Phibuntham House

Terrain

General Condition

Baan Pibultham currently has an area of ​​2 rai, located along the Phadung Krung Kasem canal, at the edge of the King Suek Bridge, connected to Yosse Bridge, Rama 1 Road, Rong Mueang Subdistrict, Pathum Wan District, Bangkok.

Currently, Phibuntham House It is the location of the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency. Ministry of Energy with the territory adjacent to nearby places as follows

North facing Contact with Bobae Market

The east side is connected to the North, South and Northeast Railways

west side Contact with Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Chao Phraya River, Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem

Geological conditions

It is located on the Bangkok Plains or the Bangkok Plains. Caused by the deposition of sediments in the Holocene period.

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Ban Phibuntham's history (Baan Nontee)

"Ban Phibun Tham", formerly known as "Baan Nontee", was constructed in the reign of King Rama V around the year 1897 on an area of ​​approximately 4-5 rai. Later, when the Northern Railway was established at Hua Lamphong Station Some of the land of the house had to be expropriated to the government to build a railway. The area of ​​the house is separated into two parts. There is a railroad crossing almost in the middle of the area. One side is adjacent to the Phadung Krung Kasem canal, the other side is connected to the Northern Railway. and Wat Boromniwat Ratchawihan The front is next to Rama 1 Road and the rear is adjacent to Bo Bae Market.

Ban Nontee originally had only one building, the Central Building (or Building 1 at present). MR. Pum Malakul received both land and house from King Chulalongkorn which while holding the position Phraya Anurak Rajamontien Later, in the reign of King Rama VI, around the year 1913, MR. Pum Malakul took the position of Chancellor of the Palace Ministry. Has the rank of Chao Phraya Thammathikhanathibodi After serving in this position for about 8-10 years, His Majesty King Mongkut Has given money to build another building along with the area and decorate the old building. in order to come and stay temporarily The newly built building is a 3-storey building (current building 2) and has a bridge connecting it to the central building.

and because Chao Phraya Thammathikhanathibodi was in the position of Director-General of the Fine Arts Department or ten craftsmen were present at that time Therefore, the technicians at the Fine Arts Department designed By that time, there were many Italian architects who came to government. Chaophraya Thammathikhanathibodi chose Professor E. Manfredi, who at that time was serving at the Fine Arts Department. has the rank of Deputy Chief (Later naturalized as a Thai) to be the designer of the whole building. The engineer is Mr. Galetti and Mr. Forno. Helping to design some patterns. These three are all Italians. As for the Chinese craftsmen who carve various wood patterns a shanghai Name Mr. Dong Cheong And there are some Thai technicians working with them. The person who painted the ceilings and the murals in the rooms was Italian Professor Carlo Rigoli.

The construction took about 1 year. The cost of construction was 150,000 baht in the budget. After building a house and decorating the house, everything was completed for about 7-8 months (November 1920) His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej His Majesty the King came to see and eat. There was also a performance for that night. and stayed until 6 o'clock, then returned to His Majesty King Mongkut His Majesty was very pleased with the construction of this building.

During World War II, Ban Nontee was bombed by the Allies to attack Hua Lamphong Railway Station. But many bombs were not targeted back down at Nontee's house. causing severe damage More than the homeowner can repair to restore the original condition. The owner of the house is M.L. Pakthip Malakul has offered to sell to the government for many consecutive years until the year 1955, the government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram has approved the tobacco factory to buy it as a government place. The amount was about 6 million baht and the government had to pay for repairing all the damaged parts to return to their original condition for about 800,000 baht, including changing the name from "Baan Nontee" to "Ban Pibultham". What will be the best attempt to repair? But can not make it as beautiful as before, such as pictures on the walls of different rooms and the painting of the ceiling of the Great Hall that depicts a bird of Hasadayu helping Sita, etc.

Baan Pibultham was used as a government guest house. Until on July 13, 1959, the National Energy Authority (or Department of Energy Development and Promotion which has now been changed to the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency) has moved its office to Ban Pibultham (Ban Nonthi) until now.

besides King Mongkut who had come to see and eat at this place In the old days, Ban Nontee or Ban Phabul Tham was used as a guest house. There were many important people who had stayed or stayed at this place, such as Prince Suwannaphum. of the Kingdom of Laos, Phraya Kanlaya Na Rajamaitri of the United States of America President Richard Nixon as Vice President of the United States and the President of the Union of Myanmar, etc. In addition, during the time of the National Energy Authority or the Department of Energy Development and Promotion or the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency at present Many ambassadors and representatives of foreign countries have come to contact the government in this place as well.

Although the condition of Baan Phibun Tham (Ban Nontee) that is seen at present is the condition that has been renovated in the area that has been used continuously many times. Since the restoration of the damaged in World War II and the conversion of the area to be the headquarters of the National Energy Authority But the restoration is still largely intact.

Architectural style

There are 3 important buildings of Phibunthonrom house which are:

Building 1 It is a western-style building, reinforced concrete building, masonry and mortar, smooth plastered, painted yellow-white. The outer pattern of the wall is a longitudinal groove, only the lower floor and the upper floor is a smooth wall. But there are wall decorations in the corners of the building on both sides, with stucco decorations above - under the window frames, especially in the front of the building on the second floor. The decorative stucco patterns are quite beautiful. always long The main structure is a wall bearing type, decorated simply with stucco patterns adorning the door and window frames. The roof is hip-pan and manila-shape with kite-tiled tiles, with a rectangular plan about 26.30 meters wide, 25 meters long, and 2 floors high. There are several entrances, but the main stairway is at the front and on the side, the ground floor is raised off the road. Build a wall covering the basement around by drilling holes for ventilation, leaving spaces at a distance. The front of the building is a wide courtyard with open spaces.

