Chokchai Panyayong, 51, a vice president of Thai Airways International, is both an architect and civil engineer by training. As head of the national flag-carrier's project development at the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport near Bangkok, his skills have proved beneficial in various aspects.

Prior to joining THAI in the late 1980s, Chokchai earned a bachelor's degree in architecture from Mapua Institute of Technology in the Philippines in 1978. During 1980-81 he went to the United States for further studies and got another bachelor's degree in civil engineering, as well as a master's in engineering from the University of Detroit, Michigan.

On the engineering side, Chokchai has been spearheading an energy-saving and environmental-protection programme for several THAI projects altogether worth Bt15 billion - including a head office, airline catering facility and cargo storage facility - at the new airport.

"As you know, oil prices have kept rising unabatedly so we need to be very innovative in saving energy in all our new schemes. All the building materials at Suvarnabhumi are supposed to help us save more energy in the long run, so we have used a lot of double-glazing and insulation materials, for instance, to shield the buildings from daytime heat in order to lower the cost of electricity for air-conditioning.

"Overall, we've also worked closely with the architects in the design process to ensure that all the functionality of these buildings and related facilities remain at the optimal level despite energy-saving measures. Operationally, this will also be managed by an intelligent building automation system which, for instance, will adjust the buildings' outer components to reduce direct sunlight exposure from late morning till late afternoon.

"Another example is the use of co-generation systems to power catering, laundry and other related facilities. This will cut energy bills by up to 50 per cent. On the environment, we'll minimise pollution from jet fuel and other petroleum products as well as recycle lots of leftovers and garbage from the catering facility," he said. Chokchai says the ultimate objective of the architectural design is to underline THAI's corporate identity as well as Thai culture.

"The overall theme is Suvarnabhumi, or Golden Land. For instance, our airport head office is situated at the central intersection of the vast airport so it will be a landmark highlighted by huge glass sheets that reflect the blue skies over the building. The landscape will be decorated by relatively low-growing bushes and trees such as palms, lian and fueng-fah. Purple will be highlighted since it's the livery of our airline.

"For landscaping, we also have to ensure that the bushes, trees and flowers do not become a source of food for birds and attract plenty of them to the place since they're dangerous for aircraft takeoffs and landings," he said.

As for Thai-ness, Chokchai says the country's cultural heritage rooted in the history of Suvarnabhumi will be exemplified via decorative arts, including paintings and sculptures, a giant sarn phra bhumi (shrine) and a multidimensional walk-in art gallery.

"Altogether, we've commissioned Arjan Preecha Thaothong and a group of leading national artists to create around 500 works of art. All will be originals, not prints or reproductions. Many of these works are now finished and all should be ready for exhibition around June this year. As you may know, Thai arts are essentially Buddhist. We also plan to distribute leaflets and manuals with educational information on all these works.

"For passengers, the first-class and business-class lounges have been specially designed and decorated to set them apart from those of other airlines. Gold will feature prominently in the theme for first-class lounges, while orchids will be highlighted for the silver-class lounges.

"It could be said that we rely heavily on traditional arts and culture in communications with our worldwide customers to project a unique image that bolsters our marketing and sales campaign," he said.

As the Suvarnabhumi airport project manager for THAI, Chokchai believes the overall budget of Bt15 billion - including Bt400 million for interior design and decoration - will be money well spent.

"If we do not invest substantially in Suvarnabhumi, we'll lose lots of future business opportunities. The projection is that we'll break even in about eight years. Besides state-of-the-art equipment and technology, we need Thai hospitality as well as unique arts and culture in order to be successful internationally," he said.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com