Bangkok Urban Palimpsest TRACES OF COMLEXITY Kitti Chupanich
CONTENTS
Abstract ..………………………………………………………………………………………... ii Acknowledgement ……………………………………………………………………………… iii List of Illustrations …………………………………………………………..…………………. iv Chapter – 1: Introduction 1.1 Research Question ………………………………………………………………….. 1 1.2 Research Methodology and Methods ………………………………………………. 1 1.3 Concept of the Urban Palimpsest …………………………………………………... 2 Chapter – 2: Bangkok: Urban Evolution from Orchard Dyke Land to Cars-Based City 2.1 Bangkok Urban Development …………………………………………….………... 7 2.2 Chao Phraya River …………………………………………………………………. 11 2.3 Canal Layer 2.3.1 The Historical and Social Context Relations …………………………………... 13 2.3.2 Changes of the Waterway Network on the Eastern Bank of Chao Phraya River from 1907 to 2007 ……………………………………………………………… 17 2.3.3 Changes of the Waterway Network on the Western Bank of Chao Phraya River from 1860 to 2013 ……………………………………………………………… 20 2.4 From Orchard Dyke Landform to Paddy Field Pattern (Before capitalisation in 1768 – early 19th century) ……………………………….. 23 Chapter – 3: Bangkok Fortresses ………………………………………………………………. 25 Chapter – 4: The Memorial Bridge …………………………………………………………….. 28 Chapter – 5: Phra Pok Klao Bridge …………………………………………………………….. 31 Chapter – 6: Pom Maha Kan – Community – Park ……………………………………………. 33 Chapter – 7: Royal Road - Democracy Monument ……………………………………………. 35 Chapter – 8: Motorcycle Taxi System in Bangkok ………………………………….…………. 38 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………... 42 References ……………………………………………………………………………………… 44
Abstract In the last century, Bangkok has grown rapidly and become a dynamic city. The city contains a lot of superimposed layers of social, cultural, and urban developments. From the water-based settlements to one of the world’s worst traffic jam cities, from the absolute monarchy system to democracy to military dictatorship, back and forth, the continuous change imposes new stories and meanings to the city but sometimes it erases some memories of places within the city. To study the complexity of the city, the concept of urban palimpsest is a framework that can help analyse the multiple layers of the city, such as physical configuration, history, meaning. For the urban palimpsest of Bangkok, there are some studies trying to explain particular fragments or elements of the city through this framework, while the whole picture is still in the mist. This study attempts to read the various layers of Bangkok by the urban palimpsest framework and seeks to reveal a possibility of the creation of place where the past, present and the unknown future can collaborate and coexist together. The first part illustrates the background and morphology of the city and the important layer of the city like canal. The further investigation reveals corelations or the irrelevant of the complicated imposed layers in a variety of kinds and scales by the case studies in the city. By gathering and analysing information, research, and stories, the exploration becomes as a realisation of how the urban palimpsest plays as an analysing tool to explain the complex urban phenomenon. This framework enables us to read the synergy between the visible urban fabrics and invisible stories behind the urban surface. Some new layers give new meaning to the survivals. Some survivals obstruct the effective synergy of system. Some survivals give death to others. The complex relationship has been revealed, and it suggests some traces of what and how we should or should not think before taking any actions.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT This dissertation is part of my whole unexpected journey. It started from the curiosity of an unfamiliar but intriguing keyword to the investigation of the history and the morphology of Bangkok. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Eamonn Canniffe, my advisor, for the light you lead. Every conversation and suggestion you give is very inspiring. I am deeply thankful for all your kind support, encouragement, and patience since the first day at the Manchester School of Architecture. I would like to thank Aissa Sabbagh-Gomez for the thoughtful comments and recommendations on this dissertation. To my colleagues, I am very grateful to meet, discuss, and have conversions with you all, and thank you for all your support. It helps me get through this intense year. Lastly, my family, thank you for your unconditional supports from the beginning of the journey.
Kitti Chupanich
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List of Illustrations
Figure 1 Codex Ephraemi Rescript, In the Bibliothèque Nationale De France, Paris. This Manuscript Contained a Medieval Saint's Life. Written Over the Bible Text, Which Is Therefore Difficult to Decipher. Source: Plate Xxiv. The S.S. Teacher's Edition: The Holy Bible. New York: Henry Frowde, Publisher to the University of Oxford, 1896. ……… 2 Figure 2 Bangkok Map Collage (Kitti Chupanich, 2021) ………………………………………………….……..…. 5 Figure 3 Bangkok Timeline (Edited by Kitti Chupanich, 2021) ….....……………………………………….…….... 5 Figure 4 The Expansion of Bangkok, Thailand, 1850–2002 (Angel, Shlomo, Et Al.,2011) ....................................... 8 Figure 5 Bangkok 21th Century Map - Culatural Tourism Areas (Kitti Chupanich, 2021) .……………………….. 10 Figure 6 Chao Phraya River Map Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaophrayarivermap.png#filelinks ……..……….……..11 Figure 7 The Original Course of the River and Shortcut Canals Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/file:chaophrayashortcut.jpg …….………….…………….. 12 Figure 8 Map of Bangkok and Thonburi 1966 by Caltex ………………………………………………….……….. 14 Figure 9 Map of Bangkok, 1896 by Royal Survey Department …………………………………….……………… 16 Figure 10 Map of Bangkok 1907 Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 ........…………………………………... 18 Figure 11 Map of Bangkok 2007 Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 ………………………………………... 18 Figure 13 Waterway and Road in Bangkok Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 ……………………………... 18 Figure 12 Waterway Map in Bangkok 1907 Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 ……...……………………... 18 Figure 14 The Changed Waterways by Projecting 1907 and 2007 Maps Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 .. 18 Figure 15 The Waterways That Still Exist from 1907 to 2007 Maps Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 .…... 19 Figure 16 The Waterways in 1907 Transformed to Roads Shown in 2007 Map Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 ……………………...…………………….…………………... 19 Figure 17 The Waterways in 1907 Transformed to Lands Shown in 2007 Map Sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010 ………………………………………………….……………... 19 Figure 18 Orchard-Based Settlement (Somjai Nimlek, 2001) …….……………………………………..…………. 20 Figure 19 Water-Based Settlement, Ridge and Groove Orchard, And Floating Market (Summaniti, 2013) …….… 20 Figure 20 Wat Sai Floating Market from An Old Postcard Source: silpa-mag.com posted 14.03.2021 .......……… 20 Figure 21 The Changes of Spatial Configuration of Orchard-Based Settlement on the Western Bank of Chao Phraya River from Space Syntax Analysis (Summaniti 2013) ………………………………………...… 22 Figure 22 Siege of the French Fortress (A) by Siamese Troops and Batteries (C), in Bangkok, 1688. the Enclosure of the Village of Bangkok Represented / in the Lower Left Corner (M) is Today’s Thonburi Source: 1690 French Work. Reproduction in "Three Military Accounts of the 1688 Revolution in Siam", Michael Smithies. ………………………..………………………………………... 25 Figure 23 Map of 17th Century Bangkok- by Simon De La Loubèr ……….………………………..……………... 25
