Personal-passion-led Relocation of Wooden-hipped-roof House for Development of Architectural Conservation Project towards Commercial Use

Abstract

This conservationist’s passion for preserving old wooden houses began with collecting historically significant antiques. The passion became a mission to save dilapidated historical Thai wooden-hipped-roof houses at risk of demolition due to the high repair and restoration costs. This research study to define the management of relocating the Thai wooden-hipped-roof houses for commercially-aimed conservation fueled by personal passion. A sample of four mixed-use projects-namely 1) Burann Bangtanode, 2) Villa Musée Khao Yai, 3) Satawat Siam, and 4) Sib Song Nuay Tad.  Nostalgia, place-identity creation, and wooden-architectural-heritage preservation constitute the conceptual framework, while phenomenological and textual analysis constitute the approach. The research results show that an owner’s personal passion is key to determining the conservation level that is intimately tied to investment cost, craftsmen, taste, conservation comprehension, and purpose of conserving a historical Thai wooden-hipped-roof house for novel and continuous commercially beneficial use. With regard to architectural conservation for commercial use, an owner’s passion impacts the project’s success in three areas: 1) the factors related to the project (i.e. the structure’s context, regulations, and its condition), 2) the elements involved in relocation and conservation (before, during, and after conservation), and 3) the factors involved in building project sustainably (i.e. income, customer base, human resources, and future plans).Most importantly the owner’s passion also directly affects the design of the place’s identity for the conservation project. The resulting experience evokes nostalgia for visitors, which is essential for driving the project forward.