Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemAesthetics and change in the Tai cultural landscapes of Mae Hong Son, Thailand( 2008)This research studies landscape transformations in Tal culture and the sociocultural perceptions of those changes pertinent to landscape aesthetics. Theories of landscape aesthetics are examined through a review of the East and West aesthetic traditions, revealing little interpretation of the significance of local history, knowledge and subtle cultural meanings manifest in everyday life. The thesis then examines the history of the Tai (Shan) ethnic group of South East Asia demonstrating how their culture has differed from those of the Siamese-Thai and Karen. A set of research questions is formulated in order to study the current local perceptions of landscape change (physical, political and socio-cultural aspects) and investigate cultural knowledge, values and meanings that might be integral to the aesthetics of landscape. Change is first investigated from the 1950s to the 2000s using desk-top analyses and archives to explore the cultural memories associated with the Tai (Shan) population which dominates in the region of Mae Hong Son province, Thailand. The research then uses methods derived from ethnography, phenomenology and semiotics to study the local aesthetic perceptions of landscape change so that cultural experiences can be considered. By applying qualitative techniques of data collection derived from these approaches - field and participant observation, interviews, cognitive maps and photographic narratives by the local inhabitants - experiences and meanings are described and analysed. The findings reveal first how the landscape changes along the spatial continuum over time and how these changes affect local ecology and livelihoods. Secondly, the findings reveal how everyday life experiences, Buddhist ethics and aesthetics, and a long ethnic tradition associated with these landscapes, construct multiple symbolic meanings. Thirdly, a multicultural discourse of conflicting ideologies is identified, underpinning Tai, Siamese-Thai and Karen concepts of landscape aesthetics, which are sociocultural and manifest themselves in human/spiritual ecology, a sense of community, symbolic meanings and cultural ideologies. Fourthly, the thesis synthesizes a holistic perspective of landscape aesthetics and proposes that contemporary theory is expanded to incorporate local values such as aesthetic perceptions of ecology, spirituality and emotions. Finally, the thesis considers the methodological implications for future research in landscape aesthetics and the implications of ethnographic and phenomenological methods for landscape planning.
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ItemGlobal ideas and local practices : unearthing the 'glocal' in Thailand's low-cost housing market( 2005)Thailand's housing market has undergone a series of dramatic changes since the nation began its extensive engagement with the western world from the mid nineteenth century. Careful diplomacy kept Thailand from being colonised in the strictest sense but opened the door to influences from abroad and diminished the hegemony maintained by royalty. While the aspirations and ideologies driving new forms of housing were traditionally controlled by the elite and framed by royalty the housing culture has more recently been beholden to a range of domestically driven forces for change. Masonry technologies and associated forms are now used to define notions of status for both the elite and middle classes. More recently the rural poor have begun to replicate the ways the contemporary house is imagined and defined - chiefly because the rising timber prices caused by deforestation leave them little alternative. But because of their limited means they have less choice in the process and less control over the outcomes. The poor, emerging from subsistence living patterns, are finding that they struggle to afford the most basic masonry houses - the most obvious alternative to the traditional timber house. This research uses an architect's perspective to address the call for new housing prototypes in the poorest communities in northeastern Thailand. Background material examines the ideologies that have typically governed production of. low-cost housing prototypes worldwide and investigates a series of key schemes that have been theorised, produced and analysed by prominent architects. This material is then used as a framework to analyse a case-study village in northeastern Thailand. Data has been gathered with multiple tactics in accordance with architectural research methods. The spatial structure of the village and a selection of houses were recorded using a series of photographs, drawings and diagrams. The technologies and spatial structures of the house and village were analysed along with the resident's own views and the meanings they attached to their houses. The study reveals that as masonry replaces timber technologies many of the traditional spatial structures remain in reconfigured formats. Shared spaces are often becoming privatised and clearer distinctions between private and public space prevail. While the spaces that frame community interaction are diminishing with new technologies other spaces are configured to maintain social interaction. Furthermore, preferences for timber housing remain strong as people recognise that it enhances liveability and notions of community spirit. This information has been gathered to critique the work of three Thai organisations promoting alternative construction technologies for northeastern Thailand. The evidence presented here suggests that there are difficulties these agencies are yet to address and that their prototypes do not encompass all the issues an architecturally framed proposal would address. Issues of sustainability and cultural applicability must be more prominently addressed if their work is to have broader application and appeal. Lightweight construction technologies, spatial patterns that include both indoor and outdoor living spaces, strong connections between public and private space and designs that enable houses to cross-ventilate effectively all form a key link between the architecture driving Isaan's heritage and its possible future.
