Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
depict him meditating in a lotus pedestal. It carries with it a reminder of the tenets of
Buddhism. The lotus can bloom even in a rancid pond, illustrating the capacity for reli-
gious perfection in unlikely situations.
Thais began mixing traditional architecture with European forms in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. The port cities, including Bangkok and Phuket, acquired fine ex-
amples of Sino-Portuguese architecture - buildings of stuccoed brick decorated with an
ornate facade - a style that followed the sea traders during the colonial era. It is locally
known as 'old Bangkok' or 'Ratanakosin'.
Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall (
Click here
)
SANTI SUKARNJANAPRAI / GETTY IMAGES ©
Bangkok Today
Bangkok's skyscrapers are textbook examples of postmodern dos and don'ts. In the 1960s
and '70s Thai architecture was inspired by the European Bauhaus movement with stark
functionalism - the average building looked like a giant egg carton turned on its side.
When Thai architects began experimenting with form over function during the building
boom of the mid-1980s, the result was high-tech designs such as ML Sumet Jumsai's fam-
