Vipavadee Pao Patpongpibul

As the founder and CEO of P49 Deesign & Associates, Vipavadee leads one of the largest interior design companies in Thailand and South East Asia. Boasting a stellar career, Vipavadee earns global acclaim for stand-out designs particularly in the luxury hospitality scene. An exemplary designer and leader who aspires through her works and visions, Vipavadee is also the current and first female President of the Thailand Interior Designers’ Association (TIDA).

P49 Deesign is an award-winning interior design company that has designed many international hospitality projects synonymous with luxury. Where do you draw your design inspirations from?

I believe in designing an environment that has a sense of place. That sense of place can manifest itself in many ways and we always try to seek new ways, a new lens to interpret our site. The location, culture, architecture, history, music, literature, rituals, legends are some of the many catalysts that inspire us. We are genuinely curious about each location, each new vision and each new circumstance as no two projects are alike. The lens that we look through is also coloured by who the users will be interacting within our spaces and where our client envisions the project in the market.

Luxury itself can also mean different things to different people in different times. We understand that there are many kinds of luxury, from opulence to understated and many paths in between. Delving into what defines luxury in relation to each project is also a perpetual study for us as it continues to evolve through time.

Can you describe P49 Deesign’s style?

Our practice is comprised of many talented individuals. Our design is diverse, reflecting the diverse sensibilities of our team. So it is hard to pin down what our “design style” is. In fact, we are proud of this diversity as we do not want to be boxed into a particular style. We value our ability to answer many briefs and our ability to create something unexpected. But perhaps we can talk more about our “design approach” instead. We value collaboration. We believe in aligning our vision with our client and the architect. This doesn’t mean that we just go with the flow. We will propose our unique ideas but we have a deep understanding that, standing apart, we can only be as strong as our individual parts. But through true collaboration, we can create a project that conveys a strong unified vision. And a strong vision is a strong statement that ultimately stands out.

Having been in this industry for several decades, has your design approach or philosophy changed over time, and how?

I would say that my core belief and philosophy in interior design has only gotten stronger.

As the President of the Thailand Interior Designers’ Association, what is your vision for the country’s interior design industry? How has the industry evolved over the years?

Thailand has always been a “design-centric” country. The initial aim was to raise the standard of professional service to allow for Thai interior designers to compete more vigorously domestically and internationally. Today, what used to be an industry that was dominated by a few large studios that take on predominantly large scale projects leaving smaller residential and commercial projects to more of a DIY approach, Thailand interior design industry has grown to include individual freelancers with outstanding work, to small and medium scale studios and take on small shop houses to luxury residences, all the way to large corporations. Choices have expanded. There is something for everyone. Design has become more accessible.

Hand in hand with that, I would say that the “design awareness” for interior design has been raised. The general public is now more aware of the value added by professional interior designers. As this awareness grows, it results in raising the overall standard of the built environment of the whole country.

Our aim now is to help support and promote younger and smaller firms to expand and grow and bring design even closer to people.

You have accomplished so much professionally. What have been some career highlights? What has been key to your success?

A design practice cannot be built alone. I would say that my greatest achievement is finding great people to work with me. I also value young minds that are full of new crazy ideas. I find that having a team with varying degrees of experience, from new grads to partners working together and exchanging ideas and experiences, make for a dynamic and creative outcome.

Another of our core value is sincerity and professionalism. This might sound basic, but for me, being sincere in our role as a service professional is one of the utmost important quality in an interior designer. Design is part creative art part fulfilling a purpose or solution. The fun and glamorous side may seem more attractive, but it must not come at the cost of fulfilling its purpose for being. Whether that purpose is individual needs, functions or commercial value. Otherwise the project would be a failure. A designer must put on different hats, from designer, to investor, to contractors, to housekeeper etc. to be able to see a project from all angles and create a solution that really work. As boring as this may sound, respecting budget, brief and schedule is a sign of professionalism. Doing that while constantly raising the creative bar is what will bring clients back.

I don’t really think about career highlights or achievements much. Every day, it’s already amazing to me that we’ve managed to grow from a 2 person company working from a garage to a 150 people practice with projects all over the world.

But I must say that one of the meaningful recognitions was getting recognized by Thailand Tatler magazine as one of the “20 Women who make a difference”.

Also, getting elected for the role of President of Thailand Interior Designers’ Association is also something I’m very proud of. I find that working for the Thai interior design community and making a difference in some way to our industry is very rewarding.

And last year, I’m much honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from Thailand Interior Design Association. It was very meaningful to me to be recognized by my peers.

Can you tell us about some projects you are working on now?

We are very excited about working on a new heritage project on the Chaopraya river. I really love when I get to work on a project with a strong historical heritage and looking at it with fresh eyes. We are also very excited for the soon to open Raffles Hotel Udaipur and Sofitel Adelaide. On a different note, we are working on So Samui, which is very exciting and another resort all the way in Fiji.

So work is as varied as ever and we feel very lucky and proud as a Thai interior design firm to be working in over 20 countries all over the world.