Thailand’s universities aren’t usually repositories for interesting architecture, but Silpakorn, the country’s premier art school, breaks the mold. The classical-style buildings form the charming nucleus of what was an early Thai aristocratic enclave, and a traditional artistic temperament still survives.
The building immediately facing the Th Na Phra Lan gate was once part of a palace and now houses the Silpakorn University Art Centre. To the right of the building is a shady sculpture garden displaying the work of Corrado Feroci (also known as Silpa Bhirasri), the Italian art professor and sculptor who came to Thailand at royal request in the 1920s. He later established the university (which is named after him) and sculpted parts of the Democracy Monument, and, to his annoyance, the Victory Monument.