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Figure 24 Pom Wichai Prasit, In Siege of the French Source: 1690 French Work. Reproduction in "Three Military Accounts of the 1688 Revolution in Siam", Michael Smithies ……………………..….. 26 Figure 25 Pom Wichai Prasit Source: https://www.facebook.com/boraan.th/posts/200210274337 .......................... 26 Figure 26 Pom Phra Sumen, Photo by Heinrich Damm ……………………………..……………………….…….. 27 Figure 27 Pom Phra Sumen South Elevation Source: http://banglamphumuseum.treasury.go.th/news_view.php?nid=102 …………………….…….. 27 Figure 28 Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge Plan Source: Bangkok Land Survey and Map Division ………….………….. 28 Figure 29 Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge Source: Bangkok Land Survey and Map Division …....................................... 28 Figure 30 The Axis - King Taksin Monument - King Rama I Monument – Democracy Monument Source: Original Image from Google Earth, edited by Kitti Chupanich, 2021 ………………………….. 30 Figure 31 Elevations Compared the Memorial Bridge and Phra Pok Klao Sky Park Source: Bangkok 250.net …... 31 Figure 32 Phra Pok Klao Bridges Source: https://today.line.me/th/v2/article/zqnwn5?imageslideindex=1 ……….. 32 Figure 33 Phra Pok Klao Sky Park Photo by Teerapan Leelavansuk ….…………………………..……………….. 32 Figure 34 Pom Maha Kan Community Source: https://www.matichonweekly.com/column/article_6241................. 33 Figure 35 Pom Maha Kan Community Ruin after Demolition Source: https://themomentum.co/momentum-featurethe-conflict-and-solutions-of-pom-mahakan/ ………………………………………………………...…. 34 Figure 36 Ratchadamnoen Avenue (Kim Dovey, 2001) ………………..……………………………………….….. 35 Figure 37 Democracy Monument Drawing (Kitti Chupanich, 2021) ...………………………………………….…. 36 Figure 38 Democracy Monument Source: Royal Thai Survey Department …………………………………….….. 37 Figure 39 Compare Street Network in the Old Town with a "Superblock" in Lat Phrao Area Source: Open Street Map ……………………………………………………………………….……….. 40 Figure 40 Motorcycle Taxi Services Spots or Win Motorcycle in Thai Source: https://readthecloud.co/architect-3/ ……………..………………………….……………………..41
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Research Question How the framework of urban palimpsest enables the creation of a place for future without freezing the value of history and culture?
Research Methodology Central to the investigation of this study is the ‘urban palimpsest framework,’ a theoretical framework that is adapted from the textual study. The research question aims to reveal and discover relation or synergy between physical configuration, history, memory, social value, and urban phenomenon. In order to interpret the data, develop an understanding of the theory, and explain the stories behind the urban surface, this research requires a qualitative research approach that is open and flexible to new interpretation or adaptable to a new context. This research approach will be based on grounded theory, a systematic methodology that involves constructing an inductive hypothesis or theory through gathering and analysing the qualitative data (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). The research acquires the data by reviewing the general history of Bangkok and the reliable academic papers and research that particularly focus on related topics such as the urban settlement morphology, the changes of physical configuration. The literature review is also conducted to understand and interpret the urban palimpsest theory framework before applying it to different contexts. The urban history and urban configuration have been synthesized by the textual analysis to understand the changes and the correlations between different layers of the city. The content analysis of the theoretical framework gives a set of identified concept patterns that will be assigned to each case study or urban phenomenon. The case study in this research provides a specific example in the context of Bangkok. Different scales, categories, and dimensions of cases studies illustrate a more collective view of the city. On the other hand, they also represent the discreteness of the urban fragments. Consequently, these cases will reflect the research questions and lead to the research conclusion.
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The Concept of Urban Palimpsest palimpsest noun /ˈpalɪm(p)sɛst/ a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form. (Oxford Dictionary)
Figure 1 Codex Ephraemi Rescript, in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. This manuscript contained a medieval saint's life. Written over the Bible text, which is therefore difficult to decipher. source: Plate XXIV. The S.S. Teacher's Edition: The Holy Bible. New York: Henry Frowde, Publisher to the University of Oxford, 1896.
Urban palimpsest, in this sense, is an urban form in which the processes of built, erased, and rebuilt go back and forth through changes of time with different practices, intentions
and conditions. The various fragments and juxtaposition of visible and invisible layers inscribed in the urban form can be seen as dynamic and the evolution of the idea of a
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city. The visible entities such as buildings, ruins, and monuments immobilized by the forces and tensions with the ground have been partially erased, rebuilt, or built over. In contrast, memory, history, imaginary have invisibly changed by discourses or oblivions. In his Untimely Meditation, Nietzsche suggests the forgetting process as creativity without the constraint of history. In my personal view, Nietzsche’s forgetting is one of the creative methods for a particular condition, and it’s just one side of a coin. Andreas Huyssen (2003) believes that representations of the visible will quite often reveal the residues and hints of the invisible. When we consider the urban elements or layers through the palimpsest framework, it is inevitably related to the notion of meaning, memory, and history, which might reflect the identical characteristic of the place. Potsdamer Platz square's meaning, memory, and history in Berlin are different from the Time Square in New York or the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome. Thus, the way people perceive and remember a “place” can acts as a placemaking tool.
of the memory. The collapse of the World Trade Center is a tragic memory and a significant mark in world history. At the time, we go beyond the question of whether memory should be preserved to how it should be preserved. In the case of the 9/11 memorial, the reflected light from the building’s footprint intentionally and intensely reminds people of the old image of twin towers in the past. The recognition of what it was is strongly represented by the form of what it is and reminds us of the catastrophic destruction event. Moreover, the meaning of this event might be perceived differently by each individual, while the collective memory has been represented globally.
Unintentional Organising Kim Dovey (2016), in his work ‘Urban Design Thinking,’ stresses that the building, urban spaces, and city are constituted by many creators without a single vision. The result of survived multiple layers of creativity, erasure, history, political, economic, and technical invention are composed as a palimpsest. The different and survived entities from each era have collided together in a panoptic view of a city, as De Certeau (1996) described in The Practice of Everyday Life. In his essay, De Certeau points out that walkers, people on the street who walk through buildings and the urban form, are writing the narratives and practicing their lives in the city in which they themselves cannot read and see the text they produced from the street view. The paths they created have been repeated or have intersected with others as networks that can be read from the aerial view or view of God, derived since the Medieval period. De Certeau depicts the urban form of Manhattan from the 110th floor of the World Trade
Meaning and Memory In the globalisation era, the searching for selfidentity, tradition, and memory appeared in Europe and the United States, as the discourses of memory and post-war propaganda have prevailed. In his Present Pasts: Urban Palimpsests and The Politics of Memory, Andreas Huyssen (2003) explains that after the decline of modernism and the purism era, we tend to read cities and buildings as a palimpsest of space, but not every building is a palimpsest. The robust image of present space collides with the traces of the past in the imaginary. It is the tension between what there was and what there is. The destruction its-self is also a part
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Center and stresses that “unlike Rome, New York has never learned the art of growing old by playing on all its pasts. Its present invents itself, from hour to hour, in the act of throwing away its previous accomplishments and challenging the future.” (De Certeau,1996) However, his book was published before 9/11.
