Abstract:
The paper focuses on the new vernacular
house program launched by the Housing
Authority of Thailand. While Bangkok has
become a well known metropolis with various
types of urban housing for its ten million
populations, majority of the Thais live in rural
areas. Twenty years ago traditional Thai
houses as well as vernacular dwellings are
familiar sight once we travel out of Bangkok.
But as the world has been transformed by
technology and globalization in the past few
decades, rural dwellings of Thailand have also
been transformed. Vernacular dwellings
particular to each Ethnic groups have become
much harder to find. Rapid communication
network has introduced images and things
once unobtainable and unfamiliar; the
'picture' of ideal house has thus been
changed. Much of the rural population would
like to own something 'new' and 'similar' to
everyone else, resulting in houses of stylistic
similarities that answer to neither local needs
nor topographical conditions.
In an attempt to re-construct vernacular
dwellings that work with current technology,
materials and demands, the Housing
Authority of Thailand has launched a research
project, in conjunction with Silpakorn
University, that aims to re-introduce and refamiliarize
people with the old concept of
vernacular dwelling, which represent sociocultural
specificities of each and every Ethnic
group. Starting from historic researches and a
field survey of current dwellings, the research
continues with an open architectural
competition and concludes with designs of
various prototypes that can be adapted to
specific needs. Its goal is to find a new vision
that answers to current demands while
maintains certain characters as well as specific
ways of life for each and every region.
But such design, while aims for the better, is
also a paradox. While the old dwellings were
born out dwelling instincts and often without
architects, the new is offered by designers
whose visions may or may not represent the
real vernacular lives. This paper thus focuses
on both the strengths and weaknesses of
these new prototypes, which is a part of an
attempt to answer the question: Is it possible
to re-construct the vernacular?
