HAS design and research is the abbreviation of the Thai studio whose full name, Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS design and research, is derived from the founders’ names, which is an internationally recognized leading Thai architectural firm established in Bangkok and Shanghai by architects, artists, and educators Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee, and they have emerged as part of the most critical and innovative practices among Thai and Asian architects.
Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS design and research explore Asia’s architectural language through a “design + research” parallel approach, emphasizing the analogy of nature and man-made nature. They seek a new kind of new natural architecture through the city’s own derivatives, termed “The Improvised, MANufAcTURE and Chameleon Architecture.” Their work encompasses cultural buildings, religious architecture, installation art, exhibition design, and experimental projects. Their research delves into urban phenomena such as train and railway markets, charming roadside vendors, borderless illegal constructions under elevated freeways, and the roundabouts of dead alleys. These intriguing scenes are typical of Asian cities, where temporary constructions reveal how people can find a “new” nature within the reinforced concrete city.
Hung And Songkittipakdee (HAS) developed an international reputation through winning competition entries, and their work stands out in terms of its synthesis of form, pattern, material, and technology into singular, irreducible constructions. Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee work on diverse project types and have earned widespread recognition on worldwide platforms, garnering substantial admiration and featuring in various publications. They have also received numerous prestigious international awards and honors across architecture, interior, landscape, and furniture design through academic organizations and architectural associations. These accolades include the Architonic Top 10 Curated Projects that Consider their Ecological Footprint from the United States (2024), The Winner of ASA Thematic Pavilion of the Year Award at The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage Exposition – ASA Architect Expo from Thailand (2024), the Winner of INDE. Award from Australia (2023), the Winner of LIT Lighting Design Awards from Switzerland (2023), The Best Architects in Bangkok from Malaysia (2023), the Habitus House of the Year from Australia (2023), the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory from the United Kingdom (2022), ArchDaily the Best Architectural Models from the United States (2022), Six Asian Design Firms You Need to Know from Australia (2022), the Winner of Thailand Prestige Award (2021), the Projects Reshaping Chinese Architecture Today from Australia (2021), the Winner of Designer of the Year Award (2019), the Winner of Design Star Award (2018), Distinguished Alumni Award (2016), and the Winner of Art4d Design Award from Thailand (2012).
Jenchieh Hung is recognized as one of the leading architects and educators in Thailand and the Asia Pacific, renowned for his innovations in both architectural design and educational contributions, as highlighted in the World Architects Directory by Wallpaper* magazine in the United Kingdom. As a versatile architect, he has served on the Jury for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – RIBA International Awards: Asia Pacific Awards. In the same year, he received the university’s highest honor as a Lifetime Honorary Professor and was also awarded the Global Sustainable Development Design Achievement Award for his outstanding architectural projects. Jenchieh Hung has founded Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS Design and Research, an internationally recognized architectural design practice firm. In his practice, he wields architecture as a way to create emotional spaces and historical experiences between the past and future, showing dexterity and sensitivity in his elegant use of materials while bringing sincere attention to local socioeconomic and global ecological issues. In 2023, he was appointed Exhibition Chairman and Principal Curator of The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA), curating the Infinity Ground Architecture Exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) and the Collective Language: Asian Contemporary Architecture Exhibition at the Thailand IMPACT Arena Exhibition and Convention Center. Alongside his design practice, Jenchieh Hung has been appointed as a Distinguished Professor at the university. He also serves as a Visiting Professor, Adjunct Professor, and Design Critic in Architecture at Tongji University, Chulalongkorn University, World University of Design, and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, and is the Founder of Hung And Songkittipakdee Laboratory (HAS Lab) as well as Guest Editor of the Journal of the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA Journal). He began his career at the Japanese firm Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA) in 2014, becoming Design Manager and Project In-Charge by 2018, during which he was responsible for the Yangcheng Lake Tourist Transportation Center in Suzhou and Shipyard 1862 in Shanghai. Jenchieh Hung received a Bachelor of Architecture and Urban Planning with First Honor Award, a Master of Architecture with the Best Research Paper Award, and a full scholarship for the advanced master’s program at Czech Technical University in Prague.
