Rangsan Torsuwan

Last updated

Rangsan Torsuwan (born 1939) is a Thai architect, known for many buildings during Bangkok's period of explosive growth from the 1980s to early 1990s.

Rangsan graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of Chulalongkorn University and attained a Master's at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, returning to Thailand in 1967. He initially worked under his former professor Krisda Arunvongse, before setting up his own firm. He also taught as an assistant professor at Chulalongkorn, until 1992. [1]

Rangsan's style has been described as "exultant post-modernism, architectural pastiche in which styles and eras are thrown together without any signs of restraint". [2] Among his best known works are the State Tower (a gigantic skyscraper topped with a golden dome), the Amarin Plaza shopping mall, and the unfinished Sathorn Unique Tower, all of which use oversized Greek columns, pediments and other elements to decorate the buildings' exteriors. His work is quite controversial, and often receives indirect criticism from his peers in the field. [3]

Related Research Articles

Somdet Chaophraya Sri Suriwongse

Somdet Chaophraya Borom Maha Sri Suriwongse, whose personal name was Chuang Bunnag, was a prominent 19th century Thai figure who served as the regent during the early years of the reign of King Chulalongkorn.

Bang Rak district District in Bangkok, Thailand

Bang Rak is one of the fifty districts (khet) of Bangkok, Thailand. It lies on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River, beyond Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, which marked the old city boundary. Originating from riverside settlements dating from before the city's foundation, Bang Rak grew inland as new roads and canals were constructed through the area during the second half of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth, attracting communities of expatriates and developing into a major commercial district. Bangkok's rapid economic growth in the late twentieth century saw the areas along Si Lom and Sathon roads transformed into one of the city's main business districts, teeming with skyscrapers. The district, officially recognised at least since 1908, covers an area of 5.54 square kilometres (2.14 sq mi), and has a registered population of 48,227. Today, Bang Rak is known for the financial activity of its commercial offices, as well as its vibrant nightlife scenes. Diverse historic and religious sites, most significantly concentrated in Bang Rak Subdistrict on the waterfront, reflect the district's multicultural history.

State Tower Skyscrapers in Bangkok

State Tower is a skyscraper located on Silom Road, Bang Rak business district, Bangkok, Thailand, adjacent to Charoen Krung Road. Built in 2001, it has a floor area of 300,000 m2 (3,200,000 sq ft). State Tower has 68 floors and is 247 m (810 ft) tall, making it the third tallest building in Thailand. It is also the tallest mixed-use building in Thailand.

Ole Scheeren

Ole Scheeren is a German architect, urbanist and principal of Büro Ole Scheeren Group with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Berlin and Bangkok and a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong since January 2010.

Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall

Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall or the Thai Handicraft Museum is a Throne Hall located within Dusit Palace to use as a throne hall and banquet facilities for Dusit Palace. Its construction started in 1903 and completed in 1904 in the reign of King Chulalongkorn. Architectural design by Mario Tamagno. Currently it use for a museum about Thai Handicraft in Bangkok, Thailand.

Rangsan Viwatchaichok Thai footballer

Rangsan Viwatchaichok, born January 22, 1979), simply known as Aon is a Thai retired professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He previously played for four other club teams in Thailand and Singapore. Rangsan is known for his set pieces. He is currently the manager of Thai League 1 club Police Tero.

Amarin Plaza Shopping mall in Pathum Wan, Bangkok

Amarin Plaza is a shopping mall and office building complex located in the Ratchaprasong shopping district in the city centre of Bangkok. It comprises a five-storey shopping mall podium with over 300 shops, above which rises the twenty-two-storey Amarin Tower.

Ercole Manfredi Italian architect

Ercole Pietro Manfredi was an Italian architect who lived and worked in early twentieth-century Siam. Born in Turin, Italy, he attended the Albertina Academy of Fine Arts before travelling to Bangkok, where he was one of many Westerners employed by the Siamese government.

King Power Mahanakhon Mixed-use skyscraper in Bangkok, Thailand

King Power Mahanakhon, formerly known as MahaNakhon (มหานคร), is a mixed-use skyscraper in the Silom/Sathon central business district of Bangkok, Thailand. It was opened in December 2016. It features the unconventional appearance of a glass curtain walled square tower with a cuboid-surfaced spiral cut into the side of the building. Following transfer of the first residential units in April 2016, at 314.2 metres (1,031 ft) with 77 floors, it was recognized as the tallest building in Thailand on 4 May 2016 by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Featuring hotel, retail and residences, 200 units of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok inside the building are priced between around $US1,100,000 to $US17,000,000, making it one of the most expensive condominiums in Bangkok.

