Proportion and Relationship of Elements in Thai Architecture: A Case Study of Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajawaramahawihan

Abstract

          This research aims to explore the proportion and relationship of elements in Thai architecture, focusing on proportional order which plays a vital role in forming architectural masses of the compound of various size buildings. It selects phra ubosot (ordination hall) of Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajawaramahawihan and its subsidiaries as a case study. Based on architectural drawings and field surveys, the result of the study indicates that the proportional order is manifested in the front elevation of the entire buildings - phra ubosot, phra wihan, the inner cloister, and the outer cloister - despite the fact that the masses, functions, and hierarchical order of these buildings are all dissimilar. To explicate this proportional order, the pediments - the triangular section of the gable roof – are in the same shape, the ratios of the roof’s tiers and breaks are in the same pattern, and the position of the vertical elements is arranged by the pattern of the roof. Owing to this investigation of proportional order, the conceptual framework of the identical shape appears in the front elevation of all four buildings and constructs the unity and consistency in the compound of phra ubosot, Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram.