Thai buildings

By the end of the nineteenth century, the Grand Palace in Thailand was starting to become too crowded, as new buildings were built to house the ever-extending royal family. King Rama V was starting to find it too hot and uncomfortable, like living in the middle of a small and crowded town, and he moved the court to Suan Duist which means Celestial Garden. The first permanent building was the Vimanmek Mansion - reputedly the largest teak mansion in the world. It's also a huge building made entirely of wood because only wooden pegs were used to join the pieces of timber. It was completed in 1901.

The building has two right-angle wings with an octagonal building at one end which served as the residence for the king. Altogether there are thirty-one exhibition rooms containing collected art work and personal effects of the royal family including the king's bedchamber which has a gilded bed made from... teak!

Vinmanmek photograph by iaminthailand, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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