Bangkok is a chaotic, sprawling city with a population of 10 million. Its urban fabric contains a vast mix of ‘centers’ ranging from historic areas with royal palaces and Buddhist temples, to massive slums, vernacular shophouses, international embassies and skyline-defining highrises at its financial center. Architects in Bangkok seem to continuously draw from Thailand’s rich cultural heritage as well as its tropical climate to design buildings that are unique in form and type. The 25 Bangkok-based firms selected here represent some of the most forward-thinking designers in Asia today.
1. Ayutt and Associates design
Ayutt and Associates design (AAd) has completed projects ranging from architectural design to interior, lighting and landscape design, in countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and China. AAd’s design philosophy is to allow each project to speak with its own voice and to evolve around a particular set of objectives and strategies emergent from its requirements, client, site and climate. AAd’s portfolio includes Dew House, a compact private house designed for two families living together with connected functions as well as separate private living spaces, realized as a collection of stacked white boxes in a lush landscape.
2. Onion
Onion is a Bangkok-based design practice founded in 2007 by Siriyot Chaiamnuay and Arisara Chaktranon. Onion works with local craftsmen to explore new techniques using local materials. The firm seeks to find a unified approach to retail and living experiences. Its range of work includes Eat Rice & Noodles, a 66sqm restaurant located in a basement food court that uses vernacular awnings to mark the boundaries of various food stalls.
3. I Like Design Studio
I Like Design Studio (ILDS) is a Bangkok-based studio that researches culture and contexts to develop concepts and solve problems. It has completed projects such as Donphorm Market, the renovation of a fresh market. The project is highlighted by the installation of a new envelope of cement board and pvc pipes installed on an existing steel structure, yielding a unified pattern across a lengthy facade that contrasts with the lively and chaotic market below.
4. ASWA (Architectural Studio of Work - Aholic)
ASWA is a Bangkok-based studio founded in 2013 by Phuttipan Aswakool and Chotiros Techamongklapiwat. The firm experiments with materials, architectural forms and characteristics of interior spaces relative to the use of natural light. It has completed projects such as Sevenlakes Office, a building with an irregular-shaped construction inspired by the user’s product - a vacuum skin packaging film for the food industry. The building’s amorphic mass follows the shape of the various programmatic elements it wraps. Two courtyards permit natural light to penetrate interior spaces.
5. IDIN Architects
IDIN (Integrating Design Into Nature) is a design studio founded in 2004. The firm perceives ‘nature’ in two ways: as ecology, and as a reference to different mannerisms and personalities. The design philosophy and concentration of IDIN is to merge contextual ‘natures’ to form an architectural aesthetic, through a process of analyzing and prioritizing the various needs and requirements of each project. In Thai, “idin” is used to describe the natural phenomenon of soil releasing a beautiful scent after rainfall, highlighting the studio’s focus on drawing from Thailand’s tropical climate.
6. Integrated Field Co.
Integrated Field Co. is a Thailand-based design office founded in 2011 by a mix of architects, interior architects, landscape architects and industrial designers, working together as part of an integrated design process utilizing multiple disciplines. Its projects include Coro Field, a building for an agricultural site, designed on a 1.5m grid that makes use of modular furniture and movable walls for flexibility.
7. Office AT
Office AT is a design-based firm in Bangkok with expertise in architecture and interior design, master planning and research. The firm was founded by two partners, Surachai Akekapobyotin and Juthathip Techachumreon. Together the partners have won international competitions including the Van Alen Institute-sponsored Queens Plaza Design Ideas Competition, and a competition for the Bangkok University Art Gallery in Bangkok. Its built projects include the Glasshouse at Sindhorn, a building shaped as a crystal clad in glass to contain bars, restaurants and offices.
8. Openbox Architects
Openbox Architects (OPNBX) was founded in 2004 by Nui Ratiwat Suwannatrai and Prang Wannaporn Suwanntrai, architect and landscape architect. The design studio was formed based on the core belief that architecture and landscape should be designed and perceived in a unified way. Openbox has been involved in projects of various typologies that illustrate the importance of this unified concept, blurring boundaries between interiors and exteriors.
9. VaSLab Architecture
VaSLab Architecture is a Bangkok-based practice for architecture, interior design and urban design founded by Vasu Virajsilp. Working at project scales small and large, the firm injects innovative and experimental ideas to construct new orders for existing architectural elements. Its completed projects include Honda Big Wing, a competition-winning design for a big-bike center in Bangkok, defined by sweeping and overlapping curvilinear masses of concrete.
10. Plan Architect
Plan Architect is an organization founded on friendship, mutual respect and a commitment to social responsibility. Its projects include the Golden Jubilee Museum of Agriculture Office, which houses offices and serves as a welcoming space for visitors to the museum. “Rise from the Earth” is the main concept of this museum office, defined by a massive form which rises up from the ground to visually unify the landscape with the building. Trees are placed over the rooftop to further link the building with its site.
11. pbm
pbm is a Bangkok-based multi-disciplinary studio that practices architectural design, interior design, lighting design and environmental graphic design. Driven by a group of five architects of the same family, the firm has completed projects such as the K+ Building, designed for a mobile application company. Using the dematerialized nature of mobile applications as its inspiration, pbm designed the building as a series of stacked boxes with facades of varying materials and transparencies.
