ASA JOURNAL 14/2023
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162<br />
professional / studio<br />
Baan Nang Lae Nai<br />
How did 1922 Architects get their<br />
start? Could you please tell us<br />
about it briefly?<br />
Songtam Srinakarin: I and Piangor<br />
Pattayakorn used to work at Spacetime<br />
Architects. After deciding to start our own<br />
family, we were given the unexpected<br />
opportunity to open a studio in Chiang Rai.<br />
We believed that if we were to settle here,<br />
we would have a chance to construct<br />
something of our own. So we built our<br />
house, hoping that it could be a space to<br />
experiment with various things and receive<br />
answers to questions we’d had in the past,<br />
as well as a work of our own. So this<br />
property serves as a jumping-off for many<br />
things, including a studio, an experiment,<br />
and collaborations with many people.<br />
Why did you open a studio in<br />
Chiang Rai when you could have<br />
opened a studio in Bangkok?<br />
Songtam Srinakarin: Let me first<br />
say that I am from Khon Kaen Province<br />
and went to study at AAU, ABAC. As for<br />
Piangor, she is from Chiang Rai Province,<br />
and she studied at Silpakorn University.<br />
That is, we actually met in Bangkok. From<br />
the time we studied until we graduated,<br />
we worked for many years. As a person<br />
from another province, of course, there are<br />
thoughts of wanting to return to live in your<br />
own home province. In the end, we chose<br />
to come to Chiang Rai, which is Piangor’s<br />
hometown. And we have the same opinion<br />
that architects’ studios should not be<br />
located only in Bangkok, even in matters of<br />
values in the line of work, wages, or other<br />
factors. In the provinces, it will not be as<br />
convenient or worthwhile as in Bangkok,<br />
but the fact that we spread out to the outer<br />
provinces will help strengthen the remote<br />
community. It was not an easy decision, as<br />
it took some time for our studio to settle<br />
down or start working on our project,<br />
which took almost 7 years.<br />
Is it difficult to make your own<br />
experimental work in an area<br />
where no one may understand<br />
what you’re attempting?<br />
Songtam Srinakarin: Well, there is<br />
both good fortune that makes working<br />
simpler and difficulty in discussing<br />
design specifics. Sudapim Piraban, our
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