The Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA) in Thailand announced the results of the ASA International Design Competition 2019. This year is dedicated to fresh ideas in sustainability – approaches so radical, unanticipated, and transformative they earn the epithet ‘uncanny’. This competition aims that the applicants present ideas that surprise and challenge our assumptions and widen our views of what is possible.

The winner of this year's award was Phornphong Yanyadech, an architectural designer living in Germany. The title of the work is "The Eternity Sustainability", and the subtitle is "A new type of eco-crematorium to reutilize our dead body back to nature." The second place is "Re-Freeze the Arctic" by Faris Rajak Kotahathahaha, and the third place is "The Hidden Life of Architecture" by Taitawip Thirapongphaio. Please refer to ASA web site for more details of the award.

"The Eternity Sustainability" by Phornphong Yanyadech

The reasons for awarding the winner to Mr. Phornphong Yanyadech by the juries are as follows:
“This entry gave us an uncanny, global and at the same time very sensitive response to the competition brief. It has shown us a way to rethink the way we deal with our own mortality. It touches the subject of death in a narrative with different levels of experience. Firstly, it offers us a perspective and even an open dialogue about our own final destination. Secondly, it enables us to rethink what happens with our loved ones, and ultimately with ourselves, after we have passed on. Thirdly, it brings a poetic way of remembering and celebrating the lives and legacy of our loved ones. The entry successfully manages to address the issue of sustainability both in terms of land use and pollution as well as on a social and even a spiritual level. The entry has global appeal and addresses a ritual that is part of daily life. At the same time, this proposal is definitely uncanny. The impact this project could have worldwide is powerful. The jury unanimously selected this entry as the winning proposal”.

The screening was selected by architects such as the following world-renowned famous architecture firms:

NICO KIENZL (Atelier Ten)
• https://www.atelierten.com/

SANNE VAN DER BURGH (MVRDV)
• https://www.mvrdv.nl/

SINGH INTRACHOOTO (Kasetsart University Architecture, Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center)
• https://www.risc.in.th/

ASSAWIN CHOOCHOTTAVORN (Foster + Partners)
• https://www.fosterandpartners.com/

APICHART SRIROJANAPINYO (Stu/D/O)
• http://www.stu-d-o.com/

In support of ASA International Design Competition, ADF plans to invite the first-prize award winner Phonphon Yanyadeck to Tokyo for research studies and cultural exchange. Congratulations to the winners!