House Designs

[Donnyboy]

Ive always wondered why the design of houses here lack so much design, is it due to the construction costs or simply due to lack of carpentary skills that they have here? My opinions are based on going to a few housing delvelopment areas, dont ask me to name them, but they look all the same, two storey, white concrete, with ceramic tile roofs and lined up so close to each other, some look really terrible- the ones that are tall and slim. Are there any new modern houses that use wooden framing and more use of glass? And is there anywhere close to town where you can design and build? On the positive ,Ive seen ones in Chiang Mai Land and some look good. Your toughts welcome

[groo]

Ive always wondered why the design of houses here lack so much design, is it due to the construction costs or simply due to lack of carpentary skills that they have here? My opinions  are based on going to a few housing delvelopment areas, dont ask me to name them, but they look all the same, two storey, white concrete, with ceramic tile roofs and lined up so close to each other, some look really terrible- the ones that are tall and slim. Are there any new modern houses that use wooden framing and more use of glass? And is there anywhere close to town where you can design and build? On the positive ,Ive seen ones in Chiang Mai Land and some look good.  Your toughts welcome

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hi donnyboy,

you probably need to get a little more specific about what kind of houses you are referring to. There are many different kinds such as the linked ones which I think you are referring to, and "single houses", either single or double stories.

I reckon that you probably can get anything you want in ChiangMai as long as your budget "$$$" supports it. But for starters, lets be specific about what kinds of houses you are talking about..

[Thetyim]

Thais certainly do not lack carpentry skills but many do not seem to have any idea of how to build a good looking house when it comes to concrete.

There is an architect living near me who has built himself a VERY expensive large house. It is a complete eyesore and combines five different styles into a mess. He has no idea .

To crown it all he has put two 30 foot concrete dinosaurs in the front garden.

[chownah]

They don't use much wood in most housed because wood is very expensive by Thai stanadards and wood gets eaten by insects and also rots. My house is all wood on the second floor which is a traditional style for where I live in the north....but wood is getting more expensive and fewer people are using it and the quality of wood they can afford keeps getting worse and worse as wood gets more expensive. Old houses aren't torn down, they are disassembled and the wood is reused so that only a small amount of new wood is needed. But even with the wood houses here locally the style can seem a bit boring since everyone builds mostly in the same basic way....concrete columns, cement floor, block walls make up the first floor, and verticle wood siding with a fairly flat roof making up the second floor. Windows almost all have wood shutters. There will be a concrete landing built in front which will be 2 or 3 steps up from the ground and then there will be a wood staircase with nine steps (for good luck) leading up to the second floor. There will be one full height column on one of the front corners which will be a trunk of a large tree (usually a teak tree) if they can afford it. Aside from the cultural aspects the reason for the similarity is because that is what the local people know how to build. The people here usually build without a drawing. Most of them have a hard time understanding a drawing or it is very difficult for them to make sense of it. They are not good at multiplying or dividing and they calculate things by pulling out a tape measure and counting off the distances...they are very good at this and they can build an entire house in the local style using this technique......but it tends to keep them from inovating. I might mention that none of them have any formal schooling in building...they just pick it up from those around them...so the style gets passed on and on.

Edited June 13, 2005 by chownah

[JohnRichard]

Thanks Chownah, that was a most fascinating explanation. It should go without saying that understanding WHY people live and work the way they do should come before any value judgments on them. Your information fleshes out the whole picture.

JOHN

[meadish_sweetball]

The buildings and architecture improve considerably once you start looking further south.

[chownah]

The buildings and architecture improve considerably once you start looking further south.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

south...definitely south....definitely.....

[Donnyboy]

I reckon that you probably can get anything you want in ChiangMai as long as your budget "$$$" supports it. But for starters, lets be specific about what kinds of houses you are talking about..

I wasnt going to to specifically outline the areas-didnt want to offend anyone, but you probably know the ones I mean. The houses are built in rows with all the same colour, same style- concrete walls, usually white, with little or no landscaping, this would I guess be majority of houses in CM that are less than 10 years old?Thats what I find boring I guess.

I guess am lucky, in that I have been exposed to some of the designs back home(NZ). Some are beautiful and we do get some eyesores thou. Most houses there use treated pine, a renewable resource, which wont rot or have infestation problems,although, they did have a problem recently with untreated pine and leaky homes leading to rotting and many irrate home owners.

I would imagine that it would be easy to grow pine here as Thailand has plenty of sunshine+rain And it would reduce the building time of a house. Is it 6 months here? Usually takes 3-4 months back home.

[bggg]

I offer random fragmented thoughts on this subject.

