Applied Thai architecture is a movement in

Thai architecture The architecture of Thailand ( th, สถาปัตยกรรมไทย) is a major part of the country's cultural legacy and reflects both the challenges of living in Thailand's sometimes extreme climate as well as, historically, the impor ...

which gained popularity, especially for government buildings, during the mid-twentieth century. It arose as a way to signify

Thainess Thainess or the Thai identity ( th, ความเป็นไทย, ) is a conceptual identity regarding the quality of being Thai, i.e. characteristics seen as distinctive to the Thai people, their culture, and those belonging to Thailand as a ...

, as opposed to following Western traditions, during periods of nationalism beginning during the government of Prime Minister

Plaek Phibunsongkhram Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram ( th, แปลก พิบูลสงคราม ; alternatively transcribed as ''Pibulsongkram'' or ''Pibulsonggram''; 14 July 1897 – 11 June 1964), locally known as Marshal P. ( th, จอมพล � ...

. The style features the incorporation of certain traditional Thai elements into buildings otherwise following modern plans, usually in the form of high-pitched gabled roofs with simplified forms of traditional ornamentation in concrete. The style has been strongly criticized—Anuwit Charoensupkul in 1969 called it the "cancer of architecture"—and mostly rejected by later architects, though it is still employed in the construction of government buildings, mostly provincial halls and courts.

References

Architecture in Thailand {{Thailand-stub