Title : The Role of Thai Architects in Urban Housing Development

Author(s) : Bundit Chulasai

Pages : 16-24

Abstract in English : It is understandable that housing in Thailand, especially in urban areas, has been rapidly developed during the last twenty years, due to national, economic and socio-cultural change. Housing has evolved from a simple shelter, built by an occupant, to a real estate project, involving several professional participants. For a long time in the past, a house was considered a work of folk art, and housebuilding was a part of local knowledge. But at the present time, housing in considered a consumer product, housebuilding is the province of the real estate business.

Due to economic growth and the increasing activities in industry and the service sector, there is a larger number of people who earn more and regular income. These people can afford to either purchase or rent housing from the real estate market. As a result, housing problems in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), which covers Bangkok and the vicinity provinces such as Nakornpathom, Nonthaburi, Prathumthani, Samuthprakarn and Samuthssakorn, have been ameliorated.