ACADEMIC JOURNAL of ARCHITECTURE

Housing Finance Mechanism in Thailand: An Overview of Formal, Semi-formal and Informal System

Bussara Povatong — 2024-06-21

The research aims to study the overview and problems of housing finance mechanism in Thailand, and to make recommendations for its future development. Documentary research methods were applied for the research, including data gathering from various relevant sources and participation of meetings. Content analysis and the CATWOE technique were applied in the research for data analyses. The research reveals that there are three main systems of housing finance mechanisms in Thailand: formal, semi-formal, and informal. The three systems differ in terms of lenders’ characteristics, funding sources, lending targets, and loan conditions. The main problems of housing financing are: (a) insufficient loans for all house buyers’ demand; (b) credit terms which exclude many people; and (c) household qualifications that do not meet the banks’ requirements. The major recommendation is that the government should issue a savings promotion policy that integrates all three systems of housing finance mechanisms, starting from household- savings level. It should develop a long-term housing loan system, with special terms and conditions. It should also initiate measures for housing development, either as rental or rent-to-buy, with cooperation between local authorities, the private sectors, and communities. This research contributes to the making of housing policy that allows access for all to loan sources for affordable housing.

Influences of Factors in Facility Management Affecting the Well-being of Condominium Residents

Vasana Duangdee — 2024-06-21

The objective of this research was to Influences facility management factors affecting the well-being of condominium residents, as well as to compare the health needs of condominium residents classified by demographic characteristics. The researchers divided the study into three aspects: central property management, administration, and social aspects and cultural activities. This research employed a quantitative approach using questionnaire data collection methods from people living in condominiums in the Bangkok area. Statistical data analysis utilized descriptive statistics to portray the population characteristics of the samples, Factor Analysis to group related factors, and Multiple Regression Analysis to describe facility management factors influencing the well-being of condominium residents. The findings indicated that administrative aspects were the most influential factors in facility management affecting the well-being of condominium residents, followed by central asset management and the final aspect is social aspects and cultural activities.

Memorial of Phupan Battlefields: The Participatory Process in Design and Meaning Convey of the Bru Ethnic Group in Dong Luang

Piya Pornpattamapinyo — 2024-06-21

This article aims to 1) study the design process through participation in the design of memorial, with a case study of the Dong Luang memorial project in Dong Luang district, Mukdahan province. It also includes an examination of challenges, obstacles, and success factors in the design process 2) study the meaning conveyed by architecture through participation, suitable for the context of the Bru ethnic group's collaborative with Communist Party in Dong Luang, using a Participatory Action Research approach where researchers are involved in the design team.

The study found that project design was satisfactory to all parties involved, and success factors in the participatory design process included two-way communication of high quality, achieved through the selection of media relevant to the participants, including the location, individuals, and activities. This led to clear design questions and guided the design direction, facilitating the continuous development of details design.

Additionally, it was observed that the meaning convey is a continuous process from initiating essential designing program, engaging in collaborative design obtaining feedback, to activities that involve users in the construction process. Consistent meaning conveyed throughout the participatory design process could help architects develop the abstract design program to the tangible construction that allow users to perceive the intended meaning of architecture.

Analysis of Differences in Factors that Supporting Home Purchase Decision of Home Buyers at 39th -43rd House and Condo Expo: Before and after the Emergence of COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

Yuwadee siri — 2024-06-21

This research aims to compare homebuyers' behavior and support factors for decision-making before and after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The key question is whether the pandemic has changed homebuyers' behavior and decision-making process. Statistical analysis is used to examine the relationship between variables affecting the purchase decision before and after the pandemic. The data is collected from questionnaires administered by the Real Estate Information Center, Government Housing Bank, to 1,081 homebuyers at the 39th-43rd House and Condo expo.

The results of the study found that there was inconsiderable difference in behavior related to attribute information such as the gender of house buyers. Before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the proportion of buyers was higher than after the COVID-19 occurred. The results found that before the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, the majority of buyers were males in the age under 30 years and more interested in buying condominiums than other types of housing. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, it was found that the majority of buyers were female in the age between 31 to 40 years and more interested in buying townhouses than other types of housing. When considering the variables related to factors supporting home purchases before and after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, by sorting the factors with the highest importance to the factors with the least importance, it was found that the location factor is the most important. Secondly were services, pricing, and credit factors respectively. When considering all aspects of information, conclusions are shown that before and after the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, gender does not affect changed. However, it was found that the residential style has changed mainly from condominiums to townhouse and the age range with a higher average age of home purchaser effect in the same direction as the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. That is, when most people have to change their behavior to work from home, there is an increased demand for usable space for working at home.