To commemorate the two of the world’s tallest Buddha statues destroyed over a decade ago by the Taliban in Bamiyan province, Afghanistan; Her Majesty the Queen of Thailand Sirikit, has outlined plans to build a 32-metre Buddha in Kanchanaburi province, about 100 kilometers west of Bangkok. The big Buddha statue, called Phra Phuttha Metta Prachathai Trailokkanart Khanthararat Anusorn will be installed on a 13-metre-high pedestal and will be housed inside the Thip Sukhontharam Temple grounds which cover a land area of 300 rai. The Buddha statue is going to be made up of a steel frame skeleton and covered by Gold-plated sheets. The whole project will take about four years to complete and will eventually be publicly open for Buddhist worship and as a tourist attraction.
The Crown Property Bureau, Government of Thailand has awarded AIT Consulting a Structural Peer Review project for the Buddha Statue, with Dr. PennungWanitchai, Associate Professor of Structural Engineering, AIT, as the main expert for the project.The main objectives of the work to be carried out will be to review the structural system and design of the steel skeleton in terms of safety and stability of the structural system and its foundation against various temperatures, extreme wind and earthquakes. The scope of work for this project includes Wind Tunnel Tests, structural analysis and design review which will be carried out using the current state-of-the-art in terms of methodologies, techniques, technologies and tools.
