Suchacree Dhirasedh, Nusura Patamadilok, and Asst. Prof. Supradith Chitagon, Ph.D.
Abstract :
The architectural design of Si Thep Community Learning Center constitutes an integral component of a community development initiative surrounding Si Thep Historical City Park, establishing critical infrastructure that extends the scope of community capacity enhancement. This development aims to advance the urban landscape while preserving the UNESCO World Heritage site, simultaneously enabling external visitors to engage in educational experiences and cultural immersion within the community’s way of life. A pivotal mechanism involves the creation of public spaces that function as venues for knowledge exchange and collaborative interaction, thereby catalysing sustainable development and promoting slow city tourism in harmonious coexistence with significant archaeological monuments.
The project location strategically bridges the demarcation between the World Heritage site boundaries and the community. The architectural design employs simplified geometric forms—specifically two overlapping triangles—that metaphorically reference Khao Tamor Rat and evoke the distinctive architectural identity of ancient Si Thep. This formal integration creates transitional thresholds both internally and externally, with the roofed terrace functioning as a viewing platform overlooking the historic moat toward Khao Klang Nai. Consequently, the learning center serves as a mediating interface synthesising the historical city, community lifeways, and external visitors into a unified experience.
Brick constitutes the primary material, functioning as a connective element linking the visual memory of archaeological monuments with the center’s emergence. This material choice establishes spatial and identity coherence. The building accommodates three principal programmatic zones: (1) learning promotion areas providing flexible multifunctional spaces for community meetings, workshops, and external educational programs with equitable accessibility; (2) commercial development areas featuring a café format to retail local food, beverages, and artisanal products, establishing a new landmark within Si Thep tourism circuits; and (3) exterior spaces accommodating seasonal activities and exhibitions, creating linkages with Khao Klang Nai.
Objectives :
The main objective of the Si Thep Community Learning Center project is to enhance community capacity for urban development in coexistence with the World Heritage site, with the following subordinate objectives:
1. To serve as an infrastructure supporting sustainable World Heritage tourism reception by the community
2. To establish public space functioning as a venue for community assembly, knowledge exchange, social interaction, and collaborative engagement in advancing community development
3. To create educational space enabling external visitors to engage in study, learning, and experiential immersion within community lifeways
4. To function as a linking mechanism between the community and the World Heritage site, generating mutual benefits and establishing systematic community-based conservation processes
5. To constitute a symbolic expression of coexistence between the contemporary social context and the archaeological heritage through architectural design intervention
Conceptual Framework :
The conceptual framework for designing the Si Thep Community Learning Center rests upon three fundamental principles, intended to address all six project objectives while ensuring stakeholder acceptance, operational feasibility, and long-term sustainability, including building maintenance derived from collective ownership.
Process / Methodology :
The design process for the Si Thep Community Learning Center employed participatory design methodology through three stakeholder engagement sessions utilizing workshop facilitation with community representatives and focused group discussions with government officials. Two primary themes structured the inquiry: (1) creating public space configurations that facilitate activities aligned with community lifeways and the World Heritage site, and (2) establishing building typologies and prototype architectural forms congruent with cultural practices. Data collection addressed spatial usage requirements, activity programming, and building morphology while accommodating future contingencies including tourism demand, livelihood enhancement for local residents, and contribution to the city’s historical preservation objectives. The designer functioned as facilitator and consultant, serving as the principal research agent in formulating development models and activity programming reflecting community aspirations.
Data Synthesis and Architectural Programming: The researcher synthesized stakeholder requirements and material preference data to establish architectural design parameters. The formal architectural development was guided by a conceptual framework examining the triadic relationships between architecture, landscape, and spatial voids, with emphasis on the qualitative transformation of space, programmatic activities, and environmental context. The design methodology established differentiated user experiences across spatial zones, thereby establishing a sequenced perceptual framework operative both within the project’s internal spatial hierarchy and in relation to its external contextual setting.
The final design presentation stage employed site plans, floor plans, three-dimensional renderings, and physical models presented to all stakeholder groups to establish collective acceptance and mutual satisfaction among all participants.
Techniques and Materials :
The Community Learning Center emerged from the conceptual premise that architectural expression, manifested in physical perception and emotional response, should demonstrate coherence and alignment with place identity. Place constitutes a dimensional construct arising from interpersonal relationships and human-environment interactions, influencing cognitive processes and spatial perception. This relational dynamic operates within place-making processes that establish human-place meaning bonds, generating memorable impressions. Architectural elements prove instrumental in constructing place perception; consequently, the project designated reclaimed brick as the primary material, functioning as a connective element linking archaeological monument imagery within the historical park to the community learning center’s emergence. Brick’s physical expression constitutes a critical component establishing building identity and affiliation, while simultaneously creating seamless connections between community residents, external visitors, and archaeological heritage.
Aligned with the primary objective of establishing public space for community assembly, knowledge exchange, social interaction, and collaborative development advancement, community members were collectively determined to produce bricks locally and inscribe producer names on individual bricks for construction incorporation. This process functioned simultaneously as a knowledge-production mechanism and a community ownership and participation-building process.
Result / Conclusion :
Participatory design methodology engaging all stakeholders generated design specifications addressing site selection—determined through community leader donation—shared spatial use protocols, primary construction materials, and collective aesthetic consensus. The project occupies a section of the community evening market, constituting a significant public realm within the historical park surroundings, positioned proximate to the ancient moat encircling the World Heritage site. This strategic location functions as a connective interface bridging World Heritage site boundaries and community territory. The architectural design employs a simplified geometric form composed of two superimposed triangles, referencing the Khao Thamor archaeological site and synthesising the distinctive architectural characteristics of ancient Si Thep into a unified compositional element. The base of the triangular form is oriented parallel to the ancient moat that circumscribes the archaeological site, thereby establishing visual and spatial harmony with the contextual setting while simultaneously opening sightlines toward the historical park. Two elevated brick walls emphasise the park’s significance through controlled visual framing of the heritage zone from a singular perspective, creating transitional thresholds between interior and exterior boundaries. The roofed terrace functions as a landscape viewing platform offering vistas through the historic moat toward Khao Klang Nai, establishing the learning center as a mediating interface synthesising historical city, community lifeways, and external visitors into a unified experience.
Building programming comprises three principal zones: (1) learning promotion space providing flexible multifunctional capacity for community meetings, workshops, external instruction, and accessible visitor information regarding community heritage; (2) commercial café space advancing local food, beverage, and artisanal product sales as a tourism landmark; and (3) exterior space accommodating seasonal activities and exhibitions linked to Khao Klang Nai.
Brick constitutes the primary material, functioning as a connective element between archaeological monument imagery and the learning center’s emergence, reflecting community aspirations for sustainable coexistence with World Heritage resources through participatory processes.