Reading City as a Text In De Certeau’s work, the aerial view from the 110th floor of the World Trade Center shows a panoptic view of Manhattan which we can see the juxtapositions of urban surface and the visible layers of the city that might be traced to the invisible layers. To understand it better, we need to acknowledge the indiscernible layers such as meaning, memory, and history to read the underneath correlation between these multiple layers. To Huyssen (2016), the framework of the palimpsest is effectively used to “discuss configurations of urban spaces and their unfolding in time without making architecture and city simply into text.” In term of the literary technique of reading historically, intertextually, constructively, and deconstructively at the same time can enhance our understanding of urban space as living space that shapes collective imaginary.
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Figure 2 (left) Bangkok Map Collage (Kitti Chupanich, 2021) Figure 3 (right) Bangkok Timeline (edited by Kitti Chupanich, 2021)
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Bangkok Urban Evolution
Early Period The early settlements of Bangkok were many small, scattered villages situated along the waterway of the Chao Phraya River for many centuries before the 16th century. Around 1538, due to the growth of international trade, the devious form of the Chao Phraya River, and the difficulty of traveling to Ayutthaya from the Gulf of Thailand, the canal was dug to shortcut the river. It had slowly become more expansive and eventually changed to be the river that replaced the old one, which became shallower and narrower. The occurrence of the shortcut river divided Bangkok into two sides. The city was gradually developed from an agricultural area to be a fortress and a port city of Ayutthaya's kingdom. The forts were built on both sides of the river. The area beyond the forts was mainly still the agricultural farmland. Around 1768, Bangkok was established to be the new capital of Thailand as Krung Thonburi. The
construction of palaces and aristocratic houses were built around the existing fortress on the westside. However, around 15 years later, the capital was relocated to the opposite side of the river and called the Rattanakosin island. The city planning idea derived from the Ayutthaya city pattern, which was circled by waterways. Rattanakosin island has been encircled by the canal dug since the Krung Thonburi period, but another canal was also constructed to be an outer ring of the city. The walls and fortresses were created along the outer canal, and the inner canal was used as a circulation. The city center started from the grand palace and expanded hierarchically (Preyawanit, 2014). The Chinese people, who lived in the area before the palace had been built, moved to the southeast outside the inner canal. The western foreigners had moved further south.
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Figure 4 The Expansion of Bangkok, Thailand, 1850–2002 (Angel, Shlomo, et al.,2011)
Industrial Period In the late 19th century, many canals had been dug to connect the city to the rural countryside for transportation and logistics purposes and extend the aristocratic ownerships. People had to rent land to do agricultural activities, which are the significant products of the country. As a result, many agrarian communities occurred along the canals.
Portuguese and the French, were created next to the riverside. The Bumrung Maung road lying to the east and the Fueang Nakhon road connected within the inner-city were constructed chronologically. The constructions had started to build along the streets. According to the change of the public administration system in 1892, many new government buildings had been built align with road networks, and some buildings were converted from the old palaces. Moreover, western culture had influenced the building styles and locations of palaces. Some royal family members had built their houses in the countryside outside the city's wall and built new roads to connect those houses to the city, for example, Dusit Palace and Wang Mai. The old community had expanded toward new car routes. The
At the same time, due to Westernisation, western technologies, construction techniques, and architectural styles were introduced in Bangkok. In 1864, the Charoen Krung Road (the first road of Thailand) was built from the inner-city canal toward the city’s southeast cut through the most prominent Chinese community (Yaowarat) and continued toward the south parallel with the Chao Phraya River. On the lower part of the road, western communities, such as the
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shophouses had risen from the split, narrowdeep plot that used to be farmlands. Although roads had been introduced, the construction of canals had been still going on for agricultural purposes and the royal landlord until around 1910. Since then, the city's primary transportation had shifted to roads, and some canals had been filled to build a new concrete road (see Chapter 2.3.2, 2.3.3). The new settlements had stuck to new roads that linked the city to suburb areas. From 1852-1960, the Bangkok area expanded from 8.88 sq. to 124 sq. km. Its population had grown from 400,000 people to 2 million people. When the city expanded, farmland turned into shophouses and single houses. Regularly, ridges of farmland were the guidelines of small alleys that linked canal communities to roads. The mixes of building types occurred in small alleys.
resulted in large building blocks with long distances between the road intersections. People traveled through the giant block by small alleys (Soi) that infiltrate into the block as human veins. The 21st century In the 21st century, the coming of the sky train and the underground train have played a crucial role in the city's urban development. Office buildings, shopping malls, and condominiums have shown up around the train lines. The land price has rocketed to a new height. People who cannot afford it have to move out. The medium incomes have still moved out to the suburban community; consequently, many shopping centers, markets, and services occurred at the edge of the city. In the 2010s, the old city area has slowly become popular again due to the cultural tourism trend and people's lifestyle. Most new shops, restaurants, and hotels have been converted from old buildings. Talad Noi and Charoen Krung district, the peripheral areas between Chinese communities and Western communities along the Charoen Krung Road, are examples to create a creative district with the existing solid culture and new revitalized projects.
Around 1917, Thailand experienced the fluctuation of agricultural product prices, but the industrial sector had been increasing and needed more workforces. People from the countryside were flowing into the city. As a result, the city's density had risen, and many slums occurred around the city in the derelict areas near sources of works. In 1942, the public housing unit (National Housing Authority - present) was established to solve the housing problem. Many large social housing projects happened in different parts of the city to replace those slums. Nevertheless, their spatial conditions in the present are needed to be concerned. Furthermore, the middle classes raised by the growing economy had chosen to buy a single house in suburban areas and residential highrises in urban areas. Dense population settlements had increased around various main roads linking Bangkok to nearby provinces. The lack of the city's network planning and properties converted from farmlands that occurred along the canal had
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Figure 5 Bangkok 21th Century Map - Culatural Tourism Areas (Kitti Chupanich, 2021)
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Chao Phraya River
Figure 6 Chao Phraya River Map source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chaophrayarivermap.png#filelinks
In this chapter, I will investigate the multiple layers – physical configuration, politic, economic, culture, publicity, and privatisation - imposed and juxtaposed on the Chao Phraya River and its context, particularly in the Bangkok area, to reveal the complexity of the river and the city.
agriculture, and transportation (Figure 6). The river begins at the confluence of the Ping and Nan rivers in Nakhon Sawan province, a lower northern province. It flows south to Bangkok and the Gulf of Thailand. Initially, the Chao Phraya River in the Bangkok area was curve and devious. This configuration obstructed and delayed the sailing from Ayutthaya to the Gulf of Thailand, or back and forth. Consequently, King Chairachathirat’s (1534-1546) ordered the construction of many Khlongs (canals) to shortcut the river. In 1542, the construction of “Klong Lat Bangkok” was completed. The
Chao Phraya River is a significant river in Thailand. The capitals in the past and the present kingdoms - Sukhothai (1238-1438), Ayutthaya (1351-1767), Thonburi (17681782), and Rattanakosin (1782-present) - are located along the river and has exploited and benefited primarily for the consumption, 11
water started mainly flowing through the shortened way. The shortcut canal had become more extensive and deeper and eventually became the main part of the Chao Phraya River. The old course of the river, on the other hand, gradually had been narrower and shallower and became parts of Khlong
Bangkok Noi and Khlong Bangkok Yai (Figure 7). This river transformation created a small island on the river's west bank, which would be established as the capital of the next kingdom (Thonburi, 1768-1782) 200 years later.
