A DESIGN PRACTICE THAT WORKS ON BOTH SMALL AND LARGE-SCALE RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS WHO BELIEVES THAT GREAT ARCHITECTURE IS PARTLY BEGUN WITH EFFICIENT DESIGN MANAGEMENT

TEXT COURTESY OF OAAS
PHOTO: PEERAPAT WIMOLRUNGKARAT EXCEPT AS NOTED

(For Thai, press here)

WHO

Founded by Sineenart Suptanon and Sirakit Charoenkitpisut,  OAAS stands for The Office of Design and Research for Appropriate Aesthetic.

WHAT

We’re a small design practice that manages both small and large-scale projects. We’ve been working mostly on residential projects in the past 3–4 years, but we’re beginning to work on more corporate design projects.

WHEN

We’ve been practicing as professional architects for seven years and started to officially work together under the name OAAS in 2022.

WHERE

Phuttamonthon Sai 2, a suburban area to the west of Bangkok.

WHY

We believe that creating a great work of architecture requires more than just design. It needs to start with efficient management. We, therefore, agree that we need to master both the design and management aspects of the studio, which is one of the main reasons why we decided to open our own practice together.

What are your inspirations and principles?

The differences in each client’s requirements and conditions are challenging tasks that we need to handle and overcome. The projects we completed also inspire our future endeavors.

What is the project you’re the proudest of, and why?

Our own studio. It’s the project that we got to experiment on without dealing with the usually contradicting sentiments of the owner, or the one who pays and has to think about costs, and the designer, or the one who wants to use the best, most beautiful, functional, and most of the time, expensive materials.

Have you ever met a client who said they didn’t want any white color at all?

No. But we had a client who wanted a really white color—a super clean, bright white that is easy to maintain.

Are there materials that you’re interested in or have studied but haven’t used yet?

A building material made of hemp. There was this residential project where the owner wanted us to use as much hemp as we could with the walls, ceilings, floor, and furnishing. But the material was still in its trial process and needed more time before it could be used in building construction.

What is your favorite part of the design process?

The construction.

If you could invite any ‘creative individual’ for a cup of coffee, who would it be and why?

Andy Warhol. We want to talk to him about his thoughts on the way he uses mediums and art. And Sarawut ‘Roundfinger’ Hengsawad, one of our favorite writers and creative workers. It would be nice to sit down and listen to him talk about different things and stories.

fb.com/OAASpage