Holly Cunneen: For anyone who isn’t familiar with yourself or the practice you co-direct with Twitee Vajrabhaya Teparkum, Department of Architecture Co., how would you describe your work?
Amata Luphaiboon: Department of Architecture practises architecture, interior design, landscape design, and other related design disciplines in a broad range of programmatic requirements and scales.
What is the intention of Department of Architecture Co. And has it changed at all its 15-year history?
We aimed to focus on developing ideas in architecture, research on social, cultural, and physical context, as well as taking on an exploration for alternative material utilisation. Our design principles have not changed since the beginning.
However, there was a significant change on the location of our projects. At the start, most of our works were located in Thailand, with a few exceptions. During the past five years, more than 70 per cent of our projects have been located aboard; namely China, Philippines, and Indonesia.
What do you think are the current pressure points in architecture and how can the industry possibly relieve them?
For most parts of the world, we have well passed the time of economic boom. Now, we are in a slower pace mode. This is great in terms of architectural design that we, as architects, do not have as much pressure of timing that used to force us in the past. This means we can take the time and effort the architecture deserves, and build them within reasonable budget and resources.
What does the future of architecture in our region look like?
Individual, Sophisticated and Sensible.
Photography courtesy the architect.
Read our other interview with Department of Architecture here.
