Abstract:
Wat Sao Thong Tong in Lop Buri Province was established during the reign of King Narai the Great of the Ayutthaya Period ( 1956 - 1688)and is located in the center of the province where architectural evidence from the same period has been found. The king preferred to stay in his palace, his favorite retreat, in Lop Buri Province for quite a long period at one time. addition to his palace, he also renovated many important buildings and established a temple. At present, those buildings have been registered as historical sites by the Department of Fine Arts and are in a deteriorating condition through time. The assembly hall of Wat Sao Thong Tong, where there are monks staying, is in the same condition. This research aims to study and redesign the assembly hall and its peripheral buildings and to redesign the plan of the temple to solve the existing problems arising in the temple. This research was mainly based on documents and information obtained from the actual survey of the sites. The 12 case study buildings are those built during the reign of King Narai the Great and located in the Muang District. All the data was analyzed and compared in order to make conclusions. It is found that those buildings are unique artistically and in their architectural style, resulting from the political influence of foreigners coming into Ayutthaya during that period. The architectural characteristics during such time were used to design the assembly hall of Wat Sao Thong Tong so that it was in line with the neighboring buildings of the same period.