6 months building time? Never heard of it. Of the people I know who have or are building its is 1 year or more.

I once had a Thai furniture salesman tell me that Thais do not buy for quality. It is price and appearance. He spoke of trying to sell quality mattresses. He said the Thais say why pay more no one will see it.

You have a 4 bedroom house with air con in 2 bedrooms????

New money, or coming from a rural shack or apartment to now making decisions on buildinga house. They have had no exposure to a lot of aspects. It is their first experience having a house.

Why do they put toilet paper on the dining room table?

Much of the building is done by a company that brings in 3 designs all very similar and offer those to the buyers. As in a Moobaan.

Traditional Lanna style cluster housing is very expensive to build. Assembly line style building is much cheaper.

Landscaping..... I don't think most Thais use their gardens the same as a lot of us do in the west. Also the gardeners homes probably have 20 clay pots lined up in the front. They like a lot of straight lines. Most never think of naturalizing. Cultural differences and cultural appeals play heavily.

[Limbo]

1) Lack of a frame of reference.

2) Architects are considered not necessary because the constructor (mostly former farmers) can design the house (walls with doors and windows and a roof on top, that's simple).

3) Problems with spatial perception. Reading a map or a blue-print is now teached at universities. If you build, make a maquette instead of a drawing, it saves you a lot of problems.

4) King Rama IX brought Italian architects to Thailand.

No, dear Italian friends, this is a joke. The funny thing about it is that you everywhere in Thailand see building-details who originated from the Greek and Roman antiques, introduced by the Italian architects who built the Thai palaces a little bit more than hundred years ago.

Food for future archeologists: The Romans must have been here as well.

Slowly the situation is improving. Before the house was used as a shelter for rain and sun, a place to sleep and to store possessions. Life was lived outdoors.

Modern times made that people stay more inside. Looking television for instance. Staying in a closed airconditioned place.

So the last decades furniture started to come to the villages as well.

Soon, besides the portrets of members of the Thai Royal Family there will be posters on the wall, eventually even art.

The windows are getting bigger and so on and so on. Slowly but sure the function of the house will be balanced with used materials and shape.

Untill then!

[Limbo]

Aside of my horrible English I have to apologize for the mistake exchanging King Rama V with King Rama IX. It was King Rama V who brought Italian architects to Thailand

[Steve2UK]

Aside of my horrible English I have to apologize for the mistake exchanging King Rama V with King Rama IX. It was King Rama V who brought Italian architects to Thailand

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You can definitely be forgiven for the mistake about which King brought the architects - you make some really good points that explain a lot and are worth remembering.

[JohnRichard]

Thanks Limbo forsome very interesting info. and food for thought. Your comment about your English most assuredly is self-effacing as you'd surpass most

university students , at least in the USA , in your written communication skills.

JOHN

[groo]

Limbo, very nice analysis on architecture of Thailand. Very well put and great analysis.

And I agree with meadish sweetball, the more south you go, the better the selection. Just don't get too south, a lot of houses being bombed there.

groo

[Limbo]

Thanks for your nice comments!

[ozzydom]

Ive always wondered why the design of houses here lack so much design, is it due to the construction costs or simply due to lack of carpentary skills that they have here? My opinions  are based on going to a few housing delvelopment areas, dont ask me to name them, but they look all the same, two storey, white concrete, with ceramic tile roofs and lined up so close to each other, some look really terrible- the ones that are tall and slim. Are there any new modern houses that use wooden framing and more use of glass? And is there anywhere close to town where you can design and build? On the positive ,Ive seen ones in Chiang Mai Land and some look good.  Your toughts welcome

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most of the homes that you refer to seeing would be developer designed and built to probably a standard design for reasons of price and profitability. Selling price is the main criteria as this must be alligned with the ability of the average buyer to service their mortgage loan. There are many homes about the place designed and built to farang desires and prices ,you only get what you pay for, 10 -15 mill will get you a mansion by thai standard but may still not be aesthetically beautiful by western standards. I think you would be hard pressed to find a builder capable of building a contemporary style multi angle home with lots of glass and timber features,plus would these designs suit the tropical conditions.?

[billd766]

I live up near Khampaeng Phet with my wife in our (her) house. She knew roughly what she wanted and got a good friend to design it for her.

She got a local builder to do the work and bought the materials. It took around a year to build and the design was modified as the building went along. She had an old house and used the teak from that with a brick lower half and a wooden upper half.

If I could work out how to post a picture I would do so, perhaps tomorrow.

3 bedroom with 1 downstairs so that when I get too old to climb the stairs I wont need to and no aircondition as we would only use it a few times a year.