Turin 1911: The World's Fair in Italy

Name
Tamagno, Mario

Gender
Male

Birth
June 19, 1877 Turin

Death
1941 Turin

Descriptive Note

An architect, Mario Tamagno was educated at the Accademia Albertina in Turin, where he taught for five years after graduating in 1895. In 1900, he traveled to Siam (today’s Thailand) to work for the Siamese Government (Ministry of Public Works) on a 25-year contract. There, he collaborated with another Italian architect, Annibale Rigotti, to create important buildings in Bangkok. In 1907, Rigotti and Tamagno, with Emilio Gollo, designed the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall in the Royal Plaza, a spectacular domed structure completed in 1915.

Tamagno also built the Suan Kularb Residential Hall and Throne Hall in Dusit Garden, and the Hua Lampong Railway Station in 1910-1912, reminiscent of the Porta Nuova Station in Turin. In 1913 King Chulalongkorn (Rama VI, 1910 – 1925) entrusted Tamagno and Rigotti with the reconstruction of the Santa Cruz Church (the Portuguese church was first built in 1770 and rebuilt in 1835). Tamagno also contributed to the design and construction of the Neilson Hays Library, in Surawongse Road. After completion of his first government contract in 1925, he was asked to continue on, and the Siamese government commissioned him to complete Villa Norasing (today’s House of Government) with Annibale Rigotti.

He designed the Pavilion of Siam for the 1911 Exposition in Turin. He returned to Italy in May 1926.

Roles
Makers, Architects and Engineers

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