Amorn Sriwong and CMU (art4d 261)

CHIANG MAI

A NON-CAPITAL CITY

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMORN SRIWONG

ARCHITECTURE REVISIT

AMORN SRIWONG AND
CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY

A SELF-TAUGHT ARCHITECT AND HIS ARCHITECTURAL
MOVE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHIANG MAI UNIVERSITY

TEXT: WICHIT HORYINGSAWAD
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED

The continual campaign and demand for the establishment of a regional univer-
sity in Chiang Mai first originated in 1941 during the era when Field Marshal Plaek
Phibunsongkhram was the country’s Prime Minister and continued through
the time when advocacy for the issue by the people’s sector was carried out
through local media sources such as local newspapers and publications. The
campaigning was carried out in the form of cards sent out as supplements, and
letters or bumper stickers written in affirmative yet simple catchphrases (‘The
North needs a university. Join the fight for the university in the North’). Amidst
the political climate of the Cold War and Post Second World War that spurred
economic recession across the world and the intensifying political conflict
between the two ideologies led by two groups of leading classes, which had
political hostility between the Western powers and the Soviet Bloc countries as
a catalyst, it took Thailand 20 years to finally establish Chiang Mai University
in 1960s when the country had Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat serving as the Prime
Minister.

The first committee assigned to oversee the establishment of Chiang Mai Uni-
versity was set up in 1961. Led by M.L. Pin Malakul, the Minister of the Ministry
of Education at the time, the committee was responsible for the purchase of the
land, human resources and curriculum development including the specifications
and master plan of the land with teams of architects from different government
agencies working together with Paul W. Seagers, Associate Professor of Educa-
tion and an expert in building planning strategies of educational buildings, being
called in to work as the project’s consultant. The team determined zones that
categorized functional spaces of the university’s master plan before the spaces
were assigned to other teams of architects responsible for the designs of the
buildings, who then determined the exact locations of each building.

Two years later, Amorn Sriwong (1928-2012), a young architect who was accu-
mulating his professional experiences, joined the design team along with another
steering committee led by the renowned technocrats, Professor Dr. Kamhaeng
Balankura, who was also the appointed secretary of the Office of National Edu-
cation Council, and Professor Dr. Stang Mongkolsuk. The two academics were
overseeing the team that was responsible for the formation of the Faculty of Medical
Sciences of the University of Medical Sciences in Bangkok (now the Faculty
of Science, Mahidol University) and were also on the team behind the establish-
ment of other regional universities. They were the people who entrusted Sriwong
to serve as the architect who would later design almost all of the projects under
their supervision.

Amorn Sriwong’s road into the architectural industry is just as interesting as his
works. The son of a wealthy Chinese businessman expected to carry on the family
business, his life was turned upside down when he was disowned by his own
family for his love of architecture. He decided to apply for a job as a construc-
tion worker and was trained by an engineer named Weekorn Weeranuwat in the
art and science of built structures, design and construction. As his experience
accumulated, he got himself a job in a construction company, Sethakampanich. It
was here where his architectural training began to take shape. During the 1950s,
Sriwong was given the opportunity to design Empire Hotel, a large-scale building
on Yaowarat Road. Not long after, he opened his own design firm and got his
hands on another prominent project where he designed the office building

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PHOTO COURTESY OF AMORN SRIWONG of Thai Pattana Bank (today’s Krung Thai Bank) in the
Suan Mali area of Bangkok. During this particular
ABOVE period of his career, Sriwong designed a number of
AMORN SRIWONG (1928-2012) residential buildings and one of them happened to be
(LEFT) DURING THE CONSTRUC- the home of Dr. Stang Mongkolsuk. This new-found
TION PROCESS OF CHIANG connection led him to know of other members of the
MAI UNIVERSITY Technocrat movement who were behind the establish-
ment of regional universities at the time. He also created
BELOW a great number of interesting architectural works in the
THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES’ 60s before the Architectural Profession Act issued in
BUILDING UNDER CONSTRUC- 1965 finally forced Sriwong, the self-taught architect
TION who had never been academically trained by any institu-
tion, to retire from the profession in the early 70s and
spend the rest of his life outside of the industry. Amorn
Sriwong passed away in peace on the 16th of Decem-
ber 2012 at the age of 84.