Figure 7 The Original Course of the River and Shortcut Canals source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chaophrayashortcut.jpg
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Canal Layer
The Historical and Social Context Relations Bangkok is a floodplain area; many canals have already existed since before it was established as the capital. In the early period, people had settled along with the waterways for agricultural purposes and as a transportation network. The canal's part cutting through the land shapes the city's form separated into two sides of the canal, which eventually becomes the river. Inarguably, canals have played a vital role in the city's morphology since the early settlement period, but still in the present, even though slowly declined.
protecting elements from the enemies had influenced the creation of 'Khlongs' (mean canal in Thai) such as Khlong Rob Krung (1771) – primary ring, Khlong Bang Lamphu- Khlong Oong Aang (1783) – secondary ring and Khlong Phadung Krungkasem (1851) – thirdly ring. From the map of Bangkok in 1896 (Figure), the urban fabric was mainly situated inside the secondary ring's fortresses; some expansion of royal family houses, temples, and the foreign community had grown outside. For example, Wang Mai (new palace in Thai), which has become the district name after its demolition, and Sra Pathum (royal farmland - later a significant palace) had been built to align with Klong Saen Saeb and Rama I road on the eastern side, outside the third ring (Khlong Phadung Krungsasem). Later, during the Westernisation period, Dusit
When Bangkok became the significant port city of the former kingdom and eventually a capital, canals had been created to be natural boundaries before the fortresses. In the initial Rattanakosin period, the replication of Ayutthaya city's pattern to use waterways as 13
Figure 8 Map of Bangkok and Thonburi 1966 by CALTEX
Palace (European style palace with gardens) linked to the Grand Palace with Ratchadamnoen Avenue created with the concept of European boulevards had been constructed in the northern area embraced by Khlong Samsen and Khlong Prem Prachakon linking to the northern provinces. In this sense, the waterway as Khlong was still the indispensable factor when the palace was built.
example, Bang Sue Station on the north side was next to Khlong Bang Sue, Makkasan Station on the east side was aligned with Khlong Saen Saeb and Khlong Samsen Nai, and Mea Nam Railway Station in Khlong Toei district adjacent to Port Authority of Thailand was aligned with the Chao Phraya River and next to Khlong Wat Chong Lom. The location of the railway station was interconnected to Khlong because of the agricultural product transportation purpose, which was the leading economy of Thailand until the end of the 20th century. In addition, Hua Lamphong station and Makkasan station, both of which are the intersections of roads, railways, metro, and canal boats, will be converted to be a new revitalisation project in the future according to the government’s plan.
Moreover, Hua Lamphong Station, the Thai oldest railway station (1915), had been constructed outside Khlong Phadung Krungsasem, the third ring, the edge of the city at the time. The station was designed to align with the canal and be braced on the north and south sides with Rama I and Rama IV roads. The other main rail stations were also built to align with the canal ways; for
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From the map of Bangkok and Thonburi in 1966 (by CALTEX, Figure 8), all of the large green spaces shown in the map are linked to the canals, for example, Lumpini Park (1925), the first public park in Thailand, have connected to Khlong Sathon, Klong Pai Singhto, and small waterway dug to connect with Khlong Saen Saeb. The Dusit Zoo and Royal Turf Club of Thailand under the Royal Patronage are also attached to Khlong Samsem and Khlong Prem Prachakon. Even the park created in the 21st century, like Benchakitti Park, the further east side of Lumpini Park, is also accompanying by Khlong Pai Singhto. However, the relationship between major public parks and Khlong has been hidden by roads and elevated ways; the links of Lumpini park to Khlong Sathon and Khlong Pai Singhto are coved by Sathon road, and the elevated walking track bridged to the Benchakitti Park. Although many parks are linked to canals, no public park can access any Khlong transportation.
Canal Transportation At present, some Khlongs are still operating as transportation routes such as Khlong Bangkok Noi, Khlong Bangkok Yai, and Khlong Saen Saeb. From the transportation for soldiers and weapons to a boat service for 60,000 passengers a day, Khlong Saen Saeb is a significant artery transport route running through the heart of the city. It starts from Khlong Phadung Krungskasem (the third ring of Rattakosin Island) to the east for around 72 km to meet with Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao province. People can travel from the old city area to the central business area or back and forth without traffic; passengers can change to other mass transit in the business district, luxury housing area, and entertaining high-end areas. Nevertheless, this transportation mainly serves the working class in the society who travel from the old city or the further eastern side of the city to the central area. The travel experience illustrates a backstage of Bangkok; most buildings turn their back to the canals, only some communities or temples existing before the industrial period still face the canal.
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Figure 9 Map of Bangkok, 1896 by Royal Survey Department
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Changes of the Waterway Network on the Eastern Bank of Chao Phraya River from 1907 to 2007 Terdsak Tachakitkachorn studies and identifies the changes of waterway network morphology by comparing the map of Bangkok in 1907 (Figure 10, 12) and the map of Bangkok in 2007 (Figure 11, 13). He categorises changes into three parts: the changes of waterway element, the changes of waterway network and the changes of the characteristics of the waterway.
The changes of the characteristics of waterway 1. Waterway to land: some waterways had been transformed into boundary land, indicating the property area or become part of the property (Figure 17). 2. Waterway to road: some temple moats and ditches along the road had been converted to be roads, alleys, and pathways (Figure 16).
The changes of waterway element: major canals after the capital establishment are mostly intact. Secondary canals, which are typically converted from dyke ditch landform of the orchard after the capital establishment, are partially left. Temple moats are mainly transformed to be parts of the land. Due to the changes of waterway elements, the waterway network disappeared with the emergence of the road network.
3. Waterway to land and road: some temple moats had been changed to be both land and road. Presumably, some parts of the waterway are outside the development area. 4. The changes of correlation between waterway and banks: the land-waterwayland relation that usually occurred in 1907 had changed to three different patterns: land-waterway-land, roadwaterway-road, and land-waterway-road.
