Science and Art Thai Craftsmanship |105
• With a sloping triangular shaped head and tail, a hip roof Pan Ya
has a very strong roof structure, resistible to rain, wind or storm.
Southern Style Ruean Thai
Because of heavy rainfalls and frequent floods, Thai houses in
the Southern part of Thailand are also built with elevated floor. In the
monsoon season, current will flow through the basement. The foundation
is built using wooden or stone pads to support pillars, it helps preventing
the pillars’ decay. There are three types of roofs: gable, Panya (hip
roof), and Manila gable roof which is mostly found in Pattani. It is a roof
combining the style of a hip roof with a gable roof to ventilate well.
The cultural diversity in the South makes the Southern houses unique
in terms of people in the society, such as Buddhist houses in Surat
Thani province, Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Phatthalung province
and Songkhla province are often built with gable roofs. Thai Muslim
houses, in contrast, are built with hip roofs and gable roofs because the
roof structure of these type is very strong and can withstand rain and
wind or even typhoon which usually facing in the lower South, such as
pattani province, Narathiwat province and Yala province.
Different Thai houses in each region show the wisdom to live
with nature. People build their house based on geographical condition
and adapt with the environment by using easy-to-find materials local
materials, in line with their beliefs and popularity in the society, leading
to the local identity of various Thai houses.