Joachim Grassi
Joachim Grassi (Italian spelling Gioachino, 1837 – 19 August 1904) was an Italian architect of Austrian/French nationality 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 Austro-Hungarian 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) 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 Chaopraya river in Klongsarn area opposite of UK Embassy then, 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: Other works;