They will receive Bt100,000 worth of prizes, a Macbook, and the opportunity to represent Thailand by expressing their creativity during the Learning Program, the annual activity held for 15 winners across Asia, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Asia Young Designer Award aims to inspire students to be more innovative and motivate them to enhance their professionalism and contribute sustainably to both society and the community. Under the theme of “You for Tomorrow”, this year’s project encouraged entrants to create works that recognised the importance of design in supporting the future. It also aimed to broaden their vision and develop their skills so as to respond effectively to a fast-changing society.
“Nippon Paint sees great potential in architecture and design students who will form the next generation of design professionals and we want to play a role in supporting them to showcase their abilities. This year, we are celebrating 10 years of the project with young designers from across Thailand. We have seen many talented students display amazing creativity through 1,200 pieces of work submitted through 30 universities nationwide, which underlines the project’s success and proves it is on the right path. We are also proud of the good feedback from design students in recognising us as the leading award in Thailand,” said Watchara Siriritthichai, General Manager, Nippon Paint Decorative Coatings (Thailand).
The Gold winners in the Asia Young Designer Award 2017 are divided into 2 categories:
The Gold winner in the Architecture Design category is Varisdha Dhakoorabutr from Chulalongkorn University for her project “From Auto to Plug-in”. Aiming to use space more efficiently, From Auto to Plug-in represents a multi-purpose parking building designed as a space to be developed for a market or sales venue. The building can also be used as a public space for urbanites to grow vegetables for consumption and sale, thus creating value, career opportunities and a sustainable turnover between food and income.
In the Interior Design category, the Gold winner is Wipas Prasopchokchai from Chulalongkorn University for his project “Urban Bridging”. The project came up with the initiative to literally take Thai street food to another level through adjusting the appearance of Yaowarat Road with a focus on street food and footpath management. A bridge will serve to house the street foods vendors, leaving the footpath accessible and convenient for pedestrians. Space for eating street food will be separated to avoid potential accidents to users.
“Throughout the 10 years of the project operation, our aim has been to introduce, present and create recognition of the Asia Young Designer Award in the design profession including design students, designers, lecturers and also universities across Thailand. We will maintain and build up this award as a hub for young architecture and interior design students to showcase their creativity and abilities to create value for society and the future,” Watchara said.
