MEMORIAL OF

KING RAMA IX
// BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ
Bhumibol Adulyadej, youngest son of Mahidol Adulyadej,
born on 5th December 1927, in the United States. His father
died when he was an infant and his elder brother (9 at
that time) Ananda became the king. The mysterious death
of his brother made him the rightful owner of the throne
as the king of Thailand. During his reign, Thailands
economy boomed and achieved middle-income status and
the country took steps toward democracy. Bhumibol
experienced high levels of popularity and attained
immense levels of respect and people of Thailand
Worshipped him. Due to his declining health he died on
13th october 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.

DESIGN CONCEPT &

SITE PLAN
LOCATION: lake victoria, in between
SPATIAL TYPOLOGIES
of tanzania and uganda the spaces are designed to follow a linear
form TO PORTRAY THE KING'S JOURNEY OF HIS LIFE.
the spaces are organized in a way that each
and every turn in the design indicates a turn
in the life of king rama ix.

INSPIRATION
sansad bhawan
LOCATION:new delhi, india

The building is surrounded by large gardens

and the perimeter is fenced off by sandstone
railings(jail) modelled after the Great Stupa
of Sanchi.
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and it lies
mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya
as well.
The weather around the lake is very cool with the
temperature around 17-19C.
abundant rainfall as its at a highland compared to
the hot and dry climate in Tanzania and Uganda, which
makes it a very prominent location.
from afar.
 USER EXPERIENCE
7 1 ENTRANCE
where you experience his birth as the first
monarchy of their family, born in US.
2 COURTYARD
As the user enter the courtyard they start
experiencing his childhood, as they go
straight, it leads them to the path which
shows how he had a guiding light (his father)
1 2
ground
3 3 SHARP 90 DEGREE TURN
indicates the huge change in his life after the
floor 4 5 death of his father.
BIG SQUARE
1:200 User reaches another big square which feels
dark and cold. When they walk through the
other pathway, they experience that after the
death of his Father he turned himself to look
at things in a better light even when the times
weren't right. The turn portrays how he had to
let go off his passion, and the thing he loved
and move back to where he started again.
4 CONFUSION
6 Returning back to these places makes you
wonder how to get to the other side of the
maze.
secret door
leads you to the dark path in his life, which is
first still a mystery up until today.
floor guiding light
depicts his brothers guidance and presence in
his life which soon disappears.
5 dark path
shows how he has some deep and dark secrets
that relate to his brothers death. Even after
suffering through so much, he still comes back
strong and is to be crowned the king as he is
the rightful heir to the throne after his brother.
6 small opening
shows the user the cold and empty square they
were at before.
two ways
One is well lit up and gives you a sense of
happiness but, as you follow it, you reach dead
end.
7 dead end
shows how he wants to follow his dreams and
study science but is forced to study Social
studies and politics in order to fulfil his duties
as the ruler of the nation.
staircase
lead to a beautiful altar which is very big and
spacious. This space gives you a feel of his
period as the King of Thailand. Made of all glass
and gives you a view to the beautiful statues.
Another set of stairs leading you up shows you
how he jumped many hurdles to reach the top and
be worshipped by the Thai people. Being at the top
gives you a complete and undisturbed view, it
shows how he was overpowering everything and
was the soul focus of the people. They looked up
to him for everything.
The staircase down brings you back to the
ground level. It shows how a great decline in
his health caused his death.
 SPATIAL POETICS
ADMIRATION
Gives a sense of being in the spotlight and the
tiny little spot lights create a sort of rhythm.
It makes the user experience the beauty of a
closed and empty space that still looks so
beautiful even when its dark with only some
tiny source of sunlight. After the death of his
Father, music was what King Rama has turned
himself to, to let go off the loneliness and
negative things in his life.
and want to experience the view that the other side of
CONFUSION
Returning back to the same space again and again
causes a confusion, as the user is trying to figure out
how he could get to the other side of the structure,
where he sees the huge walls and there is a sort of
anticipation to know whats more to explore. As the
view is controlled or blocked in a way that he cant
see beyond the tall concrete walls, the user keeps
returning back to the same courtyard, its confusing
as to what more could be around that he missed the
first time he was around here. Its a way to show how
there was so much confusion in his early life, where he
had to keep moving back and forth between Thailand
and Switzerland due to his familys personal issues.
mysterious
When the user enters this dark space, its really a
mystery as to what the maze holds further in the
dark. Its closed without any source of light to
guide you through the path.
It portrays his character before he became the king.
It shows how his brothers death and him being
crowned the king is still a mystery.
determination
The user then will reach a turning point which has 2
ways, one of them leads to a dead end, but the other
way is difficult and needs more will power to
follow. As the user still feels confined in the space
the walls have to offer, it makes him feel determined
to go down the stairs and find out what more the
maze has to offer.
EMPOWERING
throughout his reign he was worshipped by the people
in Thailand. He was very powerful and this good
attitude and his will to help the people of Thailand
was what made him a empowering character that is
lively in the hearts of Thai people even today.
The single tall wall and the height at which the
particular space is placed, makes it look like the
space holds a lot of importance. The tall walls makes
the user feel protected and also when he turns back
and look at the stairs is when he realises what he had
to overcome to reach the top. The view from the top
would make the user experience power.
 elevations 1:100

sections 1:50