CHANGING USES OF THE OPEN SPACE SUPPORTING TRADITIONAL ACTIVITIES IN A WATERFRONT TEMPLE. A CASE STUDY OF KRADONGTHONG TEMPLE, PHRA NAKHON SI AYUTTHAYA PROVINCE
Abstract:
With the context of the central Chao Phraya River watershed, which is considered floodplain, the lifestyle and livelihoods of the central regions people have always been closely bound to the river network. The modernization of the area, so far, has led to the development and evolution of land transportation networks for waterfront communities. This also affects different aspects including the areas landscape and the lifestyle of the locals. For these reasons, the study of changes on the open space within the temples area on the riverside for the development of the communitys traditional activities is an important study reflecting the causes and effects of the changing landscape from past to present as waterfront temples were the areas where settling and a communitys traditional activities began to develop. This study aims to study the changing characteristics of the open space in waterfront temples for a communitys traditional activities and its consequences using the specific case study of the Kra Dong Thong temple, Baan Pho subdistrict, Sena district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province. This study integrated knowledge on human geography and basin architecture morphological studies. The information collected included data on the areas features and important community traditions from past to present from documents and a field survey to create the temples maps and cross-section of the measured area which showed changing physical components and how the area used for the communitys traditional activities developed over time. The data were then analyzed to find the turning point and the effects arising from the change of the area with the technique of overlaying the pieces of information between traditions held in the temple and the temples map itself. From the study, it was found that the physical change and the changing of the area for the communitys traditional activities were caused by two area factors outside the temples, which were also important turning points. They were 1) the excavation of the Jaojed-Phakhai irrigation canal across the Rangjorakhe canal, which was the starting factor causing the change of the area inside the Kra Dong Thong temple changing from a water-based society to a land-based society and 2) the building of the Senabodee bridge connecting the land transportation networks between Baan Pho and Baan Phan was another factor stimulating the areas change. These two factors led to the distribution of the areas changing morphology of Kra Dong Thong temple into three phases. Phase one was the physical change of the open space based on the water transportation network completely. Phase two was the physical change of the open space within the temples area by the riverbank when there was the expansion of land transportation. Phase three was when the change of the physical characteristics was mainly done on the basis of the land transportation networks. The changing of the areas characteristics into a land society led to the adjustment of the area used for the communitys traditional activities from open space by the riverbank to used land. The changing use of the riverbank land led to reduced use of the land which subsequently led to the deterioration of the area. The development of the area on the riverbank should then be redeveloped to maintain the balance of the relationship between land transportation networks and water transportation networks and stimulate the use of the area on the riverbank for the communitys traditional activities in the future.