April_1967 — Page 26

THAILAND

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ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

、 eventual academic enrolment of 1,200 students and a faculty of 100 are envisaged for the Asian In- stitute of Technology in Bangkok. formerly the SEATO Graduate School of Engineering. To meet these aims a long range development plan has been drawn up to provide for the or- derly physical growth of the institute.

The requirements of the develop- ment committee were that this plan must be "aesthetically pleasing, finan- cially feasible, adaptable to the climatic and topographic conditions of the site, and flexible to allow for modification and expansion.”

An area of 400 acres has been earmarked as the site for the tech- nology complex.

As this is in a tropical zone a scheme has been evolved in which all academic. lecture and laboratory elements are connected to each other by a system of covered walks to pro- vide protection from the heat and the Sun. The buildings too are staggered to take advantage of the prevailing breeze.

Most of the structures are orien- tated with their lateral sides facing towards north and south. To meet the economic conditions, without sacrific- ing the functional aspects of each building. the architecture chosen is contemporary in character with em- phasis on simplicity.

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The academic core of the campus comprises the instruction and search facilities, so spaced as to pro- vide access from one unit to another within a reasonable walking time along the covered walkways.

The academic structures are group- ed around a rectangular court while laboratories and shops are in another adjacent court.

by Federico S. Ilustre, consulting architect

The technical library is separated from the noise of the international centre and is centrally located be- tween the academic and laboratory groups for easy accessibility.

All the buildings will be of one to three storeys with the exception of the library and the International House. The latter will include a high- rise tower, with hotel rooms which will serve as the architectural focus of the whole complex.

Traffic within the site will be limited and only one major road cir- culation is planned in order to en- courage walking and the use of hi- cycles.

Students dormitories for both sexes are provided on one side of the campus and single-family housing for the faculty is assigned to the opposite side. The students dormitories are within a short walking distance from

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Layout of institute and living quarters

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the International House and can- teen, the library, classrooms laboratory buildings.

The shopping and marketing area, to be managed by private concession- aires. is completely segregated and is placed on the north side of the cam- pus. On the opposite side will be the athletic and recreation areas.

Landscaping will make full use of the lush local tropical plants and flowers so that the original site of ricefields will be transformed into a virtual botanical garden.

The planners attach great im- portance to the type of development allowed in the vicinity of the institute and are collaborating with the Gov- ernment of Thailand to ensure that the surrounding areas acquire "en- vironmental compatibility" and grow in accordance with an overall plan for a model community.

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Far East Architect & Builder April, 1967