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ItemSteps towards a sustainable Bangkok : reorganizing and retrofitting to mitigate sprawl( 2004)The thesis investigates the application of sustainability principles on a specific "superblock", the expansion unit of Bangkok. The case site is located in the urban fringe northeast of Bangkok and is characterized by the sprawl of leapfrogging developments and concurrent intensification of the urban fabric. The thesis proposes that sprawl and the associated environmental degradation can be arrested and mitigated within the framework of sustainability and the context of the superblock. The thesis begins by investigating the theories of sustainability which provides the basis upon which the case site is selected and the design/planning scenarios are analyzed. The research utilizes the case study approach to investigate the phenomena of contemporary sustainable design practice in Bangkok, combined with the generation of alternative scenarios/futures as a method and design tool to investigate the possibilities for a more sustainable urbanization. Through studies of Bangkok's sprawl, a representation model of the site is generated from which two alternative scenarios are projected-the `business as usual' unmediated change and the more `sustainable' mediated change stressing the central roles of khlong's and open spaces. A preliminary process of "backcasting" then speculates the varying local barriers and contexts to practicing and implementing sustainability. In the tradition of alternative visions of the designed future as major contributions to knowledge, the design/planning process provides an heuristic device as a framework that can inform and potentially assist practitioners, decision makers and stakeholders in navigating, engaging with the complexities and the application of the metanarrative of sustainability at a local level. Through the reorganization and retrofitting of the local urban ingredients and typologies of Bangkok, the thesis demonstrates that sustainability, while providing the generic theoretical framework, should, in practice, be coordinated, incremental and variable-catering to the specific evolutions in the socioeconomic, political, cultural and environmental facets of place
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ItemBangkok street life : transformations of place in three communities( 2004)This thesis aims to understand how people in local communities in Bangkok use and experience neighbourhood public space within the context of a changing urban environment. Three contrasting neighbourhoods were selected for case study analysis. The first is a settlement along a waterway, reflecting a more traditional settlement pattern. The second is a dense and diverse neighbourhood where new developments have long displaced canals. The final case study is a modern housing estate. The thesis begins with an exploration of both Western urban design theories and the urban morphology and history of Bangkok. The thesis is based in diverse methods of fieldwork with a primarily qualitative methodology. The methods included interview, participant observation and morphological mapping. Particular attention was paid to: the experience and meaning of public space; the development of social capital; current forces for urban change; and the relation of each of these to the urban morphology. The theories are deployed in each of the case studies as critical frameworks. The thesis also raises questions about the limits of application of such theories within the Thai context and about the particularities of Thai urbanism. The study shows a range of positive qualities which are evident in these case studies, these include: the diversity and vitality of the urban ecology; a strong sense of `place'; and high levels of social capital. The research shows how everyday street life, sense of `place' and sense of `community' are linked to urban form. The study also shows how these qualities are mediated and damaged by forces of modernisation, traffic and tourism. The thesis analyses the tensions between urban development projects and the amenity and liveability of the residents. Such projects are often determined from the perspective of outsiders and without a full understanding of the role of neighbourhood public space in everyday life. The thesis concludes with the need for the development of urban design frameworks, based on the particularities of the Thai context, to protect and enhance the amenity and liveability of the city, and to make it more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
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ItemDevelopment ideologies strategies and rural poverty in Thailand : a comparative analysis of rural development strategies( 1999)Rural agricultural communities have played an important role in Thailand's drive for industrialisation. Yet despite the recent rapid economic growth and social transformation they have fallen far behind in economic performance in both relative and absolute terms, and have become areas where low incomes and poverty are prevalent. Their basic community resources and ecosystems have been significantly degraded in the process. This pattern of so-called 'uneven development' is becoming so great that without some radical adjustment to existing values and socio-economic structures, the national drive for industrialisation itself could be undermined by such social and environmental destabilisation. It is clearly worthwhile, therefore, to appraise both the ideological and material responses to change in these rural communities. This study explores and questions the ideas and practices of existing development models, examining in particular the central argument as to whether they can both overcome these problems and provide solutions to the goals of sustainable rural development. To achieve this aim, development ideologies and models are reviewed and selected representative projects are analysed. The approach is thus principally that of comparative case studies. Three rural community development models: market-based, ecological, and moral/ethical - were evaluated. They are seen to be associated with the basic philosophies of either 'individualism or 'totality', which involve policy choices between 'market', 'state', and 'people', or between market-based capitalism, state planning, and a people-centred paradigm. A significant finding suggests that achievement of the goal of sustainable rural community development will depend primarily on the basic philosophy underlying the model adopted. This is because it determines the model's 'trade-off system' between interdependent social values and goals, or the 'correct' balance struck between the different 'spheres' of development. A basic philosophy that recognises the interdependence of all life and things appears to support sustainable rural community development. While most village communities were interested primarily in increasing `family income', others were capable of successfully devising appropriate village organisations and programs to promote 'community empowerment' and 'alternative livelihoods' at the same time. However this desirable synthesis of `family income', `community empowerment', and `alternative livelihoods' has only been demonstrated at regional and local levels: it is too early to claim its application at a national scale
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ItemManagement of coastal aquaculture in Thailand( 1998)Intensive shrimp farming r Thailand has developed significantly since the 1980s. The industry has played an important role in the Thai economy. However, the high profit from shrimp farming has driven the industry into unsustainable development. The indiscriminate and rapid expansion of shrimp farming has created many environmental problems, such as the destruction of mangrove forest, salt water intrusion, conflicts with other uses, water pollution and land abandonment. To solve these problems, the present study aimed to answer two questions. Firstly, how can we identify potential areas for developing shrimp farms as well as other types of aquaculture which minimize environmental problems and conflicts with other uses? Secondly, how can we calculate an upper Iimit to the area of shrimp farms to avoid creating adverse impacts on the receiving environment? Based on these questions, the main goal of this research was to initiate an appropriate planning approach to sustainable aquaculture. Two models were developed: a model for the assessment of suitability of sites using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) together with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); and a model for the assessment of carrying capacity. GIS was found to be a very useful tool for the first model. Although GIS alone cannot deal with the relative importance of factors, it provides a mechanism whereby weighting can be assigned, calculated and updated. The incorporation of AHP provides an effective method for dealing with complex situations involving many factors, such as aquaculture. The assessment of site suitability deals mainly with the problems on the landward side of the coastal zone, but not with the problems of the seaward impacts such as water pollution in the receiving water. Therefore, the assessment of the carrying capacity of the receiving environment was also needed to properly address the problems of coastal zone management. Although, both models need improvements in data acquisition and further research to improve the analysis methods, the integration of the two models provides the basis for a greatly improved method for making decisions about the development of sustainable aquaculture in the coastal zone.