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Figure 11 Map of Bangkok 2007
Figure 10 Map of Bangkok 1907
Figure 12 Waterway and road in Bangkok Figure 13 Waterway map in Bangkok 1907 sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010
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Figure 14 The changed waterways by projecting 1907 and 2007 maps Figure 15 The waterways that still exist from 1907 to 2007 maps
Figure 16 The waterways in 1907 transformed to roads shown in 2007 map Figure 17 The waterways in 1907 transformed to lands shown in 2007 map sources: Terdsak Tachakitkachon, 2010
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Changes of the Waterway Network on the Western Bank of Chao Phraya River from 1860 to 2013
Figure 18 (left) Orchard-Based Settlement (Somjai Nimlek,i 2001) Figure 19 (right) Water-based settlement, ridge and groove orchard, and floating market (Summaniti, 2013)
Figure 20 Wat Sai Floating Market from an old postcard source: Silpa-Mag.com posted 14.03.2021
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The orchard-based settlement creates the complex canal network for irrigation, transportation, and the spatial configuration that enhances the distribution of different space utilisation. The area with a higher level of accessibility and dense activities became “water-based spatial centrality” (Sammaniti, 2013), such as floating markets or trading areas on the waterway.
Period 2: water and land transportation from 1932 to 1977. The transformation period of water-based spatial centrality to land-based spatial centrality; the water traffic act to land the floating house in 1943 had influenced the changes in transportation, settlement, and city infrastructure. The road networks developed in this period were usually built parallel with the significant river and canal, which support the shift from the water-based to the land-based spatial centrality. In. this period, the orchard-based farming is 202.66 sq. km. The built-up area is 9.73 sq. km. The average integration value is 0.1119.
Luxana Summati analyses morphological factors of land use and transportation course from water-based to land-based with the efficiency accessibility of area measured by Space Syntax program (“a set of techniques for analysing spatial layouts and human activity patterns in buildings and urban areas” – UCL Space Syntax). The study has been separated into three periods: water transportation from 1860 to 1931, water and land transportation from 1932 to 1977, land transportation from 1978 to 2013. The examination compares three main factors: the orchard-based farming area, the built-up area, and the average integration value from Space Syntax program. The Space Syntax integration value represents the degree of integration of the initial segment in the system. A higher value indicates more connectivity to the network while a lower one shows segregation (Hillier et al, 1993)
Period 3: land transportation from 1978 to 2013. The water-based spatial centrality had disappeared in this period. The development of urban configuration did not concern about the waterway network. The small road within the large block frequently stopped at the canal bank and did not bridge the two sides of the canal. In. this period, the orchard-based farming is 168.15 sq. km. The built-up area is 245.13 sq. km. The average integration value is 0.1082.
Period 1: water transportation from 1860 to 1931.
From Summaniti’s study, in the Period 3, the transformation to land-based transportation without the correlation with water-based transportation can be indicated by the integration value’s inclination from the Period 2. As a result, the shifted of transportation changed the area into highdensity urban areas and new commercial centres along the main roads with a high level of accessibility, and some floating markets, water-based spatial centrality, were wiped out.
The land area was mainly orchards with water-based transportation, strip axis settlement: with primary canal and secondary canal separated from the primary. The major trading area occurred in the canal intersections near temples. In. this period, the orchard-based farming is 218.82 sq. km. The built-up area is 2.50 sq. km. The average integration value is 0.1047.
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Figure 21 The changes of spatial configuration of orchard-based settlement on the western bank of Chao Phraya River from Space Syntax Analysis (Summaniti 2013)
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From Orchard Dyke Landform to Paddy Field Pattern before capitalisation in 1768 – early 19th century Land in the lower Chao Phraya River basin comprises three geological characteristics: river levee, river basin, riverine wetland. People mostly settle down near the river or canal in which river levees occurred. Some small settlements appeared in the river basin with small, scattered farmer villages. The archaeological evidence indicates that there had been settlements located around the river levee in the lower Chao Phraya River for a long time. Communities on the river levee located along the river are called “Bang”, for example, Bangkok, Bangplu, and Bangkrud. The historical record by foreigners such as Guy Tachard (a French Jesuit missionary and mathematician) and Simon de la Loubère (a French diplomat) from the 17th century refer to Bangkok as land with plenty of fruits. The orchard system in “Bang” is one of the adaptive processes to live in the central pain wetland: dyke ditch landform, irrigation waterway, and sluice. Building dyke ditch landform in the river delta such as Bangkok is easier than other kinds of topography because the muddy soil is soft and easy to dig and shift the waterway. This irrigation system is basically operated by each individual in one’s own plot, but the reclamation for an orchard requires many workforces. Thus, the neighbourhoods’ help is necessary for the dyke’s construction of an orchard and, in addition, the public waterway such as “Lamkradong” as a public circulation, irrigation, and drainage way without the individual ownership. This public waterway frequently occurs on the boundary line, which usually indicates each land plot and needs the public agreement between each family in the community. Therefore, the sophisticated and unsystematic pattern occurs, and it is also correlated to the topography of lands such as land slope and original natural waterway. Another
significant aspect of the aquatic dwelling (Preyawanit,2012) is the linear settlement, the separated land with a narrow front facing the waterway. A narrow, wide, and long deep of land called “Sane” (line) is different from the farmer villages, which usually build their houses as a group surrounded by the paddy fields. Somjai Nimlek (2000) depicts the general four parts of the original orchard: the first part – for building a house faced a waterway, second part – for growing selfconsumption, third part – for growing expensive fruits, fourth part – for plenty kind of fruit that can tolerate the ecological environment such as coconut, banana, and grapefruit. In the early 19th century, the agricultural activity pattern had rapidly changed due to the government policy to expand the paddy area and population. The area around the city had expanded to produce more rice with the growth of the economy.
