Museum Siam Auditorium Building

Museum Siam's main exhibition building, the previous Thailand Ministry of Commerce building, is a conservation building located in one of the historic conservation districts of Bangkok. Previous archeology excavations at this project site found archeology artifacts under the ground; thus, the requirement to have an on-site archeology exhibition gallery is a part of the Auditorium building's functional areas.

The first and the second floors are exhibition galleries; the third floor is the auditorium which requires a long-span structure. At the auditorium lobby on the third floor, visitors can see Phra Prang of Wat Arun Ratchawararam (Temple of Dawn) on the west of the Chao Phraya River, the skylines of Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho), and the skylines of Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram (Wat Phra Kaew) at its north.

The design aims to make the auditorium building's appearance harmonize with the existing main exhibition building to blend into and strengthen the place's unique character and ambiance. Thus the architectural elements and colors of the auditorium building are formed to resemble those of the main exhibition building.

The auditorium building is a reinforced concrete structure; exterior materials are terra-cotta tiles, painted plaster, and low-E glass with powder-coated aluminum frames; interior materials are terra-cotta tiles, wood, local fabric woven carpets, and painted plaster.

Apart from strengthening the place's architectural character, this new building gives its place a significant visual relationship to its surrounding.