Shape and Radial Lines of a Spire Roof in the Crematorium Design of H.R.H. Prince Narisaranuvattiwongse (1904 C.E. and 1920-1930 C.E.)

Abstract

Of all Thai traditional roofs, a spire roof is considered the most superior and customarily used for the design of royal funeral pyres for royal family members and highly respectful monks. A design process of a spire roof, known as “making yod”, requires not only a fundamental knowledge of Thai architecture but also a set of principles of a stepped pyramidal roof whose graceful shapes reminiscent of Chom hae - a fishnet being raised with curve lines at the edges. A spire roof is considered artistically graceful only if it has such a curved shape and is well-proportioned. Thus, the practice of making a spire roof is admitted to be a subject of exclusive experts on Thai architecture, who undergone appropriate training of how to design a spire roof using radius lines - a practice called radius system.

         No historical record is found as to when a traditional Thai spire roof under such system was first created. However, this study suggests that during the 1920s and 1930s, Prince Narisaranuvattiwongse applied the principles of radius lines in his creation of royal crematorium pyres. Amongst various forms of pyres' spire roofs, including typical budsbok and mondop roofs, which Prince Naris employed in those works, a total of ten different characteristics can be identified; all of which is primarily based upon radius system. The research proposes that the application of radius lines in the development of a spire roof is of significance and can be regarded as a distinctive stance of Thai architectural practice.