Formal language of Lanna Shop House’s Façade in Lampang Old city, Thailand

This article aims to presents ‘the formal architectural language of Lanna Designs” that is a linguistic paradigm for decrypt the linguistic system which is hidden in the Lanna façade style. Lanna Designs present an identity of vital ordered and crucial articulated formal language which inherently set of mathematical rules for the arrangement of ornaments. The scope of this article is attempted to the morphology of façades of the ten shop houses which located in Lampang Old city and have familiar proportion and style. In this article, the sampling of façade buildings required proportion as three-stall and two-story with familiar style. The morphology is described based on terms of a symbolic encoding system that is represented as graphically building grammar. The system helps to emphasize commonalities in façade languages and propose a prototype of identified Lanna façade design. This methodology might be the option for decrypt or study in every facades style.


Introduction
This article attempts to decrypt the linguistic of façade which has style as Lanna design. It is suggested that the paradigm of computational representations in linguistic [1]. Furthermore, many of research attempt to expand their applicability to explain architectural language composition, Eilouti [2] is describes the FSA method which could define the style of Palladio's design. The selected method has been represented by a string recognition device that is known as a finite state automaton. The concept underlying this automaton is borrowed from formal language studies. However, the advantages of formal language techniques to explain architectural language composition are still explored.
The Formal language is the regular language which represents the simplest form of language definition and process. The device is known as a finite state automaton (FSA). They consist of string (words) constructed from given alphabet of symbols (letters). It is a simple device to use defines to help classify strings into languages. A finite state automaton is an especially simple device to understand the language. Raksawin [5] is explains about Lanna shop house's façade study which emphasizes only regionalism style. The method essential concerns about using a part of finite state automaton to decrypt the formal language of Lanna façade by the comparative relation with Eilouti method, [5]. Lanna shop house had classified by building physical in regionalism style, [6]. The building generally had two layers of the façade building; Inner façade and Outer facade. In this article will concern to study in two layers of façades.
Raksawin [5] ensured that this process could adapt to use to explain the formal language of Lanna Façade as the same of FSA. The essential of this method is classified alphabet of the symbol into language based on terms of symbolic encoding system to represent as graphically building grammar. Moreover, this methodology could increase research boundary such as the meticulous elements of façade. By this newly methodology could be made a wider explore of façade study.

Context
Lanna Kingdom [8] (late 13 th -16 th centuries) was situated in the north of Thailand with Chiang Mai as the center of the state. The northern area of Thailand used to be a majority part of Lanna and cover around 18 percent of the country's land now is divided into nine provinces. Lampang Old City was one of the province which extremely important to the Lanna Kingdom before colonized by Siam or Kingdom of Thailand [1], [9]. By conservation of Natural and Cultural Environment centre was specified the conservation area for Lampang. The area is about 3.806 square kilometres which are located in Lampang three era areas. In the first era, it started on 13 B.E. the urban city was designed as a conch shell shape in the upper north of the land. The urban design was influenced by Hariphunchai (Former name of Lamphun province) urban city. On 1845 B.E., the second era, the ruler of Lampang decided to expand the area to the south of the land where close to Wung River for start merchandising with other countries. The last era, began in 2325 B.E. the land expand to other side of river and prepare for train route which is appeared for connected Lanna with Siam (former name of Kingdom of Thailand). From the crucial history of this area, Conservation of Natural and Cultural Environment center is firstly chosen from its rich historical context as the Lanna building style and cultural diversity. Since 2420 B.E. [6] Lampang was the vital trade route along Wung River which was the most important river for forest concession process and trading with Burma Chan Yunan and Keng Tung.

The methodology
In this article examine the formal language of Lanna Shophouses Façade by encoding system which is a part of the idea of Finite state automata, it is a regular language. [5] The methodology to study Lanna Shop house facade has five stages of them.

Define style of sampling and Extrapolation and Digitizing sampling
Firstly, the definition the physical of Lanna Shop house building [5] and choose the sampling which has familiar proportion and style. Extrapolation and Digitizing are the methods to transfer the cross-referenced data by using a CAD program, [10]. The digitized drawings of individual shop houses within Lampang Old City area then form the empirical basis for the study. 3

.3 Define Q -line
This part aims to divide the façade area in vertical line. Define Q-line in four levels by considering from the edge of building and column [5]. The Q -line will start at Q1 -Q2 and will return to Q1 if the element which appears does not change. However, the system will continue to Q3 if the element has changed to other style or completely change the element.
3.4 Define symbol of each façade elements This part aims to divide the façade elements in the symbol. The symbol consists of letter and number of each element. For example, W1 = wall with 1 window.
3.5 Translate symbol by string system This part is considered to encode the façade elements to the symbol. For example;

The Lanna Design Study Sample
For the purpose of this study, the scope of analysis is limited to the design of Lanna Shop house's façade which chosen from [4] The Preference studies of Lampang Shop house façades. In this Thesis, the criterion to chosen sampling was first chosen the similar proportion which was three-stall and twostory building. Definition about Lanna shop house style [7] that people realized the building as regionalism style with a height of the building that is not more than two-story. Many of the Lanna Shop houses have styles [8] of simple stores and Chinese commercial buildings were merged, becoming a single-or-two-storey terraced building of two-three units. The wooden floor was slightly raised. The wall was composed of wood planks. The gable roof or hip roof was covered with corrugated zinc steel sheets, baked clay tiles (Din khor) or kite-shaped tiles. Otherwise, there is a terraced house built with reinforced concrete and lime. Hip roofs can be found together with hip roofs can be found together with other forms. Stucco is mostly used to adorn the protruding balcony and other parts like vent, façade, beam, pole, and capital. It has the same style of Saranai building which was design mix between Chinese and early Victorian (Gingerbread House) architectural style with carved wood decorations. In the following section, the methodology introduced in the previous section will be applied to selected Lanna facades to present their formal language. As such, façades of the ten buildings will be analysed according to their lexical structure and encoded in the form of formal language.

The Lanna Façade Language
The architecture elements appearing on the Lanna Shop house façade style display completely of all elements of a formal language that can be assembled into a finite alphabet and a finite set of composition rule. The major of this part will be to encode the elements of Lanna façade design. The main vocabulary elements shared by the facades of Lanna consist of wall units, columns, terrace, roofs and sculpture units.

Results and discussions
In this section, selected ten Lanna façade building will be represented by encoded symbols. For each Lanna façade, encoded diagram will be illustrated. This representation will describe the Lanna language of façade compositions.

Conclusions
From the results, the ten of Lanna façades style which located in Lampang Old city are shown the familiar of elements. From the formal language of Lanna façade, it could conclude that the external façade had less ornament than internal façade. Some of elements appear as terrace (RA), eave (E) and awning (CA). It could summarize that Lanna façade always has terrace with concrete railing (RA1) on outer façade. In the inner façade, the walls with one door (W3) and void unit (V4) have many styles of doors more than other wall unit and void unit. It could discuss that door and void style are not significant for briefly as Lanna style. In both of façade layers, it could summarize that concrete column (C2) was the most popular element more than wood column (C3). Lanna façade was divided roof style (R) in two types otherwise, tile roof was preferable. Finally, A encoded system which comparative relation with FSA method can decrypt the formal language in clearly symbol and can representation and demonstrated to help add a different layer of façade to commonalities of system for classify elements language.