ASA JOURNAL 14/2023

124
theme / review
“Buddhism is all about practice. I approached the building’s
architecture with components that reflected Buddhism and
its real essences but were not delivered in a symbolic way.
Balance and nature are at the heart of the design: elements
of wood and stone, closure and opening, inside and outside.
That’s my take on it,”
10
ภาพภายในส่วนอาคาร
บริวาร
11
มุมมองจากลานด้านหน้า
วิหาร
Unlike most temples in the northeastern region
that have Lao influences, the ‘sim’ at Pathum Kong
kha Temple is a unique blend of artistic elements
from the late Ayutthaya era and early Rattanakosin
Era. Nakhon Ratchasima served as a frontier town
between Bangkok and Laos when Ayutthaya was
the capital of Siam. The temple architecture in
Nakhon Ratchasima is primarily influenced by the
architectural characteristics of religious architecture
in the central region, with the most notable
difference being its smaller size. The meditation
center’s ‘sim’ sees more enclosure of walls, in
contrast to the comparatively smaller and more
open ‘Sim Thong.’ The building’s structure consists
of a series of hexagonal columns, with concrete
walls wrapping around the exterior. This design
choice emphasizes the building’s narrow side with
a steep roof structure, making it the focal point of
the entire building.
The design team looked at Lai Hin Luang Temple
in Lampang Province as a case study of northern
Thai architecture. The mostly wallless structure
of the building is especially visible from the entry,
which is on the narrow side of the building. The
interior is separated into three portions due to the
presence of four stand-alone pilasters seen from
the building’s narrow side. The paired columns further
into the structure emphasize the empty space
at the end of the hall, which houses the principal
Buddha sculpture. The wooden roof structure is
angled at 45 degrees, while the semi-outdoor
structure is partially wallless, similar to the sim of
Pathum Kongkha Temple. Dense walls were built
on both sides of the building, at the farthest end of
the building where the main Buddha sculpture is
located, to keep the most sacred ground of the hall
dimly lit. Meanwhile, the ordination hall and roof
structure share certain relevant characteristics.
The Glass Hall of this Meditation Center is designed
to have its narrow side facing east-west, evoking
the historic moment of the Great Buddha’s enlightenment.
To enter the hall from the front, one must
walk past the lotus ponds. There’s a sense of obscurity
to how the empty space inside is experienced,
despite the transparency that the name ‘Glass Hall’
implies. The alternate placement of the columns on
the outer perimeter, as well as how the columns on
the inner row are purposefully placed in between
their spans, obfuscate spatial perception, making
the space confusing and difficult to define.
Upon entering the hall, one may perceive the magnitude
and proportion that define the hallowed
ground’s boundaries, especially with the presence of
huge wooden columns that emphasize the vertical
and long sequence. The general architectural feature
differs from the components found in the case
studies. While maintaining the same grammatical
order, the new arrangement adds a fresh architectural
accent. The purlins are accentuated, making
them more visible than those in Pathum Kongkha
Temple’s main hall, resulting in a more pronounced
presence of the entrance, which directly affects
one’s experience of the main Buddha sculpture
while approaching the temple. The columns veil the
interiors while keeping them visually and physically
accessible to the outside surroundings with the
help of the alternating positioning of the outer
row of pillars. Each section of each column span
demonstrates an interesting development of vernacular
elements to fit a more modern concept.