If you only look at pictures or photos, you won’t be able to fully understand the architecture. You need to experience it in person. The Department of Architecture at Mingchuan University took advantage of the early summer vacation from June 22nd to 27th, 2024, to go to Bangkok, Thailand for on-site teaching, led by Director Liang Minggang.
Overseas teaching mainly focuses on visiting architectural sites. Tian Yun is responsible for planning the itinerary, which includes traditional, contemporary, folk, royal, art, commercial, and other types of buildings. On the first day, we visited TCDC Thailand Creative Center and Naiipa Art Complex. In the forest building cluster, students moved through the mirrored volumes among the tree canopies and experienced the interactive relationship between the architecture and the environment. The next day, we explored the prince’s home (Suan Pakkad Palace Museum) to observe traditional Thai architecture and study the relationship between wooden structures and the environment, including stilt houses, floods, and climate. We also observed ecological design in department store buildings at Central Embassy and studied the design of the Open House bookstore in the EMQUARTIER luxury department store. On the third day, we visited the Grand Palace to observe the grand royal buildings, the Kim Thompson Tess Museum, and the Glasshouse at Sindhorn. On the fourth day, we visited KMUTT University, where Teacher Kisnaphol W. explained the traditional Thai architecture course to help students better understand Thailand’s regional architecture and religious culture. We also visited the Bangkok Municipal Art and Culture Center. On the fifth day, we explored The Commons, a dining, arts, and cultural complex in Thonglor District; visited the MahaNakhon Building, the tallest building in Bangkok designed by OMA Metropolitan Architects, and observed the urban structure and texture of Bangkok from the top floor of the building. Finally, we visited ICONSIAM and ASIATIQUE riverside shopping mall.
Director Liang Minggang stated that this overseas teaching visit case focuses on various types of traditional and contemporary buildings. By experiencing the relationship between different cultures, cities, people, and the environment, students in the Department of Architecture can compare the differences between different cities and accumulate experience. Observing the experience of architecture and the environment, I also noticed that Thailand, which is also an oriental culture, is pursuing innovation and modernization while retaining unique cultural characteristics. I gradually understood that the architectural characteristics of a country embody the wisdom and traditions from ancient times to the present, accumulated slowly and incorporating various factors such as religion, humanities, climate, and technology. The students also discovered many architectural details and meanings that they would not normally observe or associate with others. This experience will provide valuable learning opportunities for the students in the future.