Sappaya-Sapasathan (Parliament House)

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Meeting place of the National Assembly of Thailand and world's largest parliament building, Sappaya-Sapasathan​

The meeting compound of the Thai National Assembly, Sappaya-Sapasathan, itself is an indicative example of Socialist Republic confederal coordination. That massive building situated on the river east bank is more a voluntary meeting place for provincial government representatives and federated Community Assemblies rather than an office of central power. The eleven-story building and 424,000 square-meter floor space have a number of areas devoted to public participation, parliamentary discussion, and community coordination.

Images representing the fundamental ideas of Thai socialism and the country's transition to communism in the past are widely incorporated in interior and architecture. The murals and sculptures inside the building underscore the revolutionary break of 1998 and show the historical struggle of the Thai proletariat against feudal oppression and capitalist exploitation. The old motifs of monarchy or bourgeois capital accumulation are replaced by symbols of communal ownership, worker unity, and the Labor Theory of Value. Photos of various workers who are part of cooperatives and take part in democratic planning highlight how interdependent labor is the basis of the economic system.

Principal rooms in Sappaya-Sapasathan, like the main assembly rooms of the Hall of the Sun and the Hall of the Moon, are constructed to help delegates coordinate and negotiate. Seminar rooms and adjacent offices are supporting the work of the working groups and committees of the National Assembly with such topics as the confederally agreed concept of foreign policy, socialist economy, and the armed forces. To further strengthen the relationship between the coordinating assembly and the people it speaks for, public areas such as museums and a convention center are meant to be used for political education, socialist values-based cultural promotion, and general social functions. The correlation of the physical building with the digital infrastructure of democratic government is made possible through the availability of space for public observers and digital integration, which increases transparency and participatory engagement.​

 

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Meeting place of Thailand's lower house​

The Hall of the Sun, as the directly elected chamber, is in Sappaya-Sapasathan. The entrance to the Hall leads into an area representing the ideals of communal harmony and participatory democracy. The dominating feature is the massive, high, domed ceiling made up of laboriously placed wooden panels that form concentric circles sloping gently downwards. The Hall's function as a meeting point for delegates selected from the broader population, affirmed visually by this design element.

With rows of seats arranged in sweeping curves and facing a focal point at the center in front, the space is arranged like a grand auditorium. Every representative has a small desk and electronic console in their station, an interface to the digital government system. A gigantic, rectangular panel in metallic gold color dominates the center of the wall. A portrait of Karl Marx, a strong symbol supported by the profound ideological origins of Thai Socialism and the revolutionary course the Republic has pursued towards communism, is displayed on this golden panel.

Two digital display screens flank the central golden panel. Providing for deliberations and voting in the Hall to be informed by and responsive to citizen conversation and national public debate, connectivity of the screens to consoles of the representatives enables a participatory engagement between citizens and the electoral body, enacting the Hall's constitutional function of providing expression of varied citizen opinion and stimulating confederal discussion.

The Hall of the Sun is a significant tool for holding the Rotating Coordinator and the Council of Ministers accountable. It is here that the meetings of the 600 members who are elected by proportional representation are held. Its physical design, drawn from the socialist ideology's symbolic core and extended by cutting-edge digital technology, supports vigorous debate, reflection, and the expression of diverse viewpoints requisite to successful national coordination in Thailand's confederal system. It is a space for the shared discussion and projection of the nation's future, based on the will of the people and the ideals of the Revolution, and not by the use of centralized power.​

 

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Meeting place of Thailand's upper house​

Thailand's Sappaya-Sapasathan Hall of the Moon is the National Assembly's upper house, mirroring the views of the provincial governments and having deliberative oversight. It features a massive, domed ceiling with an unusual, ribbed design that gives a textured, wavy appearance in soothing light grey color. The design is meant to mirror the assembly's deliberate, tiered nature along with its interconnection. Leveled seating swept out in grand curves toward a podium. The electronic console and compact desk that every seat contains bring digital government technology into the built environment.

A platform elevated on an eminence, the center point for presentations and dialogue, precedes the hall. There is a prominent, large wooden-like board behind this platform. A formally mounted picture of Chuan Leekpai, Thailand's very first prime minister in the Republic and the founding father of the Socialist Republic, is centered on such a board. His presence here is symbolic, in recognition of his strategic position in the peaceful and orderly transfer from monarchy to the current socialist system.

Two large screens frame the stage area. They project proper information, propose a confederal setup, and live data feeds guiding policy discussions. The design of the Hall of the Moon is to provide for its constitutionally necessary functions of carrying out careful consideration of outstanding confederal proposals, the provincial governments' voice in the National Assembly, and a site for discussion and arriving at consensus about confederal blueprints. The cooperative spirit of Thailand's voluntary league of communes is embodied here, wherein provincial voices come together to establish national coordination and ensure that high-level policies consider the pragmatic concerns of the region and the general will.​

 

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Thai Parliament's People's Square​

The People's Square at Sappaya-Sapasathan National Assembly building is a physical, dynamic manifestation of the country's socialist participatory democracy. The large, specified zone acts as a necessary channel between the Thai citizenry and government officials, along with their coordinating officials, members of the Hall of the Sun and Hall of the Moon. People's Square is the reflection of the design of Sappaya-Sapasathan as a people's center rather than a remote throne of power, so that the ones who manage national coordination are always available and accountable to those whom they should represent.

The open People's Square was purposefully designed to break down hierarchy. This assists in enabling individuals to enter into politics as it is provided with facilities: ample dining areas providing fresh foods made available from worker cooperatives, clean accessible sanitary bathrooms and comfortable lounges to enable convenient places for individuals to informally discuss anything of policy significance and can easily present an idea, exchange opinion or voice concern regarding policies being proposed without intimidation, but an atmosphere where civil input will be warmly welcomed through participative engagement.

This square emphasizes the constitutional fact that power arises from the bottom up from the Community Assemblies. Representatives and officials themselves often visit the People's Square, addressing people as fellow citizens, urging collective activities. Electronic interfaces allow citizens to track representatives' itineraries and public forums for instant feedback. The design is in ideal harmony with the building's overall ethos, reflecting transparency and echoing the use of technology to augment human connection. The People's Square is an indispensable element of Thailand's innovative decentralized, participatory system of government, and is more than a waiting area. It is a fertile marketplace of ideas.​