Recalibrating the New Thai Vernacular Architecture

Abstract

The emergence of the new types of vernacular houses shows the evidence of change leaping fromthe popular image of the traditional Thai houses. The change is impacted from many factors includingcontemporary cultural needs. New vernaculars, which are found in the central Thailand, are the transformingThai houses and the reproduction Thai houses. These two occurrences began since the 1960s (forthe first type) and the 1990s (for the second type). The vernacular houses were surveyed in Pak Kranvillage and Bang Pahun area in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province during the 2000s. These new vernacularhouses have developed from the traditional Thai house among other modern housing developments.However, there is lacking of awareness and understanding of the change. Most of the policies from Thaigovernment, study courses and research topics have focused only on the image in the past. Accordingly,contemporary vernaculars tend to be disregarded. For recalibrating the new vernaculars in this paper, thereare three main subjects: 1. the viewpoints on vernacular architectures both from local and internationalscholars; 2. the definitions and previous studies relating to vernaculars; and 3. the establishment of the newvernacular architectures, which closely relate to the traditional Thai house. This paper involves developingan understanding of vernaculars as well as providing ways to expand the scope of vernacular studies.