“It is time to stop being selfish” Kitti Kooptavinit Many years ago when we flipped through the magazines of houses, we would surely come across the name of a well-renowned architect, Kitti Kooptavinit. He’s the owner of many beautiful house designs which were photographed and printed on the many glossy pages of architectural and interior design magazines. Once Kitti began working under the patronage of His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen, he moved his family from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and he became distant from the city society. In retrospect, Kitti says he is happy with his peaceful and quiet life. OOM magazine speaks to Kitti, who has seen changes occur drastically and rapidly to the country for the past 60 years. Kitti seemed quite intimidating and hesitant at first, but said that he would be pleased to talk as he had a few things to relay to the younger generation. We arrived at Bhan Ton Nam, a residence occupying a wide area of many trees, singing birds and cool breezes. Kitti and his wife, Ooy, their children, Or, Gao, and Pai, and their adorable dog, Sab, all reside in the country-style house adapted from a silo. Kitti was originally a Bangkokian but has lived in Chiang Mai for the past 26 years. After earning his architectural degree in 1972 from the United States, he worked with the Housing Development Board in Singapore. It was at the initial stage when they were beginning to build apartment buildings. He was single, recently graduated and earned a good salary. It was an interesting job at the national level to build a city and not just buildings. A map of the master plan of the entire island of Singapore was set with red lines indicating each zone clearly. There were no permanent employees as Singapore hired the best professionals from all over the world to help contribute. Kitti feels a loss for Thailand because the nation is abundant with land, resources, and knowledge but people are still lost and quarreling. What is a city plan? Kitti explains that it was discussed more than a decade ago, when the city’s urban planning department called in people for a conference. It was a beautiful plan with an area for open space and businesses but did not end up as planned due to corruption. What was intended to be a green area became a school instead. “It was a pity that Chiang Mai was not in control since the very beginning. If we look at England, they were able to separate the country into Old Town and New Town and any building in need of renovation would have to be approved by the Committee. The British believed that all their buildings were of precious value. Chiang Mai is filled with temples but they can hardly be seen from the roads because of the row of town homes obstructing the view. But if the government is determined, they can buy back all the land and regulate strict laws. I believe that Chiang Mai won’t be able to promote its tourism for long. But look at Egypt – the country has only pyramids and coffins but people travel worldwide just to see it. Their ancestors had built treasures for the later generations to enjoy endlessly.” Kitti traced back to tell us how he ended up living in Chiang Mai. “A friend initially invited me to go to New Zealand, seeing that I loved nature, hiking and diving. But my mother knew better and encouraged me to work with MJ. Peesadech Rachanee (มจ.ภีศเดช รัชนี) who at the time was working in a royal project. The center was located at Ang Khang and every year, he would bring ambassadors to observe the project. There was no reception building or bathrooms at the time, so I went there to build a club house and storage building. He also asked me to build a house for him so that he could have a place to stay instead of his rural cabin.” “The work back then was quite challenging because transportation was not that convenient. I had to apply my knowledge in finding materials that could be found in the high mountains of the Doi. A tip I got from Dr. Angel, a researcher from Israel, suggested that I use a block of soil cement made from 95% red earth and 5% cement. Apart from the labor costs, the investment cost was relatively low. It is similar to those mud houses but much stronger and more durable. To this day, the building still stands strong at the 20th kilometer from Inthanon station. There is a photo of His Majesty the King standing at the balcony.” “Red earth is now rare to find as most of the roads leading to Doi Inthanon are complete. People now are more impatient and will probably buy the bricks rather than make them, plus the labor costs are expensive too. It was necessary to make them in the past because transport was not as accessible. It’s a great mix though, with a touch of softness where the red earth paths rest alongside the houses with a slightly lighter color. The houses had a rustic feeling, looking natural and without the need for any paint. I think it would be easy to build, even a two-storey one.” “At first I thought I was not going to stay long with the project but ended up staying three years. I switched to do freelance and stayed in Chiang Mai. When I stayed in Singapore, I earned a salary of 50,000 baht which was considered a very decent salary. When I worked with Khun Peesadech, do you know how much I made? 3,000 baht! (laughing) But I was able to survive on that amount because not much was needed when living in the mountains. It was dependent on how well adjusted you could be. For example, I played instruments and collected cameras, but when I moved up north, all I carried was a backpack. Electricity is limited in the mountains and when I read or do activities, I usually light up candles around me. It’s quite pleasant and believe it or not, creates an enormous amount of concentration. The peace and quiet makes me able to think and hear the most amazing sounds, such as birds, crickets and even dewdrops.” “My past work was incredibly popular to the point that furniture magazines would come and shoot all the houses I designed and built. I was asked to observe the Puping Palace and the first assignment was to build a structure from Eucalyptus. There were people who opposed to the growing of Eucalyptus, attesting that it spoils the soil. Her Royal Highness wanted to see that apart from being made in paper, it can be made in a log cabin. At first I felt challenged because it has never been used before. But I sought consultation and soaked the eucalyptus with pesticides and anti-corrosion fluids. The palace from eucalyptus still stands elegantly today.“
