Joachim Grassi (Italian spelling Gioachino, 1837 – 19 August 1904) was an Austrian (later French) architect of Italian descent who worked for the Siamese government in the late nineteenth century. He was among the first European architects employed by King
Chulalongkorn (Rama V), and contributed extensively to Siam (now known as Thailand)'s architecture, especially the Neo-Classic, during the time of its modernization.
Biography
Grassi was born in Capodistria under the
Austrian Empire (in present-day
Koper, Slovenia). He moved from Shanghai to Bangkok and in 1870 he joined Bonneville, a French timber merchant firm in Thailand. Outlook in timber business wasn't bright for him but before he decided to leave the country, he got the contract to build the Concordia Club - the first foreigner club in Bangkok.
Joachim Grassi married Lucie Nho in Siam and had three sons, Felix Auguste Grassi (1880), Eugène Cesar (1881-1941)[1] and Georges Raphael (1884). He received French nationality in 1883. Around 1875, Grassi Brothers & Co., his civil engineers company was established with his two brothers, Antonio and Giacomo Grassi, situated on Chaopraya river in Klongsarn area opposite of UK Embassy then,[2] providing architectural and construction services.
In 1893, amid the conflict between Thailand and France, he sold his company, Grassi Brothers & Co. to Mr. Edward Bonnevillie and went back to his home town in Capodistria. He married Amalia Stölker, sister of Julius Stölker one of the partners in Grassi Brother & Co. and had two children. Joachim Grassi died on August 19, 1904, at the age of 68 in Capodistria.
Works
Grassi Brothers & Co.'s architectural and construction achievements in Thailand include:[2]
Concordia Club, built around 1873 or earlier, the first (French) club in Siam, on Charoenkrung road near Rhongpasi lane, later changed to Hotel de la Prix and was long since demolished.
Bang Pa-in Palace (some of the buildings such as Warophat-Phiman throne hall (1872), Devaraj-Kunlai gate)
Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, 1888–1890, the first establishment on the mouth of Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, was demolished and now is the site of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel.
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abPittayawattanachai, Piriya (2011).
สถาปัตยกรรมของโยอาคิม กราซีในสยาม [The Architecture of Joachim Grassi in Siam] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Thai). Silpakorn University. Retrieved 23 December 2016.