Dreams and Fears: all(zone)'s Founder Rachaporn Choochuey on the Spirit of Her Work, Understanding Context, and Sharing With Compassion
By Julia Gamolina
Rachaporn Choochuey is the founder of all(zone), a Bangkok-based group of design professionals who are fascinated by ever-changing mega metropolises that give form to their everyday life. Their observations are always captured by contemporary vernacular design solutions leading them to create built environments where all could feel ‘at home’ in the world. In 2016, all(zone) completed MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai, the first contemporary art museum in Thailand, which was awarded the Best New Museum of Asia Pacific prize in 2017. Domus magazine selected all(zone) as one of 100+ Best Architecture Firm in 2019. Monocle magazine awarded a project of all(zone) as one of Top 50 Best Design Award 2021. all(zone) is commissioned to design MPavilion 2022 in Melbourne, which was inaugurated in November 2022.
Born in Bangkok, Rachaporn received her B.Arch from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, her M.S.AAD. from Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Architecture History from the University of Tokyo. From 2002-2022, she was a faculty member in architecture at Chulalongkorn University. Rachaporn regularly gives lectures and teaches internationally. In her interview with Julia Gamolina, Rachaporn talks about finding her strengths and engaging with housing policy, advising those just starting their careers to take time to master their skills.
JG: Tell me about your foundational years - where did you grow up and what did you like to do as a kid?
RC: I was the eldest among the three daughters. I loved to do everything by hand — drawing, painting, cooking, and all kinds of crafts — but at the same time I loved reading books. So, I was a very busy kid. I never stayed still, and I never got bored.
What did you learn about yourself in studying architecture?
I was not confident at all while studying architecture. I always believed that everyone else was better than me in design. But, I did really like to imagine how people would spend their lives in the buildings I designed.
Mpavilion, Melbourne, 2022. Photography by John Gollings.
Marmalade Sky, Chonburi, 2017. Photography by by Napat Pattrayanond.
How did you get your start in working in architecture?
As everyone else in Bangkok who finished architecture school, I started to work for a big corporate design firm. I did not like it at all. I thought that if this is how architects worked, I did not want to be one. However, I still really liked architecture. So, I quit working and went on studying architecture as a Ph.D, thinking that I would be teaching, writing and doing everything about architecture except for design.
How did this lead to your practice? And how has your work evolved over the years?
I returned to Bangkok after I finished my Ph.D. and began to teach in Chulalongkorn University, while receiving small commissions for exhibition designs and installations, and doing them with some friends. Little by little we could not handle everything that was coming in, so we set up a small studio and hired two people. Gradually it became more serious. The first architecture design project was my own building. I tried to find a place to live in the middle of the city, but I could not afford to buy a newly build apartment or condominium. At the same time, I knew that there were many rundown and under-utilized shophouses around the city. They were the main urbanization tool since the mid-20th century, but in current times, no one cared about shophouses and they were an outdated typology.
With the support of my family, I bought two units of shophouse and transformed them into my own apartment, our office, and some space for office rental. The project got widely published and gave an example of what you can do with shophouses. Now in Bangkok, it is very common to transform a building in such a fashion. With the project as a starting point, we worked more and more with buildings, while still continuing to do exhibitions and working with artists for installations regularly. Our work still has the same spirit since the beginning — we always look for something intelligent, simple, local and fun in every place we work.
“Our work still has the same spirit since the beginning — we always look for something intelligent, simple, local and fun in every place we work.”
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?
As the practice started rather casually, we never had a clear goal of what to do — we just tried to make every project nicely. The biggest challenge so far was during the Covid lockdown where we had to work remotely and tried to pay everyone properly although some work was postponed. Thankfully, we got through the two years just fine. Disappoints and setbacks happen all the time, but usually because we have different expectation from others. Trying to understand the context better helps to cope with what does not go exactly as we wish.
What have you also learned in the last six months?
As architects, we always work with all different kinds of people. The best approach is to listen to all and try to see what their dreams and fears are.
Affordable Housing, Bangkok, 2022-23. Photography by by Soopakorn Srisakul.
What are you most excited about right now?
I am super excited with the progress of AI and how it will shape our physical world.
Who are you admiring now and why?
I admire a lot of people, from great thinkers, great businesspeople, great politicians to great construction workers. Regardless of who they are, if they understand themselves and know exactly why they are doing what they are doing, they can always share their wisdom with compassion. These kind of people show you that they can have peace in the world.
“As architects, we always work with all different kinds of people. The best approach is to listen to all and try to see what their dreams and fears are.”
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And, what does success in that look like to you?
From the very beginning of my practice, I’ve been interested in how we can be at home in the city. We have worked on a lot of private houses in different forms and conditions. We want to bring our services to the less wealthy, as I believe that everything starts at home, and everyone deserves access to intelligent design. We have been doing research on several possibilities of low-income housing in the city. I also worked on affordable housing issues with my studio at Yale School of Architecture last fall. We completed a 333-unit affordable housing in the suburb of Bangkok with a new typology. It was well received and widely discussed. So we hope to work further on housing and making affordable housing the main public policy of the country.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
I believe you have to give yourself a period of time to master something. When you like doing something enough, you will be able to get through any difficulties you face. This is advice for everyone.
For female architects, we are surely different from male architects. My advice here is that we should just embrace the differences — follow what you think and how you feel.
Maiiam Contemporary Art Museum, Chiang Mai, 2016. Photography by Soopakorn Srisakul.
Lighthouse 1.0, Bangkok, 2015. Photography by Soopakorn Srisakul.