Building Siwilai: Transformation of Architecture and Architectural Practice in Siam during the Reign of Rama V, 1868-1910

This dissertation is an interpretation of architectural transformation in Siam, from the mid-nineteenth century to the turn of the twentieth century. During the reign of King Rama V, from 1868 to 1910, Siamese aristocrats formulated their conception of civilization---swilai, in Thai---which became central to the changes in both architecture and architectural practice, under Siam's semicolonial conditions. The dissertation begins with the analysis of architecture of the early Bangkok period, from late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, in order to understand the correlation between architecture and authority in traditional context, the dynamics of stylistic change, and the premodern architectural practice. Next, the dissertation examines the correspondence between civilizational thoughts, architecture, and changes in the architectural practice during the first half of King Rama V's reign, from 1868 to 1889. As Siamese aristocrats took Europe and their colonies in South and Southeast Asia as the new paradigm of "civilization," their new civilizational ideals were made manifest through the syncretized, hybridized forms of architecture and urban design created mutually by Siamese and European master builders and their patrons. Eventually, administrative centralization led to the creation of the Public Works Department (PWD), which was responsible for the large-scale remaking of Bangkok during the latter half of Rama V's reign, from 1889 to 1910. The dissertation discovers how the Siamese PWD transformed architectural practice in Siam after the turn of the twentieth century. The ancient Siamese architectural tradition was terminated, yet a neo-traditional Siamese style was created in its place, as a part of the new civilizational ideal. Through the analysis of archival and architectural data, the dissertation attempts to use architecture as a framework to further our understanding of the ambiguous, syncretic nature of Siamese aristocrats' conception of civilization that was a part of the global transculturation phenomenon, from the mid- nineteenth century to the turn of the twentieth century.