Building 2 It is a western style building. It is a classic revival architecture (Classic Revival). Both carving, sculpture and painting, most of which were influenced by Renaissance art.

The appearance is a reinforced concrete building, the overall layout is rectangular. Column-beam structure, brick and mortar, painted yellow-white, the front has 2 floors, the middle has a way to go up to another room with 3 floors, while the back is a single-storey room with high ceilings, looks like a long oval hall protruding from the building. P>

For the door, it is made of a wooden folding door with stained glass on the side of the entrance to the main hall. It is a hinged door made of teak carved with fruit vines and a long rectangular louvered window. Decorated with the head of Konthi for the surrounding windows are wooden windows. Above the window is a stucco pattern with flora as well.

Inside the building, there is a large hall with a circular plan that has been used for meetings and banquets since the past. There is a path connected from the front door of the outer hall to a square room connecting to the inner hall in the form of a rounded wing in the center of the ceiling decorated with Western paintings about the Ramayana. A picture of Tosakan Lak Nang Sita fighting with a bird hassadayu, later decorated with teak wood engraved with flower vines to the edge of the wall. Attached a pair of teak elephant ears around, next to it is a picture of rose vines with a blue base color. The walls are decorated with carved teak wood with fruit vine designs, with round teak pillars set on a rectangular wooden base as arches. The ceiling of the outer hall is painted with a painting of Mekhala Lor Kaew Ramsun.

The second floor of the building has 2 rooms, which have white walls, ceilings with stucco patterns painted in floral vines, both rooms have a balcony overlooking the outside of the building and this balcony also has a walkway connecting to it. The 1st building got it. The 3rd floor of the building has only one room painted white throughout the room.

As for the garden area on the west side of the current building, this area is paved with cement block bricks throughout the area, with five brick-studded tree pickups inside the perennial planting pickup trucks. Both large and medium sizes are in every pickup truck. The courtyard of the fountain is paved with brick and block tiles with various designs. The details of the fountain, the well, the base of the well are washed stone, presumably the original one, with some repairs with cement in the base of the fountain, but still retains its original appearance. The part around the house on the other side was converted to an area covered with cement to make roads and walkways

Another important building of Baan Pibultham built at the same time as Baan Pibultham Building 2 is a wooden pavilion on the side or west of Baan Pibultham, Building 1 along the Phadung Krung Kasem canal. or on the south side of Ban Phibun Tham, Building 2 is a rectangular wooden building. hipped roof Kite-tiled tiles, the pavilion is made of teak wood, the ceiling is plastered, there are small swarms around the interior, the interior is covered with marble. Outside, an arch is made of a pavilion over the doorway carved with sunflower vines. There are double columns and triangular columns at the corners set on square timber panels instead of marble-floored balconies.

Wooden Pavilion

The western area of ​​Ban Phibuntham is a garden area. There is a wooden pavilion in the garden. built in the same period as Building 2 Located in front of the Phibun Tham building after 2 It is a pavilion, a rectangular wooden hall, with a high platform, a hipped roof with kite tiles. The whole pavilion is made of teak wood, the ceiling is plastered, there is a small hulk around it, the interior floor is covered with marble. Outside, an arch is made of a pavilion over the doorway carved with sunflower vines. There are double columns and triangular columns at the corners set on square timber panels instead of marble-floored balconies. a Archaeological excavations (Kannikarn Sutheerattanapirom 2019)

Between 2003 and 2004, the Ministry of Energy will renovate Baan Pibultham, so hired Pradit Thananurak Limited Partnership Conservation of the building was carried out during the preservation period, along with archaeological excavations. The excavation at that time yielded information on the past landscape of Ban Phibuntham.

From archaeological excavations around the outer garden area of ​​Ban Phibuntham in 2004, the characteristics of the garden at that time were identified as follows:

The first phase was to create the appearance of the original garden as an earthen garden. There are 3 pick-up masonry plant pots adorning the garden with a courtyard fountain. The fountain was originally a mound of grass planted with soil. There is a semicircular plan with the base of the semicircle facing the house. There is a fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

In the later stages, the garden layout was modified several times. A cement tile floor was laid over the earthen garden to form a new fountain perimeter. The ground floor of the fountain with cement tiles replaced the earthen garden. Sanitation systems and water pipes were placed in the garden and new plant pots were made in place of the existing plant pots. and some areas filled with sand and re-paved with the current block mortar.

As for the wooden pavilion on the side facing the King Suek Bridge It used to be a well before. There is a pavilion of 8 steps leading into the pond that is Khao Mor. The 6th stairway was a platform laid with marble in the same pattern as the Sala and Ban Phibun Tham. Later, this pond was filled to the same level as the pavilion.

The walkway, when first built from the gate of the house, would be attached to the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, using a boat as a means of transport. There is a brick walkway from the front door of the house to the pavilion and continues to the door of Ban Phibun Tham. This brick walkway is 130 cm wide.
At least 5 renovations have been done, with the upper floor being modified from the brick tile floor. a cement tile Subsequently, all the landfills were demolished to level the walkway by using gravel washes and some of the walkways were cut off. Currently, the gravel-washed floors are dismantled and paved with cement blocks.