Heritage protection plan launched

Heritage protection plan launched

A group of architects and academics has launched a campaign to protect endangered buildings that fall under the “modern design” concept, such as Supachalasai Stadium and Sala Chalerm Krung Theatre.

The group, called Docomomo Thailand, has joined an international movement based on the protection of buildings designed in the early decades of last century.

Many buildings in this architectural style are being torn down to pave the way for new skyscrapers or other developments.

In October last year, the group was approved for membership of the Lisbon-based Docomomo, an international conservation agency which focuses on the modern architectural style.

They submitted a list of 23 buildings, including the Dome Building at Thammasat University and Tuek Klom at Mahidol University, said Assoc Prof Suphawadee Rattanamart, a lecturer at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology and chairperson of Docomomo Thailand. Docomomo is short for documentation and conservation of the modern movement.

Prof Suphawadee said if this architectural style is to be preserved, then it must gain a higher public profile.

“We are to work out the exact period that represents the movement in Thailand,” she said. In her opinion, that refers to buildings constructed during the period 1935-1973.

While it was agreed that the modern period flourished during the 1930s, more discussion was needed to decide when this style exactly started and ended in Thailand.

Asst Prof Pirasri Povatong, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s Architecture Faculty, rued the loss of buildings of this style.

Some, including AUA and Krungsri Bank’s Ploenchit Branch, are located in prime business areas and investors think they are not worth keeping.

“If we cannot save the physical buildings, at least we should be able to document them before they are gone,” he said.

Mr Pirasri has appealed to investors in a project that will replace Krungsri Bank to take extensive photographs of the interior.

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