Asdangkawan. History of Thai Landscape Architecture analyzes the history and the physical remains of Asdangkawan, an approximately 1,000-rai (160 ha) park created during the reign of King Rama V, on Sichang Island, Chonburi Province. Constructed in conjunction with the establishment of the Chudadhuj royal palace on the island, Asdangkawan was intended to be a recreational park for visitors and locals alike. Construction took place over the course of a few months in 1891, leading to the formal opening of the park in August of that year. Archival research and site visits reveal that there are three components in Asdangkawan : natural features; buildings and structures; and gardens and plants. Place names were given by King Rama V after the names and titles of royal family members and the noblemen who were at Sichang at that time. After the Franco-Siamese crisis of 1893, construction of Asdangkawan suddenly stopped. Without much physical structure to begin with, the remains of Asdangkawan quickly disappeared, accelerated greatly by later urbanization. After a thorough documentation of physical traces of Asdangkawan, the research proposes various strategies for further study and conservation of this important evidence of Thai landscape architecture.
