Abstract:
This research aims to study the construction, modification, and renovation of rowhouses in Siam Square. In addition, it investigates their structural problems and their safety. It analyzes the effects of their renovation to suggest ways to modify and renovate the rowhouses in Siam Square. Siam Square comprises 600 semi-prefabricated rowhouses built by Seacon Company. Since their functions vary, these rowhouses have been modified or renovated for 37 years. Some rowhouses are added with more stories while some components of some rowhouses are removed and the reconnected. The roofs of some rowhouses are lowered and some have their basement sunk in the ground. All these increase the weight on the structure and change the position of the connected area. It is found that there are 4 aspects to be considered. The first one is that modification and renovation cause limitations in terms of construction area, time frame, quality, co-operation of workers and installation of building components. The second one is that the structure deteriorates because of the removal or the addition of some structures. This leads to the instability of the structure. The affected structural areas are the foundation, the post, the beam, the floor and the roof. The third concerns architecture since there are changes in design which do not correspond with the structural weight bearing such as toilets and steps. The fourth is that the buildings are unsafe because the modification or the renovation has not been legally approved. It can be concluded that the semi-prefabricated rowhouses in Siam Square without awareness on the structure limited could lead to structure failure and dangerous. This study suggests ways to modify or renovate these row houses by taking limitations in terms of construction, structure, architecture, and system works into consideration so that death and property loss can be avoided.