With the Chiang Mai University project, Sriwong designed
a number of interesting buildings including the Women’s
College (1964) known today as Ang Keaw Dormitory,
Faculty of Humanities (1964), the Student Relations Center
(with parts of the original structure having been torn
down, the building is now the ITSC Corner) (1964), 23
residential buildings for tenured professors (1964), the
second building of Men’s College (now demolished) (1967),
the Faculty of Social Sciences (1966), the Department
of Biology, Faculty of Science (1967), the Department
of Physics, Faculty of Science (1967), the twin towers
housing the administration office and library (1972) as
well as the four-story building (1972) and the workshop
building of the Faculty of Engineering (1972).

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMORN SRIWONG

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STUDENT RELATIONS CENTER

1964

The Chiang Mai University project allowed for architects to ABOVE
choose the location of the buildings they designed with the only THE STUDENT RELATIONS
exception being that the built structures had to be set within CENTER IN 1964
roughly specified zones. Amorn Sriwong specified that the buildings
he designed be surrounded by the existing woodlands. The NEXT PAGE
built structures he designed often incorporated themselves in THE HYPERBOLIC PARA-
as a part of the surrounding environment. The Student Relations BOLOID STRUCTURE OF
Center, too, was materialized with a floor plan that was derived THE STUDENT RELATIONS
from the orientation of the structure, which vigorously engaged CENTER THAT STILL RE-
the surrounding nature as a part of its presence. Sriwong used MAINS UNTIL THIS DAY
the hyperbolic paraboloid structure for its thin-shell structure,
which became the core element of the building. The work served
as the starting point for the many more modular structures in his
later works to come. The idea was discussed with Arun Chaiseri,
the structural engineer while Sriwong was collaborating toward
the development of the building’s structure. The main functionality
consisted of a large open area located to the west of the building,
housing a cafeteria for students during regular open hours that
could also be used to host events and parties. Other retail shops
were located to the north of the building with a bookshop acting
as a separate structural mass (according to Sriwong’s recollec-
tion). The three buildings were designed to surround the court
at the center of the program. With the intentional absence of an
air-conditioning system, cavities were created to ventilate the
heat. Sriwong designed the highest part of the glass wall with
its exterior surface being folded inward to create cavities needed
for heat ventilation. The use of hyperbolic paraboloid structures of
various sizes kept the area open where the cafeteria of a moderate
size was located. In addition, most of the walls were constructed
using locally available materials such as laterite simply because
it was easy to find, beautiful and inexpensive. In terms of the

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architectural construction, Sriwong was
one of the first architects to use laterite in
the design of university buildings.

The structure is currently the home of the
ITSC Corner or the computer center with
the east building having now been entirely
demolished, leaving only the hyperbolic
paraboloid structure, which now func-
tions as the roof of the library’s walkway.
Additional hyperbolic paraboloid columns
were constructed with the original cafe-
teria space from 50 years ago being
adapted into the computer center. Dif-
ferent sizes of hyperbolic paraboloid
structures were reinforced to bear the
weight more efficiently as the area found
use as a functional mezzanine. Outside,
the back of the house area of the cafeteria
has been partitioned into a photocopying
kiosk.

