Thailand: The houses of a Khun village in Chiang Mai

The aims of this chapter are to understand the spatial characteristics of Khun houses and villages from architectural and ethnographic points of view and to consider the ways in which their houses are built to adapt to the climate. Khun is ethno-linguistically classified into the Tai-Kadai language family. They migrated from Myanmar and settled in the outskirt of Chiang Mai, the most famous old city of Northern Thailand. Khun are known for their dedicated practice of Theravada Buddhism, and active wet paddy rice cultivation is their common livelihood. The house space also has close relationship with them. This chapter shows how their houses are organized according to livelihood, religion, and other cultural features. First, the form and the spatial organization of the house will be described. Second, a typological analysis of the house from the viewpoint of gender relationships and invisible order will be made. Lastly, the most efficient way to adapt the houses to the tropical monsoon climate will be considered.