Chamchuri Square

Chamchuri Square is a high-rise building complex located in Bangkok, Thailand. It consists of a commercial office tower, a residential tower and a podium housing a shopping mall which connects the two. Owned by Chulalongkorn University, construction on the complex began in 1994 but was halted from 1996 to 2005 and later completed in 2008. With forty floors and a height of 173 metres (568 ft), the office tower is the thirty-eighth-tallest building in Thailand as of 2009.

Krisda Arunvongse na Ayudhya was a Thai politician professor and architect. He served as the Governor of Bangkok from April 19, 1992 until April 18, 1996.

Karl Siegfried Döhring was a German architect, art historian and archaeologist. He lived mostly in Siam, now called Thailand.

Mario Tamagno was an Italian architect who worked mainly in early 20th-century Siam.

Sathorn Unique Tower

Sathorn Unique Tower is an unfinished skyscraper in the Thai capital city Bangkok. Planned as a high-rise condominium complex, construction of the building was halted during the 1997 Asian financial crisis, when it was already about 80 percent complete. It is now among the most prominent of Bangkok's many derelict buildings, and has become a destination for urban explorers.

Captain Bush Lane

Captain Bush Lane, now officially known as Soi Charoen Krung 30, is a side-street branching off Charoen Krung Road in Bang Rak District of Bangkok, Thailand. It was home to several members of Bangkok's early European expatriate community during the turn of the 19th–20th centuries, including Captain John Bush, an influential English sea captain after whom the street is named.

Joachim Grassi Italian architect

Joachim Grassi was an Italian architect of Austrian/French nationality who worked for the Siamese government in the late nineteenth century. He was among the first European architects employed by King Chulalongkorn, and contributed extensively to Siam 's architecture, especially the Neo-Classic, during the time of its modernization.

Customs House (Bangkok)

The old Customs House is a historic building in Bangkok, located on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River in Bang Rak District. It was built in 1888 as one of the many Western-style buildings commissioned by King Chulalongkorn, and was designed by Joachim Grassi in the neo-Palladian style. The building fell into disrepair during the mid-20th century. Beginning in 2019, it is undergoing restoration and re-development as a luxury hotel.

Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge

Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge is an historic bridge of inner Bangkok. The bridge spans Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem on Ratchadamnoen avenue on the border of Bang Khun Phrom sub-district, Phra Nakhon district and Wat Sommanat sub-district, Pom Prap Sattru Phai district with Dusit sub-district, Dusit district. It is near to the offices of the United Nations in Thailand, Rajadamnern Boxing Stadium, Wat Sommanas Rajavaravihara, Wat Makutkasattriyaram and Government House. It also serves as a four-way intersection of Ratchadamnoen, Krung Kasem and Luk Luang roads.

Sam Phraeng Neighbourhood in Rattanakosin Island, San Chaopho Suea Sub-District, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok

Sam Phraeng, also spelled as Sam Praeng, is the name of a neighbourhood that is historic area in Rattanakosin Island, San Chaopho Suea Sub-District, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok. It is an area in the middle between Atsadang and Tanao Roads. In addition, it is considered in the same neighbourhood as other attractions, such as Sao Chingcha, San Chao Pho Suea, Wat Suthat, Wat Ratchabophit, Ministry of Defense, Saphan Chang Rong Si etc.

Grand Hyatt Erawan Luxury hotel in Bangkok

The Grand Hyatt Erawan is a luxury hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. It opened in 1991, replacing the ailing government-owned Erawan Hotel, on a corner of Ratchaprasong Intersection in the modern city centre. It is jointly owned by Thai hospitality company The Erawan Group and the government-owned company The Syndicate of Thai Hotels and Tourists Enterprises, which previously operated the Erawan, and is managed by Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. The hotel building was designed by Rangsan Torsuwan in a postmodern style employing traditional Thai elements, and features a shopping mall inside the building, known as Erawan Bangkok. The property is adjacent to the popular Erawan Shrine, which was built to alleviate bad luck during the construction of the original hotel.

References

  1. "รังสรรค์ ต่อสุวรรณ: อาจารย์ สถาปนิก นักธุรกิจอสังหาริมทรัพย์ ผู้ทรงอิทธิพลที่สุดคนหนึ่งของสังคมไทย (1)". The Momentum (in Thai). 10 February 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
    "รังสรรค์ ต่อสุวรรณ: อาจารย์ สถาปนิก นักธุรกิจอสังหาริมทรัพย์ ผู้ทรงอิทธิพลที่สุดคนหนึ่งของสังคมไทย (2)". The Momentum (in Thai). 3 March 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  2. Waites, Dan (2014). CultureShock! Bangkok. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. ISBN   9789814516938.
  3. Williams, Nick B. Jr (21 April 1987). "Traditional Thai Temples Coexist With a 'Robot' Skyscraper : East and West Collide in Bangkok Architecture". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 January 2021.