Mr. Supakorn Chanthakijwattana, a fifth-year student from the Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University has won the architectural design competition, “Asia Young Designer Awards 2020”, for the project, “Illegal Settlement in Chiang Mai“, a residential design in the Mae Kha Canal community, Chiang Mai Province. Mr. Supakorn will represent Thailand and join the winners from several other Asian countries at the Asia Young Designer Summit 2020.
Mr. Supakorn Chanthakijwattana, or Tor, shared that the competition was organized by Nippon Paint Decorative Coatings (Thailand) Co. Ltd., under the concept “Forward: Human-Centered Design 2020.
The objective was to encourage young designers to create architectural creations and interior designs which will be an improvement for people, the community, and the environment.
For the preliminary round, over 1,300 university students submitted their project. 30 projects were selected by the competition committee in the second round, then five projects from each category were selected for the final round.
“Illegal Settlement in Chiang Mai is a residential concept that was designed and based on a prototype community, Mae Kha Canal, Chiang Mai Province, which is an illegal settlement that has long been neglected. The project serves as a way-out for problems between stakeholders in the public and private sectors, especially people in the community.
Moreover, it demonstrates the feasibility of solving problems with cooperation and understanding”, described Mr. Supakorn when asked about his project concept. The uniqueness of his work was to meet the community’s needs while giving a presentation that was clear and easy to grasp.
“Participating in any competition is an opportunity for me to put forth creations and ideas the way I think they should be. Not only does the competition allow us to think outside the box, but it also opens us to other people’s work. After graduation, I wish to apply what I’ve learned to work as an architect, “ he said.