As conceptual designer, Rachen Intawong - or “Tam” as he is best known - has played a pivotal part in the resort’s construction since its inception, in 2001. He sees Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi as a working museum, a place where traditional Lanna culture and Asian colonial splendour have been carefully brought together in harmony.

“We have not just built a resort, but rather we aimed to create a legend with the construction of Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi” he asserts. “For me this is a place where we have created the past, to let people touch history”.

Born in Chiang Mai, Tam was a studious child who excelled academically. He moved to Bangkok to study architecture at University but soon discovered he felt out of place in the big city.

“I didn’t feel right, I was so unhappy, my heart was in Chiang Mai”. He returned to the North to take up a degree in Thai art, later expanding his studies to cover the Mekong region, essentially studying the geographical area that was once the Lanna Kingdom.

Driven by a passion for the past, he immersed himself in Lanna history and art, reading widely and spending his free time visiting the region’s villages and researching lost rural architectural styles. In many ways, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi is the product of his passions.

When the idea of Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi emerged, he and his small team worked on an idea for the project piece by piece. “There was no master plan, it was more like one big jigsaw puzzle” he admits. “Just like the city of Chiang Mai, we built it up over a long time, a natural growth process”.

Over many months, the team created the concept of an ancient city, around which, traditional structures - wooden rice barns, Royal Lanna houses and magnificent colonial mansions - were erected in small clusters providing luxury accommodation, restaurants and recreational areas.

These groups of buildings borrow from specific vernacular styles such as Thai Lue or Haw Luang. Just as in an authentic Thai palace, the grounds contain paddy fields, lakes and Lanna-inspired houses.

“Ultimately, we have rebuilt the past so that some of those Lanna traditions can be kept alive for the future. Change is part of life, I accept that, that’s what Buddhism teaches us, but who says we have to lose our heritage in the name of change?”