Jim Thompson’s house also known to many as the House on the Klong (the waterway).
Jim Thompson was an architect, businessman and art collector who came to Bangkok in 1945 on a military service and immediately fell in love with the place. As soon as his service has finished he has already decided to make Thailand his home. Very quickly he entered the silk business that brought him fame and restored the Thai silk industry.
As an architect myself, I could see how Jim Thompson got started with this project and has created the space that will remain a little oasis in the current asphalt jungle.
Traveling through Thailand, Thompson discovered many excellently preserved Thai houses that he has decided to purchase. All of them were brought from different parts of the country, some of them dated back from 1800.
In a traditional Thai architecture, each house is elevated from the ground which protects against floods and wild animals. The distinctive steep roofs protect from the sun and rain. Traditionally the teak wood is used as it is widely available and most durable material.
The structure is usually brought to the side by barges, consisting of prefabricated elements like wooden pillars, gables, panel walls and all connected using wooden pegs instead of nails.
The usual house concept in Traditional Thai architecture consists of a covered veranda, raised into the platform, family room behind veranda and kitchen.
A distinctive feature is a threshold that serves as a construction element holding the structure together but also spiritually - protects a family from the evil spirits as well keeping small children safe inside the house.
The house on the Klong was construction project done by assembling 6 of these houses where each house acted as a separate room in western architectural meaning and Thompson used a very much different approach in arranging them than traditional Thai arrangement described above.
All the rooms were connected to suit his personal lifestyle.
The oldest and by far most stunning and breath-taking part of the house is the drawing room, brought from the weaving community in Ban Krua across from Klong. In this room, we can see many luxurious details incorporate into the interior especially lush silk that gives it special vibrant traditional look together with unique art pieces from Thompsons private collection.
Another distinctive feature in this room are the carved paneled walls, that Thompson reversed so that carving is facing interior rather than exterior.
Other rooms, the master bedroom, bathroom, entrance hall, dining room and connection hall were houses brought from Pak Hai village north of Ayutthaya.
The terrace that surrounds the drawing room was paved with bricks that were brought from Ayutthaya and the glazed green tiles set in the fence surrounding it was most likely brought on the barges as a ballast on rice boats from China in the 18th century.
In 1958 when the construction of the houses started it was unusual for the westerners and Thais to live in a traditional house. Mostly the new structures were desirable.
The house on the Klong was much bigger and challenging project than Thompson anticipated and even with his Architectural background and involvement of few local architects, for the final works he had to bring carpenters from the Ayutthaya where traditional houses were still built.
Over the years, few more houses were added on the far-left side, second guestroom and the small gallery for his collection of Thai paintings.
Each room is set as it was original, with displays of antiques of a man who had impeccable taste.
The most significant object displayed are blue and white porcelain, Chinese-ware from the Ming dynasty, Buddha statues, Chinese water jugs and lush chandeliers.
On March 23rd, 1967, 49 years ago, Jim Thompson left the house for a short holiday in Cameron Highlands, never to be back.
After an extensive search and many stories that wrapped the vail around his disappearance, he has left two legacies, The house on the Klong and restored Thai silk industry.
Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures of an interior, however, to find out more about it and see the original drawings please visit Jim Thompson house website