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The president of Supalai has designed award-winning energy-saving houses

Prateep Tangmatitham has been in love with art since his childhood.

In fact, he loved studying drawing, painting, carving and sculpture so much that he chose to get bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture.

Besides receiving full scholarships at both Chulalongkorn University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he also achieved both degrees with honours.

''Architecture is both applied science and art that can be applied to housing development. Applied science in a house includes function and energy saving while applied arts are beautiful design and aesthetics,'' says the architect-turned-developer.

When Mr Prateep set up the property developer Supalai Plc in 1989, he kept the habit of drawing and designing that he cultivated as a child.

''For me, work and hobby cannot be separated,'' he says. ''In my free time, I love designing and sketching. I always do it for the company's projects, from lanterns, octagon tables, fountains or Brahmin shrines to the whole project.''

Since 1994, the 59-year-old president of Supalai has collected dozens of art pieces, including paintings, sculptures, carvings and prints in various styles, including abstract, realistic, surreal, modern, post-modern and Thai.

Some of his favourite pieces decorate his home and others adorn the company's headquarters at the Supalai Grand Tower. At the office, he has opened a free space for anyone who wants to exhibit artwork or hold any social activities concerning the environment, cultural and family matters without any charge until May 2008.

The 2,000-square-metre space is on the ground floor and lobby of Supalai Grand Tower, an oval-shaped office building on Rama III Road that is open everyday from 8 am to 6 pm. The 34-storey building, if fully occupied, has thousands of people pass through each day.

''We want to promote production of quality arts. They [artists] can sell their works without any charge from us,'' says Mr Prateep. Exhibition organisers normally charge a commission of about 20-30%.

Before becoming a property developer, Mr Prateep worked as an architect for three firms: Edwards & Dankert in the United States, the Japanese construction firm Obayashi-Gumi Co and the engineering consultant EEC Co.

After completing a master's degree in architecture, he joined Munkong Architects Co as a deputy manager. Then from 1981 to 1988, he served as a managing director of MK Real Estate, a developer founded by his brother Chuan Tangmatitham.

Many of Supalai's housing projects use Mr Prateep's conceptual designs. Two received the best energy-saving home awards in 2005 from the Department of Alternative Energy. Supalai was the only property firm to receive the award.

Energy-saving home design is about functionality. It divides space in line with the directions of sunlight and wind.

Source: Bangkok Post by Kanana Katharangsiporn
Monday September 17, 2007