Chula Architecture Faculty Wins Two Creative Excellence Awards 2026
Congratulations to Asst. Prof. Napat Kwanmuang and Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi of the Faculty of Architecture on receiving two major honors at the Creative Excellence Awards 2026, presented by the Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization), or CEA.
The awards recognize the faculty members’ innovative work in applying design, research, and technology to address real-world challenges and create meaningful economic, educational, and social impact. The achievement also highlights the Faculty of Architecture’s growing role in using design as a tool for sustainable development and positive change.
Asst. Prof. Napat Kwanmuang, a lecturer in Thai architecture in the Department of Architecture, received the Creative Education Award in the Creative Social Impact Awards category for “TORTHAI.”
TORTHAI is an innovative learning resource inspired by the form, proportions, and architectural elements of a traditional Thai chedi. Through hands-on assembly, learners explore how individual components come together to form an architectural structure while having the freedom to design their own chedis. The project makes Thai architectural knowledge more tangible, engaging, and accessible to young learners. It also includes educational materials linked to a digital knowledge database, supporting lifelong learning and creating what the project describes as a C3F (Creative + Fun/Find/Focus) learning experience. By combining traditional architectural knowledge with an interactive learning approach, TORTHAI offers a new way to connect younger generations with Thailand’s artistic and cultural heritage while demonstrating how academic expertise can be transformed into practical educational innovation.
a lecturer in the Department of Regional and Urban Planning
and Deputy Director of the CU Social Design Lab (second from left)
Meanwhile, Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, a lecturer in the Department of Regional and Urban Planning and Deputy Director of the CU Social Design Lab, received the Creative Data Award in the Creative Business Awards category for “Routes to Roots: A Cluster Tourism Development Project Based on Mobile Phone Usage Data Analysis.”
The project uses Call Detail Records (CDRs) to analyze tourist travel patterns and better understand how visitors move between destinations. The findings can inform government policy, business strategies, and tourism services, supporting evidence-based planning for tourism clusters across Thailand.
The research team has developed knowledge and practical tools that can be applied by government agencies, businesses, and tourism stakeholders. By revealing connections between tourist destinations, the project can help expand tourism opportunities and distribute economic benefits to secondary cities and local communities. Routes to Roots demonstrates how design can bring together data, technology, policy, and human needs to address complex challenges and generate measurable economic and social value.
Together, the projects demonstrate how architecture and design can extend beyond the built environment—combining culture, data, and creativity to solve real-world challenges and turn research into practical benefits for society.
The Creative Excellence Awards 2026, now in their fourth year, recognize outstanding projects that use creativity to drive economic development, improve quality of life, and create positive social impact in Thailand. The awards ceremony was held on August 14, 2026, at Siam Paragon, Bangkok.
