The “hongthaew”, the Siamese shophouse, is the most iconic architecture typology of modern Thailand. It is an extremely versatile and robust design that has survived two hundred years of urban transformations. The “hongthaew” is a mixed-breed dog, an architectural nomad, a born survivor that originated in South China and was travelled to Siam via British Singapore. A multi-faceted charmer that has morphed into every fancy style of the day: beaux-art, bauhaus, new formalism… Today, in spite of the rapid verticalization of central Bangkok, the “hongthaew” still deploys her quiet, low-key dominance under contemporary skins and “glocal” adaptations. My article here at ACE journal (ES), by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
