Photos: © Rainer Viertlboeck / © Spaceshift Studio / Pirak Anurakyawachon, Aranyarat Prathomra / © Leeser Architecture
In 1782, Bangkok became the capital of Siam – as Thailand was previously known. Its strategic position within the protective curve of Chao Phraya River to the West and the vast, swampy delta of the Sea of Mud that secured the city to the East was key. King Rama I modelled the new city on what had been the urban reference of Thailand since the 14th century: Ayutthaya, which by 1700 had become the largest city in the world with a total of 1 million inhabitants.