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

1964

The Faculty of Humanities is one of the

buildings Sriwong designed with Thai

patterns being integrated in as an element

of the architectural structure. The work’s

design approach deviates from Sriwong’s

beliefs and ideas about the way a building’s

physical form is a reflection of the struc-

ture’s functional integrity, particularly

the decoration of the lecture hall, which

occupies the front part of the complex’s

program. The interesting thing about this

particular space is the roof, which was

designed into a prismatic shell, whose

appearance resembles a folded piece

of paper with a sporadic presence of

openings (the external structure of the

ç original building can be seen to have been
used with the student union building). The

area has now been replaced with a large

building featuring the remaining traces of

the Thai pattern of the original façade as

a nostalgic reminder for the first generations

of students to reminisce about. Another

ç interesting thing about the building that
Sriwong designed is the rear of the building,

which is now home to the Department of

Psychology, and the details of the slender

fins on the façade, which serve as the

weight-bearing agent of the floor whose

weight is transferred to the beam. Such

structural component allows for the beam

to be physically thinner while the curved

fins are installed at the intended depth and

range. The mass of the fins was designed ABOVE
THE DEPARTMENT OF
to gradually become thinner as they ex- PSYCHOLOGY’S BUILDING BELOW
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
trude from the building, rendering an THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING’S
FINS AND THE BEAM THAT BEARS
interesting gimmick within the overall THE LOAD FROM THE FLOOR
ABOVE
design of the architectural structure.

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WOMEN’S COLLEGE If the Men’s College (1963) designed by Parinya Angsusingha
was materialized to open itself up to the outside surroundings
1964 (the building is currently the home of the Faculty of Political
Science and Public Administration), what Sriwong did with the
LEFT Women’s College was to design an enclosed space that could
THE COLUMNS SITUATED support the safety and privacy of the 300 female student resi-
AT THE FOUR CORNERS dents. The design allows for the building’s visitors to be easily
OF THE BUILDING ARE monitored while the court at the center is designed to have dis-
INTERESTINGLY DESIGNED tinctive lines and forms, and has been nicely decorated into
TO TRANSFER THE LOAD a communal garden for the residents. The building presents
FROM THE BEAMS itself as a series of superimposed rectangular masses with the
alternate presence of a communal area and functional space
RIGHT being set on each of the floors. In addition to the functional
A WALKWAY INSIDE aspects, such design reveals the aesthetic elements of the
THE COURTYARD building and the interesting rhythm of its architectural elements.
The louvers of the rooms are made of teak wood due to the
material’s low price back in the day (but have now been replaced
with glass). Furthermore, the four corners of the building were
constructed with columns bearing the weight of the beams
of each floor, creating a distinctive physical form. The shape
of the superimposed rectangular masses are adapted to the
design of the Dormitory 1 and 2 Buildings (1965) at Khon Kaen
University that was developed during a relatively close time
period.

The building is currently called Ang Kaew Dormitory and, now a
mixed dorm, the zoning between male and female inhabitants is
achieved through the use of separate staircases located in two
different wings of the building.

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FACULTY OF SOCIAL Of all the buildings Sriwong designed for Chiang Mai University,
SCIENCES the Faculty of Social Sciences is perhaps the one with the most
minimalistic form. Nevertheless, there are certain experimental
1966 elements of the details in the diagonal configuration of the waffle
slab of the roof structure that are visually observable from every
ABOVE level of the functional spaces due to the shortened range of the
THE WAFFLE-SLAB STRUC- walkway, which is physically freed from the series of columns
TURE OF THE ROOF bearing the weight of the roof. In the meantime, Arun Chaiseri,
the engineer collaborating on the project used a mortar model
BELOW for casting the roof structure with the desire for the texture of the
THE FRONT VIEW OF waffle slab structure to render a cornerless and curved surface
THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL that helps to prevent the accumulation of cobwebs, allowing for
SCIENCES the structure to be easier to maintain.

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DEPARTMENT ABOVE
OF PHYSICS, THE CURVE OF THE BUILDING
FACULTY COMES FROM THE DESIGN TO
OF SCIENCE AVOID THE EXISTING TREES

1967 MIDDLE
A SKYLIGHT IN THE
Sriwong situated the building of the Department of STAIRWELL
Physics in the middle of the plot’s existing woodland,
similar to the Student Relations Center he designed for BELOW
the project. The curved form of the structure is a result THE OPENING AT THE CORNER
of Sriwong’s intention to preserve an existing large OF THE STAIRWELL
timber, which later became the center of the building’s
spatial program. When designing a building, he
always found ways to preserve the existing trees.
Arun Chaiseri recalled how serious Sriwong was
about nature preservation as he warned one of the
contractors he worked with that he would fine them
100,000 baht if any of the trees on the site were torn
down. Another interesting thing about the building
is the triangular openings at the corners of the interior
staircases, which remind us a great deal of the details
of the Empire Hotel. The spatial program of the lec-
ture hall was executed into terraced levels with the
entrances being located on the second and third
floors of the building, resulting in the unpredictable
interior space of the building.

