PHRAE: A blueprint is being drawn up to help piece together the intricate restoration jigsaw of a 131-year-old trading post which was recently torn down, according to the Fine Arts Department.
The Fine Arts Office 7, based in Chiang Mai, posted on its Facebook that specialists have come up with a detailed plan to rebuild the house. What is left of the wooden items, including the decorative pieces, have been labelled and numbered and a note has been made of pieces that are missing.
Experts are also collecting old documents which record measurements of the key structures of the house to map out the restoration work, according to the post.
The work requires examining the fine details of the house using photos of the house before it was knocked down.
Remaining wood from the house is being kept in a safe place.
The building was an office that belonged to the Bombay Burmah Trading Company, which was granted a logging concession in the western Yom River in 1889.
It is located in Ban Chetawan of Muang district.
The first storey constructed from cement and teak wood was torn down earlier as part of a restoration project for a forestry learning centre on the grounds of the Chetawan Arboretum.
The demolition earlier this month sparked a public outcry with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha issuing an order to put the house back together.
The provincial fine arts office, meanwhile, has declared the area around the rebuilding site off-limits to the general public.
It was alleged previously that some of the wood from the colonial-style house was stolen and sold to a local wood dealer, who denied it and produced evidence that he bought his inventory legally from auctions.
Last week, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has formed a panel to probe officials linked to the disbursement of state budget to finance the demolition. He vowed to order serious disciplinary action against any officials who broke regulations.
Mr Varawut said earlier that he was told by DNP director-general Thanya Netithammakun that the building's concrete foundations were in a state of disrepair and needed to be redone to make the structure safe to use again.
Mr Varawut said the DNP meant well in trying to give the building a new lease of life and he believed the restoration team will be able to restore it to look like the original structure to address public concerns about the loss of such a key piece of history.