ASA JOURNAL 12/2023

138
professional / studio
S.O.S ARCHITECTS
139
TARYN TARA Cafe and Stay
For example, the appearance may not look simple,
but the function is simple. Or the functions are
complicated, but the design that comes out looks simple
and clean. Here it also depends on the briefs, limitations,
and requirements, or functional needs, of the client.
How did S.O.S Architects start?
And where does the name S.O.S
Architects come from?
Chaikla Dangboon: After we graduated
from CMU, we applied for regular jobs,
just like everyone else. But it all started
with looking for a side job, so we accepted
part-time design work along with regular
work. Every evening there will be me,
Tawanshine Intarachit, and another friend
who has now gone out to do something
else. Then three of us agreed that after
one had cleared his own duties, we would
come together to work. We did this for a
while until we had more work; sometimes
we needed to meet the clients, sometimes
to do the site visit. These things were
getting more and more. So I decided to
quit my full-time job to take care of each
part of the job. Now it has been probably
about 12 years already.
As for the studio name SOS, it came accidentally
from the art4d magazine. At that
time, we couldn’t agree on the name of the
studio. So I opened one page of art4d, and
we just thought that if we found something
interesting on that page, we would use that
for the name of the studio (laughs); hopefully,
we would get some nice words! But the
page turned out to be a light bulb advertisement
with the title Sense and Simplicity,
which could be abbreviated as S.A.S. But
we think it’s strange. So we just switched
to S.O.S., which is Morse code for help. It
is likened to anyone who wants to design
or renovate, think of us first—something
like that.
What scale is most of the design
work in Chiang Mai, and what
kind of work is S.O.S Architects
particularly interested in?
Chaikla Dangboon: As everyone knows,
in Chiang Mai, most of the jobs are in the
categories of houses, hotels, restaurants,
and coffee shops. Initially, our studio got
quite a few of this type of work, but the
scale was not very big, about 200–350
square meters. Only later do we have
larger projects, like big houses or hotels.
If you ask, I would say we are interested
in all types of buildings, either those we
have done before or those we have never
had any chance to do. Because I feel that
each project will be different according
to the brief, problem, and limitations, and
naturally, designs and styles are also
different, But in the past, most of our work
was in hotels and coffee shops since the
north, whether it’s Chiang Rai, Lampang,
or Lamphun, is a tourist area, and there are
a lot of these types of buildings. Anyway,
after we started to promote our work on
social media, we got wider followers and
drew more people to see more of our work,
and we got other types of work coming in,
including work in other parts of the country
or other provinces as well.
Would you share with us a few
examples of works that impressed
you?
Chaikla Dangboon: There is a
house that I really like. The briefs and
requirements from the client are quite
interesting. The owner is quite introverted
and doesn’t socialize much, so the
exterior, or outer walls, of the house were
designed to be rather solid and look quite
enclosed from the outside. But the inside
was designed to get good natural light.
Plus, the owner likes to try new materials,
so there is a lot for us to try out and
experiment with design. It’s a fun project.
And then there is another house in Mae
Kampong, whose site is next to the edge
of the cliff. So we had to think of a building
structure in that particular setting, which
also has many other limitations and many
more challenges. These are a few projects
that I am impressed with, and I am glad we
have been able to get through them.
How has the studio worked from
day one until today?
Chaikla Dangboon: I would say we
always come back to the word “simplicity”
from the prank name of the studio, which
is the origin of the practice. Here, we also
like this word in the sense that we always
focus on simplicity in the work that we do.
The simplicity here may be reflected in one
subject. For example, the appearance may
not look simple, but the function is simple.
Or the functions are complicated, but the
design that comes out looks simple and
clean. Here it also depends on the briefs,
limitations, and requirements, or functional
needs, of the client. Our works and the
work that we have done, therefore, are
quite diverse because, in the beginning,
we got many types of jobs so that we
know the way of our work. Now everything
seems to fall more into place, be more
organized, and be more systematic than
ever before. I think this should be a matter
of experience over time since we have
been open for more than ten years now.
And in the future, I believe that we will
maintain what we have and rearrange
some guidelines to suit us more and more.
That is because, whether it’s design or
work, it has to be adapted to the times.
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