		“It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to work for the Royal Family. I am paid for my work but I aim for projects with low costs. The intellect and time spent on the work is so little when compared to how much His Majesty has graciously helped the nation. Being able to work on these various projects is comparable to becoming a support to His work and everyone is more than happy and willing to have this opportunity.” “Last year I went to the deep South for two months. Her Majesty the Queen was concerned about the issues in the South and donated her personal funds to purchase thousands of rai of land to be created in a village for widowers as a result of the struggle. Farmlands and houses were given to families who were victims. The villagers were very unfortunate as they left their houses each day, not knowing if they would ever come back. When I spoke to the villagers, I then knew the true cause of it all. But the conflicts of the deep South, I blame both the government and the Opposition. But I have to say that the former leader was a good one although we should have had measures to control the corruption. There has never been one leader who has done as well as he has and never one that has corrupted as much as he has either.” “Speaking about the children these days they go to school not because they want to but they only want the degree or are forced by their parents. They are not studying for their sake or to help build the country. I do worry about the next generation of children – not only do they have to struggle with the economy to survive but they also have to battle the imminent natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, pollution and other diseases. I think now is the time for people to stop being selfish. Wealth can not be taken with you when you die. If you are happy and feel sufficient, that is enough to lead a good life.” “It reminds me when I first moved to Chiang Mai and people were happy with what they had and they didn’t have to struggle to be happy. Once materialistic behaviors rolled in, they sold their lands for cars, televisions and did not know how to spend their money wisely. Now people here are not as happy as they were before – struggling the city life, driving to work and working hard to earn a living.” “Now they have to encouter floods. Just last week, there were flash floods at the foot of the Ang Khang hills. I know the reason why ; it’s because the trees have been cut down and lychees were grown instead. The forest which are like sponges that absorb the water are no longer there and water is overflown. The rainy seasons have not become regular, pouring heavy downfalls and flooding while sweeping houses away.” “We will most probably encouter floods every year. The dams tremendously helped the flooding problems but since they began building neighborhoods and highways, the soil was used for other purposes and the water overflowed. Bangkok is just the same way.” “I also would like to emphasize that our nation does not use the resources efficiently. For example, Chiang Mai is located in the valleys and hills, surrounded by mountains, with an area that is complete for one of the best irrigation systems. But the land has been used for other purposes.” “I would like to suggest one solution though. The area at the foot of the mountains is mostly red earth where water can not be reached and nothing can be grown. The government should rent out that area for periods of time and people can build low price condos or reasonably priced living accommodations. The valley can remain an area for growing – a green area – and the rains would not flood the people’s houses.” “These days I think it takes 20 - 30 years of hard work for a young couple to build a family or pay mortgage for a house or a car. They’ll pretty much be dead before they can pay it off. They aren’t able to enjoy the money that they make because they are slaves for their houses and cars. If the state offered more affordable houses for longer times, the future generation would be happy. The department of land development should have measures to see which soil is suitable for building houses.” “I believe there are many methods to solve these issues. We have the brain power. All we need is the government to lay out measures with strict controls so that corruption is eliminated.” “I may be talking too much but the bottom line of it all is ethics. This is important and I believe that if we use ethics as a rule in any occupation, whether be it a policeman, lawyer, architect or doctor, corruption will not prevail.” “There was once a man who almost became my client. He bought a piece of land in the Doi Bong Yang, an up and coming area in the forests. He wanted me to build him a house but I went to see his land and saw that it was against the law. I refused to do so because I did not support forest intrusion. That is my code of ethics. But he was persistent and said he had the purchasing power to pay me anything. I still declined because it was not right.” “I can say that my education abroad has trained me well about the honor system. The students would never cheat in a test as they believe that examinations are just instruments that evaluate them. But they are in school so that they can utilize the skill sets and knowledge learned in their future. I believe we should instill values of love for nature, the nation, our parents and society. As they grow older, they feel a love for nature and never think once about destroying forests.” “I enjoyed my studies abroad but the reason that my children are studying in the International School is because there are enough teachers to supervise the children, not a ratio of 50 to 1 like in other schools. Education abroad teaches children to think and research while in Thailand, children expect that teachers will tell them everything. In Thailand, parents pretty much leave their children with their teachers while international schools want the parents to be a part of the children’s learning.” “Although there are many Thais educated abroad but they refuse to tolerate the system that the society demands. They feel that they don’t use their full capacity and eventually leave. They initially feel honored to come back and help their country, especially after seeing the hard and dedicated work of His Majesty the King. But once they witness the corruption, no one remains patient to stay.” “I feel I have escaped the hustle and bustle of city life. Having grown up in Silom, I have never liked Bangkok. I was there when it was only small canals and railroad tracks but it has changed dramatically to this day. I feel it is not necessary to be living in such congested conditions. It’s like an endless stream of rivers where you get lost once you enter it. But I think things can be changed if the country has the people’s support. If Lee Guan Yu is able to apply strict measures on Singapore, why can’t Thailand do it?” “Hear me out in one lifetime there are 24 hours in one day. For example, if we sleep eight hours in one day, that is equivalent to one-third of a lifetime. Bangkokians also spend too much time on the roads, about 2-3 hours per day for their daily commute. That equals one-eighth of a lifetime. The commute, the traffic jams I’d say if there was better management and if the city did not grow out of control, we would be leading much happier lives.” “My child-rearing methods? My wife and I feel that our children can come to us for consultation. I have a house in Chiang Dao and every school break in December, the whole family goes there. We help each other out and enjoy and appreciate the nature. But on the other hand, we teach our children to be strong and knowledgeable of the law so that they are self-sufficient.” How must one think so that they carryon a happy life? “We should know the meaning of “enough.” Enough is sufficient to lead to happiness. I believe that people should stop being selfish and sacrifice more, which does not mean any kind of monetary factors. All you need is your brain power. There is much to be done to help society and if everyone sacrifices a bit here and there to help, Thailand will leap and grow far in the future.”