TCDC, X2 Kui-Buri and the newly opened and truly spectacular Alila Cha-Am were all born out of the 42-year-old architect’s imagination.

With creative professions, sometimes, you get stuck. You need a new idea, something to push you forward and help you come up with a new idea again.

Creativity isn’t a gift, contrary to what most people think. Through theoretical thinking and philosophy, you can learn to be creative.

You have to be your worst critic, when you are a designer. You need to have a design methodology, a theory of design.That’s how you can always know what to do next. That’s how you survive in a profession with endless possibilities.

Bangkok is one of the most difficult cities in the world to be creative. There are so many political structures here: other architects, building codes, the government...

You have to have faith and you have to stick to your beliefs. It’s not impossible to be creative
here, but it’s very difficult.

I don’t want to be a person that negotiates and compromises my entire life. I want to lead a life where I make good work. Maybe I won’t become as rich as I could be, but all my work has to be good. You can’t do that if you compromise.

“If you already know what you want, don’t call me,” I tell all my clients. Clients who know what they want, they don’t need me. Those who want help, I will help them and I never let them down.

I’m a stupid guy who climbed up the stairs one step at a time. I started my career designing one bedroom and one toilet. I never look down on small-scale projects. I work on them with my own hands, whether they are big or small.

Young people these days believe in shortcuts. They believe in fast career development.
Me, I’m stupid. I just climb the steps one after the other.

Thai culture has been used and misused. I don’t brand myself as a traditional Thai architect but I’m Thai. I’ve lived here almost all my life. Everything I do reflects my experience as a Thai. Maybe my Thai building “vocabulary” is not loud, or obvious, but it’s there. I love this culture, but I don’t try to sell it.

I don’t think I could have been anything but an architect. My dad was an electrical engineer and my grandfather was an artist. My uncle was Chira Silpakanok, who built the Indra Hotel and the Scala Theatre.

I’m not an artist. I don’t have the talent and I don’t have the dedication. I can be good at design but not art.

I love Bangkok. It’s heterogeneous and clever. It’s a wonderful mix in which everything
manages to live in harmony. Frankly, I find Bangkok inspiring.

You can’t plan Bangkok; it’s like a living organism. You can’t squeeze it into a frame or put it in a cage. It won’t work.

Planning in Bangkok needs to be done with incentives. Don’t ban; encourage people to do the right thing.

I have ideas, not a style. Take Alila Cha-Am, it’s all about different sensations and experiences. The lawn in front, the ridiculously large stairs leading to the lobby, the lobby itself with the view stretching out all the way to the sea...

Everything I create, I create for a reason. But I don’t try to inject meaning into my work. The meaning is up to you. You tell me what all this means to you. I just create an effect.

The story I tell has to be different depending on the location. Alila’s architecture is too aggressive for Luang Prabang, therefore the new resort I’m designing will have a gentler effect. Every project is different. That’s the challenge, the difficulty.

My tip for young architects: choose a different job.

My personal life is terrible. I made myself a t-shirt that reads, “Sleepy Head.” In fact, no offence, but I want to go to sleep right now.

It’s a tough life but I’m nobody’s slave. Be a slave to your own principles, only, not those of others. Don’t deviate. Don’t be a slave to fame, to money, to clients...

I’m walking on a blade. I’m bleeding, and I’m complaining, and I’m in pain. But I love it.