Kulapat Yantrasast
Encyclopedia
Kulapat Yantrasast is founding partner and creative director of wHY Architecture, specializing in architecture for the arts and sustainable architecture. wHY Architecture’s unique area of expertise includes the design and planning of art museums with focus on unique creative sustainable mission, museum gallery installation and exhibition designs as well as design of unique residences. wHY Architecture designed the Grand Rapids Art Museum
, opened in October 2007, the first new art museum building in the world to receive the LEED certification (Gold).
Yantrasast grew up in Bangkok
, Thailand
, where he graduated with honors from Chulalongkorn University
. He later received his Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees in Architecture from the University of Tokyo
, under Japanese Government’s scholarship.
From 1996 to 2003, Yantrasast worked as associate to Tadao Ando, responsible as project architect on international projects including the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas (2002) , Armani / Teatro in Milan
, Italy (2001) , Fondation Francois Pinault pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris, France (2001-2003) , the Calder Museum project in Philadelphia, PA (1999-2002) and the Clark Art Institute
in Williamstown, MA (2001-ongoing) as well as international design competitions. He still continues to assist and oversee selected ongoing projects for Tadao Ando.
wHY Architecture has collaborated with Tadao Ando on special projects in the United States.
Yantrasast has served, since 2005, on the Artists’ Committee of American for the Arts, the nation’s oldest organization for support of the arts in the society .
Yantrasast lectures widely on architecture as well as food in the US, and all over the world .
In 2009, Yantrasast received the Silpathorn Award from the Government of Thailand for outstanding achievement and notable contributions to Thai contemporary arts and culture. He is the first architect to receive the prestigious award .
(2007) the first new art museum building in the world to receive the LEED Gold. Since 2005, wHY Architecture has been working on the master plan of gallery reinstallation and design for the Art Institute of Chicago
with multiple completed galleries – Galleries of European Decorative Arts, African and Arts of the Americas, Arms and Armor, Indian and Islamic, Japanese, American Folk Art, as well as Prints and Drawings, and ongoing design and construction. At Harvard Art Museums, wHY Architecture has been working closely with the Museum staff as well as the team led by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, to design all the new galleries and art installation in the renovated and expanded museum building that will open to the public in 2014 .
In Louisville
, Kentucky, wHY Architecture has been working on the 250,000 sf renovation and expansion of the Speed Art Museum
, the oldest and largest art museum in the commonwealth of Kentucky
. In Texas
, WHY-design is working on the Tyler Museum of Art a new cultural nucleus of the East Texas region. The new museum design aims to have a small footprint, leaving most of the site as parkland and meadow.
In addition to art museums, wHY Architecture designed important art spaces including the well acclaimed L&M Arts Gallery in Venice, California as well as the new Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Hollywood, to open Spring 2012 . wHY also designed the Art Bridge – Interpretative Green Bridge at the Los Angeles River
– a new pedestrian bridge and viewing station for the Great Wall of Los Angeles murals. The bridge is designed to reflect the relationship of people and the LA River, and will be made from trash and debris salvaged from the River itself .
Residences include many large-scale homes in Malibu, California, urban dwellings in Venice and Beverly Hills, and villas in Thailand
, Chiangmai and Phuket
as well as Osaka
, Japan
.
Grand Rapids Art Museum
The Grand Rapids Art Museum is an art museum located in Grand Rapids, Michigan with collections ranging from Renaissance to Modern Art and special collections on 19th and 20th century European and American art, including such modern art works as Richard Diebenkorn’s 1963 Ingleside...
, opened in October 2007, the first new art museum building in the world to receive the LEED certification (Gold).
Yantrasast grew up in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, where he graduated with honors from Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University
Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...
. He later received his Masters’ and Ph.D. degrees in Architecture from the University of Tokyo
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
, under Japanese Government’s scholarship.
From 1996 to 2003, Yantrasast worked as associate to Tadao Ando, responsible as project architect on international projects including the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Fort Worth, Texas (2002) , Armani / Teatro in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy (2001) , Fondation Francois Pinault pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris, France (2001-2003) , the Calder Museum project in Philadelphia, PA (1999-2002) and the Clark Art Institute
Clark Art Institute
The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, usually referred to simply as "The Clark", is an art museum with a large and varied collection located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States...
in Williamstown, MA (2001-ongoing) as well as international design competitions. He still continues to assist and oversee selected ongoing projects for Tadao Ando.
wHY Architecture has collaborated with Tadao Ando on special projects in the United States.
Yantrasast has served, since 2005, on the Artists’ Committee of American for the Arts, the nation’s oldest organization for support of the arts in the society .
Yantrasast lectures widely on architecture as well as food in the US, and all over the world .
In 2009, Yantrasast received the Silpathorn Award from the Government of Thailand for outstanding achievement and notable contributions to Thai contemporary arts and culture. He is the first architect to receive the prestigious award .
wHY Architecture
Founded in 2003, wHY Architecture specializes in designing art museums, art galleries and architecture of creative sustainability. Kulapat Yantrasast was the design team leader for the Grand Rapids Art MuseumGrand Rapids Art Museum
The Grand Rapids Art Museum is an art museum located in Grand Rapids, Michigan with collections ranging from Renaissance to Modern Art and special collections on 19th and 20th century European and American art, including such modern art works as Richard Diebenkorn’s 1963 Ingleside...
(2007) the first new art museum building in the world to receive the LEED Gold. Since 2005, wHY Architecture has been working on the master plan of gallery reinstallation and design for the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
with multiple completed galleries – Galleries of European Decorative Arts, African and Arts of the Americas, Arms and Armor, Indian and Islamic, Japanese, American Folk Art, as well as Prints and Drawings, and ongoing design and construction. At Harvard Art Museums, wHY Architecture has been working closely with the Museum staff as well as the team led by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, to design all the new galleries and art installation in the renovated and expanded museum building that will open to the public in 2014 .
In Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, Kentucky, wHY Architecture has been working on the 250,000 sf renovation and expansion of the Speed Art Museum
Speed Art Museum
The Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest, largest, and foremost museum of art in Kentucky...
, the oldest and largest art museum in the commonwealth of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. In Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, WHY-design is working on the Tyler Museum of Art a new cultural nucleus of the East Texas region. The new museum design aims to have a small footprint, leaving most of the site as parkland and meadow.
In addition to art museums, wHY Architecture designed important art spaces including the well acclaimed L&M Arts Gallery in Venice, California as well as the new Perry Rubenstein Gallery in Hollywood, to open Spring 2012 . wHY also designed the Art Bridge – Interpretative Green Bridge at the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
– a new pedestrian bridge and viewing station for the Great Wall of Los Angeles murals. The bridge is designed to reflect the relationship of people and the LA River, and will be made from trash and debris salvaged from the River itself .
Residences include many large-scale homes in Malibu, California, urban dwellings in Venice and Beverly Hills, and villas in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Chiangmai and Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
as well as Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.