King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) proudly announces that its adjunct/visiting professors, Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee, from the acclaimed architectural practice HAS Design and Research, have recently received four major international awards from the United States, Singapore, Italy, and China, including the winner prize The Chicago Athenaeum Museum’s International Architecture Award, Asia’s Best Firm in Architecture Design Award, as well as the Dedalo Minosse Award, and the Ideal Architecture Festival’s Annual 100 Pioneer Architects.
These international recognitions highlight not only the excellence of their professional practice but also their continuous contribution to architectural education and research at KMUTT’s School of Architecture and Design (SoA+D). Since 2020, both adjunct/visiting professors Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee have been dedicated to design education and academic collaboration at KMUTT, integrating their design expertise and international experience into the university’s creative and research-based learning environment. Their achievements represent a significant milestone for SoA+D, aligning with the school’s global vision under Dean Waraluk Pansuwan and Architecture Program Chairperson Kisnaphol Wattanawanyoo, which emphasizes an interdisciplinary, experimental, and internationally oriented approach to design and planning. SoA+D strives to nurture innovative thinkers and designers who can address complex social and environmental challenges through the integration of art, technology, and research, with a strong focus on sustainability, user well-being, and entrepreneurship.
SoA+D Dean Waraluk Pansuwan remarked that as architecture and design continue to evolve in a rapidly changing world, modernization is essential to respond to new economic models, emerging technologies, environmental challenges, and shifting lifestyles. She emphasized that the essential question for architectural education today is how to equip students with the necessary skills for the 21st century. KMUTT’s SoA+D strongly believes in outcome-based education, and both professors Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee exemplify this vision through their integration of international design practice and social engagement, demonstrating how academic and professional dialogue can coexist and enrich one another.
