City Council endorses Thai pavilion

A Thai Pavilion will officially be located at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, following action by the Madison City Council Nov. 21.

The council voted, 19-0, to accept the gift of the ornate structure from UW–Madison. The council also authorized the city to enter an agreement with the university for construction, programming and maintenance of the pavilion.

LaMarr Billups, special assistant to the chancellor for community relations, says the university will issue bids for the construction of the pavilion’s foundation in December. Construction will begin as soon as possible, weather permitting, Billups says.

A gift to UW–Madison from the Thai government and the university’s Thai Alumni Association, the pavilion will be built across Starkweather Creek and connected by a bridge to the gardens on Madison’s east side.

Known as a “sala” in Thailand, the structure will be 40 feet long, 22 feet wide and 30 feet high. Highly ornate, the pavilion will include a high lacquer finish, gold leaf etchings and will be adorned by the royal seal of the Thai Crown. Thai craftspeople will assemble the pavilion here in Madison.

The pavilion is still in Thailand but it expected to be shipped to Madison next spring. The Crown Princess of Thailand is expected to visit Madison to dedicate the pavilion in late summer 2001.

The university is committing more than $2.6 million to the project, including $1.2 million to fund positions to provide curatorial/interpretive services at the pavilion; $500,000 to cover future maintenance costs; and $918,000 to cover the costs of transporting the pavilion from Thailand, construction of the structure’s foundation and the building of an ornamental bridge across Starkweather Creek.

The city will apply revenue generated from fees for weddings, receptions, cultural events and tours at the pavilion to fund costs for general maintenance. Students and alumni will help provide programming at the facility.

Chancellor David Ward says the agreement represents a unique educational, cultural and business partnership between Thailand, the university, the city and the garden.

UW–Madison has graduated more than 700 Thai residents dating back to 1917, and the university has the largest number of Thai students of any U.S. college or university.

The pavilion could establish a strong educational link between Olbrich and the university for students studying Asian culture, landscape architecture and other topics, according to the chancellor.

The pavilion will be only the third such structure to be located outside Thailand, and the only one in the United States. The other two are in Germany and Norway. Olbrich was proposed as the location for the Thai Pavilion because of its unique garden setting and the opportunity to link with the garden’s educational and cultural programs.