Therdsiddhi Hoprasartsuk-Pellaumail
From Versailles to Shanghai
"For me, working abroad is something very natural and normal."
Therdsiddhi Hoprasartsuk-Pellaumail, who holds a Master's degree in Architecture, has worked as a project manager for the Swiss architectural firm Virtuarch in Shanghai since 2008 and been involved in about a dozen projects in less than two years. "What is interesting in China is that projects move very quickly," he says. In charge of refurbishing a 4,000-square meter school, he devoted 6 weeks of his time to design and 2 months to the actual refurbishing work. The breakdown of tasks is clear: his Chinese counterparts handle Chinese contractors while he liaises with the French client. "In China, one thing that is different is the fact that several phases are carried out simultaneously. It might seem strange, but it is a critical difference to understand how things work locally," he comments. That way, the project is completed in less than four months. "I go from project to project and I learn a lot. It's fast paced," he concludes with a smile. Virtuarch is a Swiss firm that has two offices: one in Zurich and one in Shanghai. In China, the firm is very cosmopolitan with about 45 employees, three are Chinese and the remaining quarter is foreign, mostly Europeans. "Most of the foreigners are young architects," explains Therdsiddhi. "There are not really that many expats. People find it hard to make the jump," he points out. Yet, work conditions are very similar to those in Europe, first because the majority of clients are Europeans and also because there is strong demand for European architects throughout Asia since they have the ability to see the big picture when working on projects. "In Chinese architectural firms, architects are not allowed to work independently, which is why they have lots of personnel, and the system is highly stratified. That said, things are changing; soon, Chinese architects will have the same skill set as Europeans," he explains. Virtuarch is not a specialty firm, but it has developed a solid reputation in production facilities and schools. It designed a school in Sichuan after the earthquake with the funding support from the Swiss Government. Even more surprising, Therdsiddhi is currently working on feasibility studies in connection with school projects in the Far East and in the Middle East. "Shanghai is no longer a gateway to Asia; it has become a central city where projects are initiated, designed and carried out not only in Asia, but all over the world," he points out.This sensitivity, which helps him understand and recognize the customs and practices of various cultures, seems second nature to him. What is Therdsiddhi's background?
In 2000, Therdsiddhi entered the National Advanced School of Architecture in Versailles (ENSAV). "This profession seemed well rounded to me: intellectually stimulating and involves exportable job skills; this latter point was a decisive factor," he explains. Very quickly, he interned on several occasions at the Idées d'Architectes architectural firm in the city of Garches, not far from Paris. The firm, which is run by two partners and has about a dozen employees, designs residential homes and housing programs for real estate developers and public infrastructure such as daycare centers and schools. The wide variety of projects gave the young intern an opportunity to work on different types of buildings and to gain experience at each phase of projects—from design to construction. "It was a great learning experience, really an ideal firm to get started," concludes Therdsiddi. In 2005, he started working on his graduation project which involved the renovation of the De la Motte Castle in Stains. "In fact, I was especially interested in the site because there had been lots of renovation plans proposed in the past but none of them had ever been successfully seen through. I just wanted to make my own personal contribution," he says simply. He graduated the next year in 2006. "It was a Friday," he explains, adding "because the following Monday, I was starting a new full-time job at Idées d'Architectes; I stayed there for a year," he confides proudly.
Therdsiddhi was born in Thailand and grew up and lived on four continents. Living in different cultures and loving to travel are natural to him. "I no longer had any close friends or family in France," he explains. "My parents had moved away and my sister went to live in China." So he finally felt ready to fulfill his original dream: work as an architect abroad. He got several offers from firms in Thailand and China. "I speak Thai fluently and thought it made sense that companies in this country would be interested in me, but I really wanted to discover a place that I had never been to," he says. So he opted for China. "At the end of 2007, it was a good time to be applying for jobs, the economy was booming. Out of ten resumes that I sent out, five firms contacted me. That's well within the standard," he explains modestly, adding "My experience with public infrastructure projects was probably decisive in my being hired by Virtuarch," he asserts. In fact, China wants lots of new public infrastructures. The needs are huge: "Firms are not turning to so-called secondary cities, i.e. those with a population between 5 and 10 million, so you can imagine what that implies. All the more because there are also a lot of cities with a population of 1 million. It's just another scale," observes Therdsiddhi.
The notion of him having a French touch makes him smile. "The cultural dimension helps differentiate countries in terms of their image: France is associated with 'Versailles', Germans are regarded as rigid and organized, the Americans and British are seen for their lifestyle and the Italians for their excellence. All that seems to be very stereotypical but in Europe we too have our stereotypes about China," says Therdsiddhi straightforwardly but with a sense of humor. For the time being, Therdsiddhi is very happy with his job and has no plans to change. However, maybe later... this globetrotter will move to another country. "I don't really know where but so long as they speak English or French, that'll be alright with me."
What inspires him? " The futuristic designs of Oscar Niemeyer and the architectural designs of the Swiss architects Herzog & De Meuron."