Kulthida Songkittipakdee was the first Asian architect among thousands of applications around the world to be awarded the scholarship of Renzo Piano Foundation working at Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) in Paris. During her tenure at RPBW, she was involved in Jerome L. Greene Science Center, Columbia University and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Expansion. At present, Kulthida Songkittipakdee has founded Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee / HAS design and research, an internationally recognized architectural design practice firm, and she has served on the Jury for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – RIBA International Awards: Asia Pacific Awards. In her practice, she believes architecture is on a quest to establish a language that is contemporary with the world and rooted in the place by climate and geography. In 2023, Kulthida Songkittipakdee was appointed as the Chairman of The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage Exposition (ASA Architect Expo), curating Thailand’s most important international architectural venue, which incorporates materials, culture, design, architectural exhibitions, and education at the Thailand IMPACT Arena Exhibition and Convention Center. She also serves as Public Relations Director of The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA) and Chairperson of The Architectural Journal of the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA Journal). Alongside her design practice, Kulthida Songkittipakdee has been appointed as a Lifetime Honorary Professor at the university. She also serves as a Visiting Professor, Adjunct Professor, and Design Critic in Architecture at Tongji University, Chulalongkorn University, World University of Design, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, and Kasetsart University, as well as the Guest Editor of the Journal of the Architects Regional Council Asia (ARCASIA Journal). Kulthida Songkittipakdee received a Bachelor of Architecture with Honor from Chulalongkorn University, and pursued studies abroad to obtain a Master of Urban Design from the L’Ecole National Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-la-Villette, including the exchange program study at School of Architecture and Design, Aalborg University in Denmark.
Besides practice, Jenchieh Hung and Kulthida Songkittipakdee give architectural lectures to several universities, such as Arsom Silp Institute of the Arts, Assumption University, Chulalongkorn University, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi in Thailand; and East China Normal University, Shanghai University, Tongji University, Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University in China. They were also invited to speak at public lectures, including the American Institute of Architects (AIA Shanghai), Bund Finance Center, Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai Library, and Tencent Talks. Both of them have contributed to Thai contemporary architecture, executing a series of exhibitions, publications, and forums, and were commended by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand as Chinese-Thai Architecture Influencers.
Visiting Professor :
● 2020~Present_Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Architecture
● 2020~Present_King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, School of Architecture and Design
● 2019~Present_Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban Planning
Adjunct Professor :
● 2025~Present_World University of Design, School of Architecture
● 2020~Present_King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, School of Architecture and Design
● 2018~Present_Donghua University, Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation
Award Jury :
● Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – RIBA International Awards: Asia Pacific Awards, United Kingdom
● The Association of Siamese Architects (ASA) – ASA Experimental Design Competition Awards, Thailand
● International Design Awards™ (IDA), United States
Awards & Recognitions :
2025
● Winner of The Chicago Athenaeum Museum’s International Architecture Awards, United States
● Winner of The European Centre’s International Architecture Awards, Ireland
● Winner of Bauhaus Modern Design Awards, Germany
● Winner of Asia’s Best Firm in Architecture Design Award, Singapore
● Architizer 30 Best Architecture and Design Firms in Thailand, United States
● Winner of MFID Awards, Malaysia
● Winner of Book Authority Best New Regional Architecture Books, United States
● Winner of Créateurs Design Awards, France
2024
● Louis Vuitton City Guide Bangkok Inspirational Addresses, France
● Winner of Golden Trezzini Awards, Russia
● Winner of The Association of Siamese Architects Expo’s Thematic Pavilion of the Year Award, Thailand
● Architonic Top 10 Curated Projects that Consider their Ecological Footprint, United States
● Architizer 30 Best Architecture Firms in Thailand, United States
2023
● Winner of INDE. Awards, Australia
● Winner of Luxury Lifestyle Awards, United States
● Winner of LIT Lighting Design Awards, Switzerland
● The Best Architects in Bangkok, Malaysia
2022
● Winner of International Federation of Interior Architects’ Asian Youth Designer Programme, United States
● Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory, United Kingdom
● ArchDaily The Best Architectural Models, United States
● Archello 25 Best Architecture Firms in Bangkok, Netherlands
● IndesignLive 6 Asian Design Firms You Need to Know, Australia
2021
● Winner of Perspective 40 under 40 Awards, Hong Kong
● Winner of Asia-Pacific Space Designers Association Awards, Malaysia
● Winner of Thailand Prestige Award, United Kingdom
● Dezeen 10 Chinese Bookshops that Display Books in Imaginative Ways, United Kingdom
Monographs & Books :
2025
● Chameleon Architecture: Shifting / Adapting / Evolving, Corporation 4d Limited
● Shanghai Architecture Guide: Views of Jenchieh Hung + Kulthida Songkittipakdee, Li-Zenn Publishing
2024
● From MANufAcTURE to Architecture, Corporation 4d Limited
● Collective Language: Asian Contemporary Architecture, Corporation 4d Limited
2023
● Architecture Asia: Thailand Contemporary Architecture, Images Publishing
● Infinity Ground Architecture, Corporation 4d Limited
2021
● THE improvised, Li-Zenn Publishing
2016
● Arch Life and Rhythm, Li-Zenn Publishing
HAS design and research 