Outcry over Supreme Court demolition

[admin]

where is this building? can someone provide a GoogleEarth Placemark?

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Architects will urge court not to demolish old building

ANCHALEE KONGRUT

A group of town planners and architects will ask the Supreme Court to abandon its plan to demolish the 68-year-old court building near Sanam Luang. Paranee Sawasdirak, vice-president of Thai City Planners Society (TCPS), said it will send a letter to the Supreme Court asking for a meeting to discuss members' concerns.

''We believe the court made the decision [to demolish the court building] because of work space constraints.

''What we are worried about is that these judges may not have the opportunity to hear different opinions from architects and historians. Our priority now is to establish a dialogue with the court,'' said Ms Paranee.

Groups including the TCPS, the Association of Siamese Architects and the civil group Bangkok Forum voiced concerns over the matter last week, following news reports the court is set to replace the old building with a new one.

Retired Supreme Court president Panya Thanormrod laid the foundation stone of the new building at the site last month. The government approved a 3.7 billion baht budget for the demolition of the present building and construction of a new court on the same site.

The court and its officials had complained that the ageing building was inconvenient. It will be more cost-effective to build a new one than to spend money renovating it. The court has already spent almost a billion baht on repairs to the building.

However, Ms Paranee said the idea overlooks the historical value of the existing building, and architects say the building is still in a strong condition.

The court building was constructed in 1939 to celebrate the abolition of extra-territorial legal rights under the Bowring Treaty. Signed in 1855 during the reign of King Rama IV, the treaty encompassed trade, custom and legal rights.

One of its provisions allowed foreign defendants to stand trial in their own countries if they committed crimes in Thailand.

[GWR]

NATIONAL HERITAGE
Outcry over Supreme Court building
Structure is with a protected area, say opponents to planned demolition
Published on October 15, 2007

The Supreme Court Building has stood on Rattanakosin Island for several decades but not many people know the history behind its construction.

The government's decision to demolish the building to make way for a new one means the destruction of not only architectural heritage but also the last symbol of the most important stages of Siamese jurisdiction, said Chatri Prakitnonthakarn, lecturer at Silpakorn University's Faculty of Architecture.

The Supreme Court Building has great historical value as it is the only remaining building of "The Celebration on the Occasion of Thailand Regai-ning Absolute Jurisdiction" in 1938, said Chatri, the author of "Politics and Society in Architectural Art".

The Association of Siamese Architects this year placed the Ministry of Justice buildings on its list of historical buildings that should be preserved.

But the present government recently approved Bt3.764 million for the construction of a new Supreme Court building, which will take four years to complete.

According Supreme Court president Panya Thanomrod, the building has been in bad condition for decades and the government has spent nearly Bt1 billion on repairs over the years.

However, Chatri wondered if the building's condition was really so bad that it needed to be replaced.

"It is younger than many other buildings on Rattanakosin Island. Those buildings were built in the reign of King Rama V and are still well preserved today," he said.

The architecture lecturer recently organised a public discussion on the topic "The Supreme Court Building: The value of architectural art of historical buildings of the Justice Ministry in Rattanakosin".

"The historical value of the Supreme Court Building is that it is the only remaining structure that was built to commemorate the occasion of Thailand regaining absolute jurisdiction," Chatri said.

Siam granted extra-territorial jurisdiction to another country for the first time in 1885, when King Mongkut (Rama IV) and Great Britain's envoy, Sir John Bowring, signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce, later commonly referred to as "The Bowring Treaty".

The treaty allowed the establishment of a British consulate in Bangkok and guaranteed Britain full extra-territorial powers. Following the Bowring Treaty, many other Western countries forced Siam to grant them the same powers.

In 1938 the Thai government led by the People's Party (Kana Ratsadon), which had carried out the revolution six years earlier that abruptly ended 150 years of absolute monarchy under the Chakri Dynasty and led Siam into an era of the constitutional monarchy, managed after a struggle to finally regain the country's absolute jurisdiction.

The government ordered the construction of the Ministry of Justice buildings as part of the celebrations of the event, and as a symbol of the country's absolute jurisdiction.

The first phase of the project was completed in 1941 and the second in 1943, but the last phase - the Supreme Court Building - was delayed for 20 years due to World War II and political changes in Thailand. Construction of the building finally began in 1959 and was completed in 1963.

The Supreme Court Building was designed with similar features to other "modern" architectural styles of the time - primarily the simplification of form and elimination of ornamentation.

Many building were seen simply as "boxes".

"The government [led by the People's Party] used the simplicity of the modern architecture as a symbol of its political ideology - representing 'ordinary people' and 'equality' in a democratic system," said Chatri. The Supreme Court Building is one of historical symbols of the People's Party, he said.

Chatri wondered whether the plan to replace the current Supreme Court Building was another effort to remove symbols of the People's Party from Thailand's political history.

The plan was first proposed in 1986, when the building was only 23 years old, and the Cabinet at the time approved a budget of Bt2.2 billion.

The idea was discussed again in 1992, soon after a coup d'etat.

Supreme Court president Panya said that due to the country's economic situation and other problems, the project had to be suspended for more than a decade.

The construction plan and the budget for the new building was approved in December last year as part of "The Celebrations of the Auspicious Occasion of His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary 5th December 2007".

A schematic drawing of the new building shows a modern architectural style with Thai ornamentation on top.

Ironically, the approval of the construction of the new Supreme Court Building violates the Office of the Prime Minister's regulation on the conservation and development of Rattanakosin City and old towns.

The entire Rattanakosin Island has been declared a "conservation area" that does not allow any new construction.

Chatri said the Rattanakosin Island committee would be accused of double standards if it allowed construction of a new Supreme Court building.

Back in 2002 the committee also allowed the three-storey House of the Privy Councillors to be built in Wang Saranrom Royal Park, which is within the Rattanakosin Island conservation area, he said.

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas
The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/15/national/national_30052416.php

[Wisarut]

The problem is that many of thsoe conservative HATE the archetechture of People Party-Phibul Era. When Prince Damrogn and family were goign back from political exile from Pinang in 1942, they were SHOCKED by the archetecture of People Party alogn Ratchadamnoen Avenue .... :eek: No wonder, the old conservative want to OBLITEATE the UGLY archetecture of People Party out of their sights as soo as possible.