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In the following 6 chapters, I will discuss significant elements which can be seen to represent Bangkok. They are: -
Bangkok Fortresses
-
The Memorial Bridge
-
Phra Pok Klao Bridge
-
Pom Maha Kan – Community – Park
-
Royal Road – Democracy Monument
-
Motorcycle Taxi System in Bangkok
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Bangkok Fortresses survival ruins from Ayutthaya period
Figure 22 (left) Siege of the French fortress (A) by Siamese troops and batteries (C), in Bangkok, 1688. The enclosure of the village of Bangkok represented in the lower left corner (M) is today’s Thonburi source: 1690 French work. Reproduction in "Three military accounts of the 1688 revolution in Siam", Michael Smithies. Figure 23 (right) Map of 17th century Bangkok- by Simon de la Loubèr
In the early period - before the Ayutthaya kingdom, the settlements along the river comprised of many orchards and temples in which people were gathered. In the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), international trades had grown, and Bangkok became a strategic area for trading. The shoreland had been converted to be a tax port. The city's walls and fortresses had been created on the Choa Phraya's riverbank. With the religious mission to introduce Christianity and the French influence in South Asia, the French military established two fortresses on both sides of the river. Still, during the Siege of Bangkok in 1688 (Smithies,2002) (Figure 22), the Siam militaries took over the western
side after the French soldiers regrouped at the larger fortress on the east side. After the retreat of French armies in the same year, both forts became Bangkok's strategic area. Subsequently, the city wall had been built expanded from the western fortress. On the contrary, the eastern fortress was presumably demolished later. In the Thonburi period (1768-1782), King Taksin Maharaj established Thonburi on the west island of Chao Phraya River as the new capital and built a new palace inside the existing city wall adjacent to the western fortress. At present, the fortress, called Pom Wichai Prasit, is in the Royal Thai Navy headquarter area and is open to the public (Figure 25). 25
Figure 24 (left) Pom Wichai Prasit, in Siege of the French source: 1690 French work. Reproduction in "Three military accounts of the 1688 revolution in Siam", Michael Smithies Figure 25 (right) Pom Wichai Prasit source: https://www.facebook.com/boraan.th/posts/200210274337
In the reign of King Rama I (1782-1809), the capital was relocated to the eastern bank. Klong Rob Krung (the second ring canal) and 14 fortresses had been built as a new boundary to protect the city. To construct these fortresses required a significant number of bricks as the main construction material. Thus, the Ayutthaya city wall had been dismantled and brought to Bangkok by the Chao Phraya River for the fortresses’ constructions. In the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910), some fortresses had been broken into pieces of bricks again to fill the waterway and create new roads.
There are only two fortresses survived in the present: Pom Maha Kan, which will be discussed in the further chapter, and Pom Phra Sumen (Figure 27), a fortress on the northside of Khlong Rob Krung next to the Chao Phraya River. In 1999, Pom Phra Sumen area was transformed to Santi Chai Prakan Park (Figure 26), a riverside public park of about three acres, on the 72nd anniversary of King Rama XI. The multiple activities, such as aerobic plaza, Tai Chi, various cultural events in the community, the riverside view, and the juxtaposition of a new park and an old fortress draw both local people and visitors to spend their time in this park and the old but dynamic community of
26
Phra Athit road. It is a good example of the combination between the public space development and preserving historical ruin.
Figure 26 Pom Phra Sumen, Photo by Heinrich Damm Figure 27 Pom Phra Sumen South Elevation source: http://banglamphumuseum.treasury.go.th/news_view.php?nid=102
27
The Memorial Bridge
Figure 28 Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge Plan Figure 29 Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge source: Bangkok Land Survey and Map Division
At the south end of Khlong Rob Krung, the fortress (Pom Jak Petch) had been demolished. The Memorial Bridge (or Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge, Figure 29), the second bridge crossing the Chao Phraya River (the first bridge is Rama VI Bridge, for trains), had been built to connect Rattanakosin island (east) to Thonburi (west). The creation of the project served two purposes. First, due to the decline of monarchism, King Rama VII desired to create a new symbol that could improve the monarchy image in the commemorate event 150th year of Bangkok. Therefore, the King Rama I Monument had been selected as a representation of the collective memory of the city’s establishment and the founder of Chakri Dynasty. Second, at that time, there was no bridge across the
Chao Phraya River. People had to use the river by boats. The bridge could accommodate people to travel across the river and expanded the urban area to the west side of the river, which is typically used as orchard lands. The project’s construction started in 1929 and was completed in 1932 in the commemoration of the 150th year of Bangkok and Chakri Dynasty, briefly before the Siam Revolution of 1932 in the same year. The project comprises two parts – a bascule bridge and King Rama I memorial. The layout was designed as an arrow derived from the royal seal of King Rama VII. The arrow directs from King Rama I memorial, a
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founder of this city, on the east to Thonburi (west- the former capital) (Figure 28). King Rama I Memorial and plaza had been built at the east end of the bridge. The monument statue was sculpted by Corrado Feroci, an Italian-born sculptor who also sculpted the Democracy Monument, which commemorates the Siam Revolution of 1932 seven years later. The concrete monument base and ornaments were designed by Prince Nirisara Nuvadtivongs.
monuments reveal traces of the political agendas, changes of the political regime, and new collective memories that the authority wanted to create.
The bridge was designed by Dorman Long, a British construction company that was constructing Sydney Harbour Bridge at the same time. Initially, the bridge had a double leaf bascule-type which raised some questions about its worthiness. Despite the demonstration of advanced technology, there is no apparent reason for more budgets for a movable bridge. Suluck Siwaluck, a Thai philosopher and scholar, narrates that, according to hearsay in the royal families, there was a curse from the King Taksin that when Thonburi (west) merges Bangkok (east at that time), the new dynasty would be wrecked. However, after being damaged during World War II, it has never moved again. In 1954, subsequently, Plaek Phibunsongkhram, prime minister at that time and a leader of the Siam Revolution of 1932, imposed another pinpoint linking to the Phra Phutta Yodfa Bridge axis, which connected to the Democracy Monument (Figure 30). The King Taksin Monument had been built at the Wongwian Yai roundabout in Thonburi. This monument expanded the axis from the arrow. The meaning behind the political axis is not entirely clear, but we can see the antagonistic tension between King Taksin Monument and King Rama I Monument. From the aerial view, two juxtaposed
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Figure 30 The Axis - King Taksin Monument - King Rama I Monument - Democracy Monument source: Original Image from Google Earth, Edited by Kitti Chupanich, 2021
30
Phra Pok Klao Bridge
Figure 31 Elevations compared the Memorial Bridge (above) and Phra Pok Klao Sky Park (below) source: Bangkok 250.net
Fifty years after Memorial Bridge was built, concerning the severe traffic along the bridge, the government decided to create Phra Pok Klao Bridge, adjacent to the former bridge, in the 200th anniversary of Bangkok. Phra Pok Klao Bridge was named after King Rama VII, who created the nearby symbolical bridge. The bridge was constructed as three viaducts, with the middle viaduct prepared for the Lavalin Skytrain, which SNC-Lavalin, a Canadian firm, would build. The sky train project, however, had been canceled because of financial problems. Some sources argued that political interference was the main reason for the project's termination. As a result, the two viaducts were completed with the partial structures of a sky train viaduct in the middle, locally known as Saphan Duan - an amputated bridge (Figure 32). Apart from
that, at the west end, the viaduct's structure obstructs the access to the shophouses nearby, many businesses have been closed and moved out to other areas. The result of the development causes the separations between some local houses and the city. In 2015, Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) and the Urban Design and Development Center (UDDC) proposed the Phra Pok Klao Sky Park project to fulfill the gap and retrofit the abandoned structure with the pedestrian, plants, and recreation spaces as a part of Bangkok 250, the 250th anniversary of Bangkok in 2032. It was designed by Landprocess and N7A (landscape designer and architect) to create a new urban park bridging historic areas of Kadeejeen - Klongsan and Phra Nakorn Wang Burapha Phirom. The sky bridge park
31
Figure 32 Phra Pok Klao Bridges source: https://today.line.me/th/v2/article/zQNWn5?imageSlideIndex=1
Figure 33 Phra Pok Klao Sky Park Photo by Teerapan Leelavansuk
imitates the Memorial bridge's structural form, creating a dynamic form and multiple levels of uses (Figure 31). This project overlays new elements to the failed infrastructure and fills the physical and political void of the bridge.
