Architecture

Appropriately named royal architecture relates mainly to royal palaces, royal mansions and other royal residential and non-residential working buildings, as well as royal wats known as 'Wat Luang'.

Royal houses and mansions are typically a mixture of Thai wat, traditional Thai house style and western architecture. Teak wood is the main structural material of such buildings, giving them their distinctive rich red color. The doors and windows usually have ornate pediments and frames, which are sometimes decorated in gilt bronze. Like the Thai wat, the roof of the royal building will have a chofar and normally the roof tiles are made of finest teak wood.

The 'red house' at the National Museum in Bangkok is a typical royal house and a good example of Thai royal architecture. Royal wats can be identified by the prefixes of Rat, Raja or Racha in their names. There are only 186 such wats under royal patronage in the whole of the country.

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