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DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY,
FACULTY OF SCIENCE

1967

ç The Y-shaped façade of the library building (now the museum) ç
ç and lecture room are designed to act as symbolic representa-
tions of animal skeletons. The design is derived from Sriwong’s ABOVE
interpretation of the building’s association with biology and the THE FAÇADE OF THE
complex composition of the three buildings connected by a BUILDING THAT HOUSES
series of large atriums with a structure of columns and beams LECTURE ROOMS AND
determining the boundary of the spaces. The staircases linking A MUSEUM (FORMER
the three buildings together were designed to have an elevated LIBRARY)
dog-leg with glass panels at the stairways being suspended
from the beams. Laterite is the material used with the east and BELOW
west walls where the laboratories are located while horizontal A COURTYARD FOR THE
lines are accentuated in the design of the façade with the details THREE BUILDINGS WHICH
of the recessed glass walls that protect the area from the sun. ARE CONNECTED TOGETHER
The physical appearance bears a certain resemblance with BY THE STAIRCASES
the Building of the Faculty of Sciences and Arts (1964) of the
Northeastern University (today’s Khon Kaen University), which
Sriwong designed earlier.

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LIBRARY, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

1972

The idea for the modular structure was reinvented with the design BELOW
of the library building of the Faculty of Engineering. During a THE LIBRARY BUILDING
relatively close time period, Sriwong was working on the design OF THE FACULTY OF
of the building, which shares several characteristics with the ENGINEERING
Faculty of Engineering of Prince of Songkla University (1971).
The roof was constructed using three-dimensional precast
concrete, each of which has a size of 1.25 meters. This particular
roof was also used with the workshop building where the struc-
ture was designed to bear the weight of the roof consisting
of concrete columns with a 10-meter span being set between
each column. The four corners of each column branch up with
the end of each branch being reinforced with steel before being
joined to the roof structure. The most important part of the struc-
ture is the galvanized tubes of the roof, which serve as the com-
pression members for the entire structure. The detail of the roof’s
apex comes with the cavities drilled to ventilate heat and the
steel cover provided to prevent birds from nesting.

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BUILDING, OPPOSITE PAGE
FACULTY OF THE DIAGONAL WAFFLE-
ENGINEERING SLAB STRUCTURE THAT
COMES WITH CANTILEVERED
1972 BEAMS

The diagonal waffle slab structure is incorporated THIS PAGE
into the design of the Faculty of Social Sciences THE STAIRWELL OF THE
Building. With this particular structure, however, FACULTY OF ENGINEERING’S
Sriwong decided to reveal the part where the beams FOUR-STORY BUILDING
of this four-story building meet and merge into one
combined plane with the mass of the beams slightly ABOVE, BELOW
extruding from the area covered by the roof. The THE WORKSHOP BUILDING
design not only helps create a sense of rawness and OF THE FACULTY OF
exposes the special attributes of the structure, but ENGINEERING
also illustrates the details that physically and sym-
bolically resonate with the building and its role as a
place where the Faculty of Engineering operates.

WORKSHOP,
FACULTY OF
ENGINEERING

1972

The overall structure of the workshop building of the
Faculty of Engineering sees the use of precast concrete
similar to the roof of the library building. The slabs are,
however, joined together into a larger concrete panel
with the structure of the weight-bearing columns
containing similar details (4 corners of each column
branch out 5 meters). The design of the workshop
building is different for the use of the 50-millimeter.
diameter steel tubes and the way the weight of the
entire roof is transferred to the concrete columns at
the bottom of the structure.

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