Sumet jumsai biography definition

Sumet JUMSAI  

Architect, author and painter, b. 1939, Bangkok

Academic background and affiliations :

MA, Dip.Arch, Ph.D, Cantab 1958-67

Bye Fellow, Robinson College, Cambridge University, Michaelmas 1989

Faculty member of the Dept. of Architecture, Cambridge University 1991-99

National Artist, Thailand 1998 (architectural category)

Honorary Fellow, The American Institute of Architects 2001

Member of the French Académie d’ Architecture 2002

Fellow Commoner, St.John’s College, Cambridge, Lent 2003

Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne 2002-07

Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) 2008

Private practice :

In private practice with SJA Co., Ltd. from 1969, and with SJA 3D Co., Ltd. 1989-2004.  His works are published and exhibited as sampled below.

Exhibitions :

Architecture :

- Fifty Leading Architects of the World, Vienna, Austria 1986

- Projects by Sumet Jumsai Associates, Osaka International House, Osaka, Japan 1991

- Place des Nations Competition Exhibition, Geneva 1995

- Venice Biennale 1996 / International Architects Section

-Group artists / architects travelling exhibition entitled Cities on the Move ; 1997 / 8 : Vienna ; Bordeaux ; Long Island City, N.Y. ; 1998 / 9 : Humlebaek, Denmark ; Hayward Gallery, London

- Exhibition at World Economic Forum, Davos 1999

- 30 years after - revisiting architects in Udo Kultermann’s book : Architecture in the Seventies, Kévés Studio Gallery, Budapest 2000 ; Museo Regional de Guadalajara, Mexico 2001.

- Group exhibition : Arti & Architettura 1900 – 2004, Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, Italy 2004 – 5.

Painting :

- Solo at Galerie Atelier Visconti, Paris 1999 – 2000

- Group exhibition at Toit de la Grande Arche, Paris-la Défense 2002

- La Lanta Gallery, Bangkok 2014

- VERSTECKT/hidden exhibition at NG39 Art Space, Raiding, Austria 2015

Awards :

- A total of 9 Gold Medal Awards for architecture, Association of Sia

Description: Designed in 1983 by Dr. Sumet Jumsai na Ayudhya with construction completed in 1986, the Robot Building served as the headquarters of Bank of Asia. Then, the building had its own distinctive character that was at the time different from general high-rise office buildings not just in Bangkok but in all of Asia. Since its inception, the building has always been highly influential and animatedly discussed thanks to its symbolic architectural statement. It’s even created a media frenzy through the decades with ranging reports by international news outlets. It went on display at international design events and exhibitions worldwide, including the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999. Sumet’s overwhelming architectural oeuvre assured him of a place in an exhibition entitled ‘50 Leading Architects of the World’. He was nominated and eventually selected as Thailand’s National Artist in 1998 in the Visual Arts (Architecture). Since 2017, Sumet’s collection of 337 architectural objects, including models, drawings and sketches, photographs, and archival documents of the Robot Building, has been held in the archives of M+ Museum, Hongkong. The Robot Building’s drawings and models are still on display there. Docomomo Thai considers the Robot Building as one of the most distinctive modern architectural masterpieces in Thailand. It has been featured in every architectural guidebook of Bangkok.

Architect: The Robot Building was designed by Dr. Sumet Jumsai na Ayudhya, one of Thailand’s internationally acclaimed architects. A graduate of the University of Cambridge where he studied under the supervision of Mr. Collin Rowe, Sumet is not just an influential architect and Thailand’s National Artist, but also a painter, author, newspaper columnist, urban-planning advisor, and an opinion leader spearheading the drive to preserve Thailand’s architectural heritage. Since 1969, he’s founded and headed several architectural firms (DEC, SLT, SJA, SJA+3D). The Ro