Looking eastwards through Western sunglasses
On Bangkok’s architecture and the irony of influences
Written by Annabel Loftus
Creative Intern at VBAT
Bangkok. One word depicts a lot of imagery. From flashing cars to hovering skyscrapers, the Metropolitan city I call my home is more than just its stereotype. Alike most big cities, buildings are merged with the old and the new. If a tourist would wonder around, there may be a bit of confusion on why a temple would have a mix of Renaissance windows and Thai ‘stupas’.
“Modernity is a creation of the West. In a non-Western context, it normally reflects a direct intervention of the Western powers by means of colonisation. However, the Siamese, known today as the people of Thailand, have argued that they are an exception to such an occurrence.”
-Koompong Noobanjong
If anyone has seen the classic film ‘The King and I’ (which is slightly culturally inappropriate but fun to watch) you get the impression that King Rama IV, Mongkut was obsessed with the West. The film was banned in Thailand due to many reasons. The Summer palace was built in his era which reflected his ideas of bringing in European culture and education into Thailand during the middle of the 19th century.
A continued trend by his successor King Rama V. The Chakri Maha Prasat, part of the grand palace, is a manifestation of political and cultural awareness of the national identity. This hybrid of Siamese and European style is used to tend towards the traditional rule as well as modernising the nation. British Architect John Clunish built it from 1876–1882 to depict a neo-classical spatial organisation as well as keeping the Thai style roofs and Spires.
As of modern day, the architecture of the past is obvious in the city. The European influence did decline but was brought back again during the Thai Revolution in 1932. The beauty of the past that has decayed, juxtaposing with now modern day high rise office buildings can be seen when going on a boat on the Chao Phraya river. An example of this is the ‘Old Customs house’ by Italian architect Joachim Grassi. I used this building as a site for one of my projects at university. It is in a derelict state, next to a lot of high rise buildings. The building tells a story of colonial influence in the late 19th century.
Thailand has never been colonised, only stopping at the borders during the war. Japanese occupation and later allied bombing had caused the urge for reconstruction and international aid. During the colonial era, of course western adaptation will occur. Today, these buildings are heritage sites — although are they still of cultural significance in terms of forward thinking? Or are they just tourist relicts? The answer is both since the idealising western standards were not a forced choice but a desire. Of course, if one had tried putting on a thinking cap made from that era there is an understanding why they were built, since they aren’t just an obsession of western culture.
Tying a knot to my current location of Amsterdam — the restaurant ‘Sea Palace’ is a copy of the original to the famous Hong Kong, a successful colony ‘Jumbo’ (which I declare I have been to). Interestingly this copy and paste effect works for locals who are obsessed with Chinese cuisine. Maybe it is a message about the colonialism of Hong Kong to the Brits, since the customers of Jumbo are rich expats.
I think the irony in the use of influences, whichever way round, is the question of taste. It is of course the client — hence the person in power who decides the aesthetics of the city. The charm of colonialism is that it tells a story rather leaving the state the same. After all, art is progression and re-defining the concept of modern throughout the change in time.
Going back to Bangkok, after the colonial era, the influence on architecture had declined but had changed into something of a more subtle mix. If I would pick a building that would define my city it would be the Sathorn Unique Tower — an unfinished building halted at 1997. As well as the Thailand Economic Crisis, Architect Rangsan was imprisoned because of starting a murder plot. The fabric of the building is left unvalued and no desire for a revival.
Rangsan was known for “exutant post modernism, architectural pastiche, in which styles and eras are thrown together without any styles of restraint.”-Dan Waites
The style of the building has involved the Neo-Grecian styles of Corinthian columns and semi-circular domes. The structure itself is so exaggerated with a repetitive textile, again defining the classification on the word ‘Neo’. Why I find this ghost tower a landmark isn’t because of just its style, it is also a message of the mentality of a dead piece of architecture that tells the story of a crisis. Looking back at the designs for colonial style architecture in Bangkok, the word “Neo” is used often to articulate the fact that influence was drawn directly from a style and used again.
Concluding whether it was good or bad to wear western spectacles to do the job, depends on the financial situation and prosperity. Bringing in new cultures and contexts to provide diversity could cause success in pushing forward a nation. However, the corrupt buildings that were unfinished, all of the similar style maybe just become ambitious fragments that had failed. The success of Bangkok is shown in its aesthetic of rich history (old buildings) and a modern present (high rise skyscrapers). Now we have the recently built ‘Mahanakorn Building’ by German Architect Ole Scheeren. The energy of the building’s designs of carved blocks is a symbol of Bangkok as a strong capital.
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written by Annabel Loftus, Creative at VBAT
edited by Connie Fluhme, PR at VBAT
