This paper examines the modernization of Thai architecture through the establishment of Thailand’s first architecture school, its curriculum, its architecture, and the pivotal role of the first generation of Thai architecture professors, who had been educated in England and France. It demonstrates how the establishment of the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, stemmed from the Siamese government’s growing nationalism that aimed to end foreign domination in both Siam’s construction industry and international diplomacy. The process, however, involved the adoption of a western curriculum — which was considered modern — and adapting it to be more Thai for nationalist purposes. This also required support by employing a foreign professor in architecture: Lucien Coppé, a Belgian architect who was responsible for both upgrading the school’s curriculum and the design of its first permanent building in 1938. Furthermore, some aspects of the western curriculum were not intended to be adapted but were hybridized due to the constraints of the modernizing nation. The establishment and construction of the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, are examples of how art, science, and education were intertwined in both national and global politics in the 1930s.

This research aimed at developing strategies for the renovation of old shophouses in Bangkok ready for mass adoption and application. Shophouses were built with typical designs in a massive number in Bangkok during the 1960s and 1970s. They are now deteriorating, but still occupy a great proportion of the land near the city center.To make shophouse renovation easy for mass adoption and application will allow Bangkok's population to have more choices of housing that suit their lifestyle and support their wellbeing. It challenges the mainstream perception of seeing only the choices of living in a condominium near the center or in a suburban house.By observation and literature review, the research categorized typical features and problems of old shophouses into four groups; (i) space and form, (ii) climate, (iii) wellbeing, and (iv) construction. After case studies, designing, and constructing a prototype renovation design, the research concluded with design strategies to increase the space flexibility, climatic responsiveness, safety, aesthetics, and hygiene. Taking procedural and legal limitations, and the minimal involvement of professionals and the authority into account, maintaining particular features of existing buildings as much as possible and adding new features as little as possible were also suggested.These strategies would promote mass renovation of shophouses. By reducing demolition and supporting urban redevelopment, they would potentially help reviving urban heritage and reducing carbon footprint.