From these cases, we can see the geographical changes of Chao Phraya River that related to the urban morphology of the city, political structure, and the occurrences of the public spaces along the Chao Phraya River converted from the historic area and the abandoned structure.
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Pom Maha Kan – Community – Park
Figure 34 Pom Maha Kan Community source: https://www.matichonweekly.com/column/article_6241
Pom Maha Kan is a fortress built since Bangkok was established as the capital around 1783, located along with the Khlong Ong Ang (outer canal). It is one of the two fortresses that still survived the demolishing in the Rattanakosin Island; another one is Pom Phra Sumen located next to the Chao Phraya River in the earlier chapter. In the past, the border of the city wall was a boat pier which the nobilities used to travel along Khlong Saen Saeb, and houses in this area belonged to the aristocrats. Subsequently, the
noble class relocated to new places and left the old houses for rent. The urban area was growing; people moved in and built new houses, and eventually developed into a community. Pom Maha Kan community had been situated behind the wall for over a hundred years. For this long period, migration was inevitable, but the community had never been desolated. From the small wooden house in the early period, the community had gradually changed as a city growth; some wooden parts were turned into concrete, cheap zinc roof sheets can be seen anywhere.
33
In 1949, Pom Maha Kan was registered as a historic site by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand.
community had been completely removed, and the public park had been open in the same year. After the years of operating, the park seems not working according to the empty space and a lack of people (not account for the superficial of the design). In the case of Pom Maha Kan, the question of how we should define the word "historic" has emerged. The history justified by the authority and the attempt to purify and marketise the history can affect the urban form and the citizen in the physical world. The visible layer of the historic reminiscent ruin gives memory to the place, but its strong perception sometimes obscures and causes ignorance for other layers.
In 1992, the government issued the decree to reclaim the land around Pom Maha Kan to make a public park and preserve the historic site. Moreover, the Bangkok Municipality also proceeded with a code of dwelling prohibition in the historic site. As a result, the local people had started a resistance and fought for their community for over 20 years. Some researchers and academics had done research in the area to point out the community's historical value. They proposed better solutions to the authority, such as a proposal to present the community as a real live museum. However, in 2018 the whole
Figure 35 Pom Maha Kan Community Ruin after Demolition source: https://themomentum.co/momentum-feature-the-conflict-and-solutions-of-pom-mahakan/
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The Royal Road and Democracy Monument
Figure 36 Ratchadamnoen Avenue source: Kim Dovey,2001
In the early 20th century, in the reign of King Rama V (Chulalongkorn, 1853-1910), who planned the modernisation of Siam and the governmental and social reforms, the Ratchadamnoen Avenue had been created to connect the Grand Palace to the Dusit Palace, a new western-style palace outside the city wall. Not only connecting to the Grand Palace, but it also links with the group of sacred buildings and political symbolics around the palace such as Sanam Luang (ceremonial plaza) and the City Pillar to a
new Royal Plaza and New Throne Hall. Its connection can be read as the shifting of the political power area and the link between the old monarchical traditional style and the new modernisation of Siam. The avenue was built with the western style of the boulevard on the old orchard dyke area of Baan Paanthom. Ratchadamnoen, in Thai, means “royal walk,” named as the Queen’s Walk in London. In the early period, the road had been used for cars owned by the royal family members or the elite class.
35
Figure 37 Democracy Monument Drawing source: Kitti Chupanich, 2021
In 1939, seven years after the Siam Revolution, the military Prime Minister, Plaek Phibunsonkham commission the construction of the Democracy Monument to commemorate the Siamese Revolution of 1932, which changed the political regime from the absolute monarchy to the constitutional monarchy. It was designed by M.L. Pum Malakul, who designed many monuments in Thailand, and sculpted by Corrado Feroci. a Florence-born sculptor. The monument comprises many elements
referred to the revolution day and the government propaganda, for example, its radius from the centre to wings and its wing’s height is 24 meters referred to 24th June (the revolution day), and the relief sculptures on the wing’s foundation depict the stories of the revolution. The military government decided to place the symbol of the revolution on Ratchadamnoen Avenue, the symbol of the royal route, and impose new buildings along the road with neoclassical style. The meaning of the avenue still exists, but the monument 36
superimposes a new layer of memory on the previous. Both memories give meaning to each other without the existence of the avenue, the memory of the monument would be faint.
Democracy Monument to protest the military dictatorship. The event resulted in several deaths and over 800 injurers. The 14th October Memorial had been placed on this road devoted to civilians killed by the military. In the next 19 years, the large protest occurred again, and many losses and injurers were replicated (Balck May or Bloody May 1992). From these two significant marks of history, new layers of memory were imposed again. Since then, history still has been repeated over time, and the Democracy Monument has become a significant rally point for protesters. On this avenue, we can see the palimpsest of both visible and invisible layers juxtaposing and weaving together.
After World War II, the Free Thai Movement, an underground movement against imperial Japan during the war led by the political elites, held the military parade on the Ratchadamnoen avenue to show the success in maintaining Thai sovereignty and the relation with the Allies. Ratchadamnoen avenue again had been used to demonstrate the power of the state, only changed the characters. In October 1973, over 400,000 people rallied from Sanam Laung to
Figure 38 Democracy Monument source: Royal Thai Survey Department
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The Motorcycle Taxi System in Bangkok
In this chapter, I would like to introduce the motorcycle taxi, famous and indispensable transportation in Bangkok. Its occurrence emerged from the complex layers of the city as a palimpsest. Since the early 18th century, motorcycle taxis have been introduced in Bangkok. Its narrative starts from a smallnarrow alley or "Soi" (in Thai) in the navy community in the city; a navy officer offers a ride to send other residents in Soi to the main road or a nearby destination to interchange to other transports or do their businesses for free. Subsequently, this practice became more famous, and then it became a new source of income. In the present, it is an indispensable transport of the city; the motorcycle taxi spots, called "Win" in Thai, derived from the idea of first come, first served, in this sense, first come, first serviced, are embedded everywhere in the city especially around the mass transit stations and the intersection of street and Soi. It offers a short distance and cut-through traffic delivery with a lower price than a taxi but still higher than other mass transits which are unable for service in Soi and many inside
the urban block of the city. This kind of informal practice has been operated to fulfil the gap that the government or the big corporates cannot provide. In Claudio Sopranzetti's work; The Owner of the Map: motorcycle taxi drivers, mobility, and politic in Bangkok (2013), he defines “the four causes of possibility for the appearances of the motorcycle taxis” by reconstructing the complex condition in social, economic, political, and material landscape of Thai capital: 1. A physical setting of a long-narrow Soi. 2. The affordable and available aspects of a motorcycle at the time. 3. The migration of labours from rural areas. 4. A social relation between the state official and the local underclass dwellers or new migrants. In this discussion, I will focus on the two initial conditions.