12. Anonym
Anonym is a design studio based in Bangkok. Its philosophy focuses on balanced relationships among spaces, people and contexts. The studio believes great design can emerge from diversity, innovation and environmentally-friendly conditions. Founded by Phongphat Ueasangkhomset and Parnduangjai Roojnawate, Anonym provides comprehensive design services including architectural design, master planning, landscape design and feasibility studies.
13. PHTAA Living Design
PHTAA Living Design is a team of architects, interior designers and creatives based in Bangkok. PHTAA was founded in 2016 by Ponwit Ratanatanatevilai, Harisadhi Leelayuwapan and Thanawat Patchimasiri based on the philosophy that architecture serves as a bridge connecting culture with details to increase the quality of life. Its projects include Found, a sculptural and bare-bones concert hall defined by a sequence of spaces considerate of the flow of guests from arrival to seating.
14. makeAscene
makeAscene believes that architecture is used to create 'scenes' for people, defining the human-space relationship. Its projects include FYNN 2, an apartment building that uses a facade of 'petals' to create subtle layers of visual hierarchy reminiscent of fine floral arrangements. A thin steel trellis appears soft and delicate, and is angled to enhance depth and create various shadows across the building’s envelope.
15. Creative Crews
Creative Crews is an integrated firm practicing architecture, interior design, landscape design and urban design. It focuses on projects that: 1) respond to the people; 2) grow out of necessity; 3) reflect the tectonics of construction and materials; 4) integrate architectural knowledge critically; 5) embrace locality; 6) trace the dormant contextual past; and 7) synchronize with the geographical context.
- Courtesy of DWP
16. DWP | design worldwide partnership
Over 25 years the global architecture and design company dwp has completed a range of award-winning works. Proud of its entrepreneurial spirit, dwp experiments with cutting edge collaborative, sustainable and creative design technologies.
17. Fattstudio
Fattstudio is a small group of architects with a portfolio that includes residential and commercial work. Its completed projects range from the Happynest Office - a building defined by a facade of vertical fins with densities informed by various interior programs - to the renovation of a chef’s condominium.
18. AplusCon Architects
AplusCon Architects is a multi-disciplinary architectural practice, established in Bangkok in 2003 as Arakstudio. The studio rebranded in 2014 to reflect its professional ambitions to introduce fresh, innovative architectural designs to Thailand and Southeast Asia. AplusCon consists of inspired and talented architects and interior designers working closely together to create unified designs for exterior and interior spaces.
19. Taste Space
‘Taste Space’ Interior Design Consultancy offers design solutions for restaurants, bars and cafes. Its design philosophy is based on adding taste and employing sensory details to create spaces that enhance dining experiences. Its designs combine storytelling and curation by means of interior design, branding, graphics and music. Its portfolio includes Take a Breath Café, a cluster of the buildings housing a cafe, restaurant and kitchen along with a landmark bell tower.
20. HAS design and research
HAS design and research is an architecture studio established in Bangkok and Shanghai. HAS (Hung And Songkittipakdee) explores Asia’s architectural language through a design-research parallel approach. It emphasizes the analogy of nature and man-made nature, to seek new forms of natural architecture. HAS’ work spans cultural buildings, religious architecture, installation art, exhibition design, experimental projects, curation and writing.
21. Nitaprow Architects
Founded in 2013 by partners Nita Yuvaboon and Prow Puttorngul, Nitaprow Architects is a design team practicing architecture and interior design. Its scale of works ranges from newly constructed buildings to interior and exterior renovations, exhibition, custom furniture and master planning projects. Through research and collaborations with creative thinkers, entrepreneurs, engineers, designers and visual artists, Nitaprow meticulously develops designs via conceptually engaging ideas and social, historical and environmental awareness. Its projects impose ‘simple’ architecture with a bold and balanced approach.
22. Beautbureau
Beautbureau is an architecture and design practice based in Bangkok. The practice aims to strike a balance between an introspective obsession with aesthetics, materials, fabrication techniques and active engagement with the human and sociocultural context of design. Its work ranges from interior design and architectural projects to designs for objects, furniture and installations, to research and publications. Beautbureau’s completed projects include The Alpine, a private beachfront residence for an interethnic family of four. The house bears the imprints of cultures rooted in two disparate geographies and climates: the oceanic tropical and the mountainous alpine.
23. Redland-scape
Redland-scape is a landscape architecture design firm based in Bangkok. It focuses on creating unique environments that improve people’s quality of life while enhancing the ecosystem. Redland-scape specializes in landscape and urban development with a team of experienced landscape architects and young designers that generate fresh, innovative ideas.
24. Landprocess
Landprocess is a Bangkok-based design firm specialized in designing public green spaces and green infrastructure to increase urban resilience and protect vulnerable communities from climate change. Its projects include Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park, a rare 11-acre plot of land along 1.3 kilometers in central Bangkok that is the first and critical piece of the city’s green infrastructure designed to mitigate detrimental ecological issues and reduce urban flood disaster risk.
25. Looklen Architects
Looklen is a Bangkok-based studio concerned with matters of architectural design, concept development and strategic spatial transformations. A young and emerging team, its body of work spans a broad range of scales and typologies, from private residences to gyms, art galleries, libraries and an office complex. It simultaneously works between built projects and competitions - a process which often yields parallels between practical work and conceptual imaginations. The practice aspires to contribute, through design, to social and urban transformation.
The selection curated by the Archello editorial team is based on a mixture of the amount of featured projects and the views they generated. For a more comprehensive list of Bangkok architects you can take a look here.
