This Hindu influenced Spirit House has its own parkland
Just down the road from the hospital and my apartment is a very large office building owned by the Berli Jucker Company (BJC) This company is one of the oldest and strongest in Thailand. It was founded in 1882 by Swiss nationals, when the country was still called Siam. BJC is involved in a lot of different activities, including food, healthcare, import/export as well as a whole bunch of other things. Notwithstanding the fact that the company was originally founded by non-Thais, BJC is as Thai as it gets, having been going strong in the country for 134 years. It was actually one of the first companies to be listed on the Bangkok stock exchange back in 1975.
Like all Thai companies, BJC needs to have a Spirit House in front of its headquarters building. This is a given. However, unlike many very large Thai companies, it has chosen not to be overly ostentatious by creating some huge edifice in front of their building for all to see. After all, they already have their building, which is big and conspicuous enough. No, what BJC did was build a little Spirit House park which is not that visible from the street. I only noticed the area for the first time yesterday, because of the way the sun hit the roof of the Spirit House located in a space that is well off the street. There was a glimmer coming off the roof of the House and so I decided to investigate.
As I got closer to a small line of hedges, I noticed a little break that led into a narrow park area. There was a stone path that wound its way to the Spirit House. Along the pathway, there were plants and beautifully manicured grassy areas. This area not only contained BJC’s Spirit House, but also the grounds for the House. This place was obviously built as a compound and as a place for the Spirits to not only enjoy their home, but also have a lovely clean, country-style, atmosphere in the heart of busy Bangkok. Most Spirits in the city, while having a roof over their heads, don’t have accompanying parkland to enjoy, so these Spirits are clearly in an very enviable position.
The actual Spirit House is really beautiful. It is traditional but yet unconventional. While it does have the traditional peaked roofs of most Thai Spirit Houses, it’s major design elements are composed of three domed spires – the construction of which is similar to the famous Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun) near the Chao Phraya River. The House has a very strong Hindu influence and also looks very much like the famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, itself originally constructed as a Hindu temple.
I am not sure what drove the design ideas for this lovely Spirit House, but it’s a beautiful one. These Spirits are so lucky to not only have a wonderful structure in which to live, but also their own park in which they can enjoy some relaxing moments away from the busyness of Bangkok. The people working at BJC, I am sure, know that their Spirits are content while watching over them.
Great spirit house! – to be added to the list of what needs to be revisited and reported on? And the starchitect was a personification of pretentious and is “coronated ” truly a word? Love, r
I can certainly visit this Spirit House again, as it’s steps away from the hospital.
That Ole the architect was pretty pretentious for sure.
As for the word ‘coronated’, you’re right, it’s apparently not a real word, although maybe it should be. One of the beauties of being the editor of this blog is that I can quickly make changes, even to past entries. So I have added an editor’s note in the entry indicating that the word should be changed to ‘crowned.’ (Good catch. That’s why you’re the professor and I’m not.)
Love the gold curtains!
Those BJC guys seem to have thought of everything to keep their Spirits happy. The curtains do add a measure of privacy as well as an abundance of elegance.
I don’t know where you used the word “coronated”, but I do believe that a Randitarian Starchitect has the right to be Coronated. Now that works!
I used the word in the entry on commemorative posters for the King. If you go back to that entry, you’ll see that a correction has been made. But your point about my use of the words starchitect and Randitarian has me thinking that maybe coronated can work. Starchitect is a pretty common word these days, but I think I made up the word ‘Randitarian.’ If my memory is correct, I believe that Ayn Rand wavered in her belief in Libertarianism. So I thought that she probably had her own view of how the political system should work – hence the creation of a word in her honour.