"Elephant tower" by Jarcje is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
The Elephant Building or Chang Building stands 32 stories high in Bangkok, Thailand. With such a large representation, it should come as no surprise that the elephant is Thailand’s national animal.
Revered in the Buddhist tradition, elephants also played an integral role in industry and agriculture. Featured on some of the national flags, many provinces still depict the elephant on their seals.
White elephants were held sacred and given to royalty. An interesting Thai practice is said to be the source of white elephant gift exchanges. Because white elephants were so revered they could not be employed as other elephants were and had to simply be cared for, which can be expensive. So white elephants were given to one’s rivals as a gift, forcing the caretaking responsibilities on them!
Despite the playfulness of the eye and tusk which lend an almost cartoon-like quality to the Elephant Building, it possesses an imposing feel reminiscent of brutalist architecture. This building also feels like a maverick, as the majority of Thai architecture is moving from its traditional roots to a more contemporary expression.
For more interesting Thai architecture, see my other posts here.
