cultural landscape. Even though, Thai architectural wisdom is a timeless dynamic equilibrium that composed out of the interrelationship among nature, human, and architecture, it needs to be revitalized. In order to 0Revitalizing the fundamental elements of Thai house2, the research methodology was framed in accordance with Phenomenology theory in order to investigate throughout the research objectives, which are Thai traditional house and also Thai vernacular house empirically. The research methods were chronologically divided in 3 phases which commenced with data collection and observation, then collected data analysis and formed up conceptual design frame work, and then design experiments and implementation. In conclusion, this research founds that the fundamental elements of Thai house can be found, not in the tangible superficial decorative elements such as 0Ngao" (hornlike finial) or 0Pan-lom2 (windbreak on the gable), or streamline gable roof. Rather in the profound intangible elements which are the senses of living equilibrium among the interrelationship of nature human and architecture. The recommendation of this research is a design method that revitalized and preserved Thai architectural wisdom as a Thai National Heritage.