Spatial Characteristics of House Unit and Role of Shared Chan at Chitlada State Railway of Thailand Housing Site in Bangkok

Abstract

abstractThe purpose of this study is to evaluate and analyze the house unit planning at Chitlada State Railway of Thailand (SRT) housing site in Bangkok. Row houses at Chitlada were made of timber and were built on concrete pillars and had multipurpose space such as a Taithun (underneath) and a Chan (terrace) which were often seen at traditional Thai houses. In this paper, we discuss about the use of house unit and its relationship with the shared Chan. We found that the use of house unit shows the demarcation of sleeping space and multipurpose connecting space. The shared Chan is not actively used for daily social communications as used to be, however still helped for practical uses such as work space, housework, storage, passage and as ritual space. In addition spatial perception of Chan as multipurpose connecting space can be shared among residents. The shared Chan supports the residents' continuous living and indicated its importance in house unit planning which reflects the Thai way of life.