Joachim Grassi

Joachim Grassi
Born1837 (1837)
Capodistria (present-day Koper, Slovenia)
Died19 August 1904(1904-08-19) (aged 67)
Capodistria
NationalityAustrian, French (naturalized)
OccupationArchitect
Spouses
  • Lucie Nho
  • Amalia Stölker
Children5

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 the Chao Phraya River in Khlong San area opposite of the British 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]

Other works:

  • Siam River Steamboat Company
  • Railway in Singapore
  • Antonio Grassi's tomb monument in Koper, Slovenia, 1887
  • Irrigation System Plan for Chaopraya river basin under Siam Lands, Canal and Irrigation Co., Ltd.[1]
  • Rangsit Prayurasakdi Canal construction,1890
  • Railway in Malacca, 1898

References

  1. ^ a b The Siamese Composer Eugène Cinda Grassi Bangkok 1881- Paris 1941 by Philippe de Lustrac. https://tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JUCR/article/download/20326/17657/
  2. ^ a b Pittayawattanachai, Piriya (2011). สถาปัตยกรรมของโยอาคิม กราซีในสยาม [The Architecture of Joachim Grassi in Siam] (PDF) (Thesis) (in Thai). Silpakorn University. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  3. ^ Citrinot, Luc (2018-08-24). "The Joachim Grassi Effect". Bangkok 101. Retrieved 2019-07-01.