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After shifting from water-based settlements to land-based settlements and Westernisation, many buildings and shophouses have been built along the roads, mostly built without a correlation with the waterway network (Summaniti, 2013), as discussed before in Chapter 2.3.3. This development of urban configuration has created voids between houses along the waterway or canal and the new development along the road; eventually, the small roads or Sois have been made to connect canal settlements to main roads. Regularly, these Sois, which converted from the farmland area, have been constructed to follow the narrow-deep pattern of ridges that used to signify the farmland boundary. However, the appearances of Soi are also influenced by the discourse of "modernisation" (Sopranzetti, 2013) and economic growth. In the mid-1960s, the centralised land development by the royal family had shifted to the hand of private affairs; land developers had brought many large plots of land and had transformed them into residential areas provided only substandard public utilities and minimum infrastructures, such as access roads (Durand- Lasserve,1980). The government has only offered main roads to connect the capital to other provinces. Consequently, the superblocks have been created around the inbetween area of the middle and outer side of the city development. These superblocks consist of various small Sois penetrating as tree roots or human veins. The palimpsest of multiple layers of topographical, political, and social conditions have embodied the morphologies and the characteristics of Soi, which are hardly served by the public mass transit. Thus, the motorcycle taxi that can weave into a small Soi has emerged as a suitable solution in this sense.
By the early 1980s, the motorcycle had rapidly and widely spread in the capital city like Bangkok and other countryside areas because of its affordable price. People with low income can buy it and use it as a means of mobility. With Bangkok's rapidly industrial economic growth, people from other provinces have migrated into the city to find jobs. Bangkok has become denser and expanded. Hence, the number of users and the numbers of motorcycles have also moved into the city simultaneously. Moreover, the exceedingly increasing car usage in Bangkok in the late 20th century has caused a traffic disaster in the city. The unbalance between cars and road surface, and Soi's configuration hold personal car passengers on the larger street waiting for access to their houses in the small alley. Spending hours on the street has become a common life in the city. Despite the car's usages, the lack of investment in public transportation, such as a bus system, and the absence of a tram system in 1968 have also influenced the occurrence of the motorcycle taxi. The overlayed layers of cars' traffic and incompetent bus system and the erased layer of the tram system have animated the layer of the motorcycle taxi in Soi and the city's dense traffic.
39
OLD CITY AREA
LAT PHRAO AREA
Figure 39 Compare Street Network in the Old Town with a "Superblock" in Lat Phrao area source: Open Street Map
40
At present, motorcycle taxis play a crucial role in the flow of people in Bangkok from the small vein to the main arteries, from water network to road network and mass transit network, from the periphery to the city centre network, millions of people are woven around by these practices. I was also one of those millions who daily used these practices when I was working in Bangkok. If we go back to Sopranzetti's work; The Owner of the Map: motorcycle taxi drivers, mobility, and politic in Bangkok (2013), Sopranzetti uses the term "the owner of the map" linking to De Certeau's work; The Practices of Everyday Life that reading the multiple layers of a city
on the flatten urban surface from the aerial view while the moves on the street, motorcycle taxi drivers in this sense, unconsciously create narratives of the city from their daily practices woven into those complex layers. Once again, when we look from the top-down view, motorcycle taxi becomes part of the Bangkok urban palimpsest.
Figure 40 Motorcycle taxi services spots or Win Motorcycle in Thai source: https://readthecloud.co/architect-3/
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Conclusion
The study has tried to analyse the urban spatial of Bangkok with the urban palimpsest framework to seek the answer to two questions at the beginning of this research; is it possible, and how the framework of urban palimpsest enables the creation of place when past and future can collaborate and coexist together without freezing value of the history and culture. Before answering the questions, I would like to describe my realization about the urban palimpsest framework after the study; to me, this framework is a tool to explain and understand the complexity of place and the city that assemblage many layers of visible and invisible elements rather than a how-to framework which provides a
clear solution. Thus, it becomes more apparent how I can answer those questions in further discussion. The transformation from water-based or orchard-based settlements to land-based settlements has influenced the spatial morphology of Bangkok. The city pattern is a result of many spatial transformations through periods of time. From the narrow linear pattern of the old orchard settlements, the broader form of rice paddy field pattern that is not suitable to the topography of the area had been expanded on the east side of Bangkok due to the growth of rice product economy. Moreover, the development of the
42
city, which mainly focuses on the road network, has transformed some waterways into lands and roads. The waterway network has been disappeared (Tachakitkachorn, 2010). Some roads have been built to align with the existing waterway, but most roads constructed after 1978 are not correlated with the waterway system. As a result, the disconnections between the waterway network itself, waterway and roads, waterway, and new urban development can be seen on the urban fabric of Bangkok. We can also speculate the property plots and the small alleys system converted from the orchard system pattern. The coexisting of these physical layers of spatial configurations can be interpreted as a palimpsest when we see it from the aerial view of the city like De Certeau explain the view from the 110th floor of the World Trade Center. Nevertheless, some waterways still survive and operate as transportation routes; for example, In Khlong Saen Saeb, flowing from the old town to the city centre, there is a boat service serving 60,000 people a day. This synergy, which might be unintended between Khlong, road, and urban development, provides alternative public transportation to the city.
reflect its identical characteristic of place as Huyssen (2003) described. The study of Pom Maha Kan Community demonstrates the freezing value of history and the attempt to purify the area that does not fit with the ideal concept of value and aesthetic, which again were produced by the authority. The strong image of Pom Maha Kan seems to be a harbinger to the community. Pom Maha Kan Community was removed from the urban surface and disappeared from any levels of eye-view, even though the changes were hidden behind the city wall. The layer of the community has become invisible; it was transformed into memory and might turn to be history. If we only see it from a top-down view, the surviving layers of the fortress and the wall and the new layer of the public park will represent a seductive image of new public space without any traces of the erased community. In this case, it does not give a clue of how the historical symbol and the community can live together, but it addresses some issues that should be considered before any actions have been taken.
To return to the beginning questions, I would say it is possible that by using the urban palimpsest framework, we can reveal the creation of a place where past and present live and work together in the case of Bangkok context, even though many factors in this context pragmatically deter the synergy of the multiple layers such as the authorities, the political conflicts, and the uncontrol developments. For another question that still remains, I would again assert that the palimpsest framework plays as a tool to disclose the interconnection or irrelevance of the complex layers of Bangkok, and it needs more interdisciplinary frameworks to collaborate in order to create a future urbanity with the coexisting of the past.
The repeated superimposition of meanings and memories in the case of the Democracy Monument illustrates the multiple layers related to political power and resistance. The coexist of the Ratchadamnoen Avenue and the monument has created a paradoxical meaning layer without erasing ones that belonged to each of them. Furthermore, the invisible layer, such as meaning, also brings real physical activities to the site: with its democratic meaning and without democratic spatial characteristic, people see it as a symbol of the resistance and set it as an important point to held political activities against the dictatorship. In this case, the meaning memory and history of the site
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