DRIVEN-MECHANISM FOR LOCAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION: SAMSHUK OLD MARKET DISTRICT, SUPHANBURI, THAILAND

Abstract

Samshuk old market district typically expresses how, in our grand (grand) father generation, the commercial area had been settled and evolved and it represents the unique architectural and urban character where had existed in many canalbased cities overall the central region of Thailand. Nowadays, influenced by modernization, many of them have been changed and demolished. To survive such a built environment, local community at Samshuk has rigorously attempted promoting out the conservation and heritage agenda to public sphere. This attempt has brought some positive changes – the emerging mechanisms to survive local heritage. The paper would discuss on two issues. Firstly, it is the supporting mechanism appeared since many inputs and activities have been addressed, but chaotic and unorganized. Based on the authors’ direct experiences and participatory observation as well as action, there have been three levels of mechanism embracing and steering conservation process. Secondly, therefore, the bridging networks and partnerships among local and district authorities, professional/academic institutes, and NGOs, have become a platform of longterm working mechanism on which the conservation plan relies. We hope that this illustrated scenario could be, somehow a small step to begin on local heritage protection and shed the further light as another experience to locally initiate the urban and architectural conservation and could be contributed to conservation paradigm and theory, especially in Third World country’s local political context.