World record-setting statue to take pride of place in landmark
Story by SUPOJ WANCHAROEN
In a matter of months, the world's largest golden Buddha statue, Luang Por Thongkham, at Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram in Chinatown, will be moved to a bigger, grander hall which is set to be a new city landmark.
The new hall, which costs 580 million baht, is part of the government's celebrations of His Majesty the King's 80th birthday last year.
Part of the funding for the new hall, which will be completed in September, is from private donors, while 250 million baht was allocated by the Surayud Chulanont government, and 70 million baht came from the temple.
Luang Por Thongkham Phra Buddhamaha Suwanpatimakorn entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1991 as the world's largest golden Buddha statue, with an estimated value of 1.8 billion baht.
The 700-year-old statue is an impressive 4.5 metres tall, weighs 5.5 tonnes and is made of solid gold, sculpted in the graceful Sukhothai style. The lap of the Buddha is about 3.78m wide.
The statue is now housed in a two-storey wooden building, built in 1946, which is in need of repair.
The new hall, designed by Arvuth Ngernchuklin, is a four-storey building which spans more than 20,000 square metres and accommodates exhibition space and conference facilities.
Group Captain Arvuth is a National Artist and an architect who is overseeing the building of the late Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana's crematorium at Sanam Luang.
The foundation piles for the new hall were laid in May last year.
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| Group Captain Arvuth Ngernchuklin, a National Artist and the architect of the new hall for Luang Por Thongkham, inspects the structure at Wat Trai Mit Witthayaram. Above picture is an illustration of the new hall. — PAWAT LAOPAISARNTAKSIN |
"The concrete building will be covered with marble and contain bronze decorations. It is 30m wide, 60m long and 60m high," he said.
"The first floor will house a conference room. A permanent exhibition on Chinatown will be on display on the second floor. The third floor will feature an exhibition about Luang Phor Thongkham, while the statue will be housed on the top floor."
It was believed the statue was made for Wat Mahathat of Sukhothai during the Sukhothai era before it was transported, alongside many other Buddha statues, to Bangkok in the reign of King Rama I.
According to Group Captain Arvuth, the new hall has elevators and ramps to enable people in wheelchairs and the elderly to pay respects to the statue.
"The statue will be placed at the centre of the hall so that worshippers can walk around it," he said.
This is a change from the original position in which the statue is traditionally placed against a wall.
"The room is decorated in the same Sukhothai style as the statue. The decorations will, however, not be too lavish, to allow the statue to stand out," said Group Captain Arvuth.
Marble, which was imported from Italy, was chosen for its durability, he said, and bronze is a raw material chosen for decorations because it offers a smoother surface than ceramic.
Group Captain Arvuth confirmed the building would be ready for the opening ceremony this December to coincide with His Majesty's 81st birthday.
Structural construction is now 90% complete, and 20% of the internal decoration had been finished.
Prawit Kittipongpairoj, of Project Planning Service Co, a consultant for the project, said the statue would be moved to the new site on September 9.
A metal rail would be constructed to join the old and new sites. After a test run, the statue will be moved.
Although the statue can be broken down into nine parts, Mr Prawit said the whole statue would be wrapped in foam and placed in the metal structure, with protective wooden sheets placed in between.
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