.....The unique attractions of Pattaya for investors mean that it is well placed to prosper when the current property downturn comes to an end.
That’s the view of architect Mario Kleff, managing director of the Wandeegroup which has been responsible for many of the most significant and prestigious buildings to be erected in Pattaya in recent years.
“Developers are naturally worried about the current global economic crisis,” Mario said. “But Thailand has many attractions, including low living costs and the fact that people want to live here, which give investors reasons to keep coming back.
“Right now it is difficult, but demand will come back. 2006 was a boom year. City Hall then issued more than 1,000 building licences, but in each of the last two years that figure has dropped to between 500 and 600. However, as long as people want to visit here and to live here demand will pick up, so this is still the place where a developer can make a profit.”
Mario believes that 2010 will be an even tougher year for the property market than 2009 is proving to be, simply because new projects already in the pipeline when the economic crisis hit will be completed and not be replaced with new ones. So his advice to would-be investors is to prepare now for projects to be completed two years or more down the line.
“Right now it is very competitive,” he said. “A project has to be absolutely outstanding to sell. So I would tell a developer with money to invest to prepare now for maybe the next two years.”
Mario’s Wandeegroup has never been short of work. In fact, he has been known to turn it away if the proposal put to him doesn’t offer him the creative licence he constantly seeks. But another key to the company’s ongoing prosperity is its diversity. Far from being just the firm of architects that most people imagine it to be, the Wandeegroup offers a wide array of services that make it a virtual one-stop shop for the would-be developer.

Deliver everything
“Not only do we plan a project from scratch but we have the ability to deliver everything needed to see it to completion,” Mario said. “People know us for our professional architectural services, but we often help developers plan their schemes, obtain all the necessary permissions, design the building, build them models, provide them with 3-D presentations, complete with animation if necessary, and manage the advertising on their behalf. As we have a construction company currently employing 136 people we can even build it for them and, if the project happens to be condominiums or housing units, we can even help sell them through our real estate agency. In fact, we also liaise with real estate agencies overseas to match projects with appropriate clients.”
Mario’s input at the planning stage is often immense. It is not unusual for a developer with an appetite for investing in real estate to have little or no idea of what he wants to develop when first contacting the Wandeegroup.
“I have had developers ask me ‘what should I build and where should I build it?’,” said Mario. “I might say build an eight-storey condo block because that it the biggest you can construct without complications. I will even help source the land if the developer hasn’t got anywhere in mind.
“I then produce a master plan for the project and along with that I will design the building itself – the one task that I undertake by myself. The remaining 10 office staff at Wandeegroup get involved once the plan has been approved by the customer.
“I tell the investor exactly what the project will cost and what he can expect to get as a return on his investment. Then we will produce a professional 3-D computer model which follows the exact specifications of the building, right down to the very last tile that will be used. By then I know precisely what particular brands of products I am going to use throughout the building and how they need to be installed.

Finished product
“Adopting this process means that everyone involved clearly understands what the finished project will be like. We will even display the building in its immediate surroundings if necessary, and provided the developer doesn’t change things later on site, the ultimate buyer has the benefit of getting exactly what he has seen in the sales literature.”
Professional model makers employed by the Wandeegroup can then produce laser-cut models made from acrylic, paper or metal. Often taking months to complete, these models are used for marketing the project to potential customers who may find it difficult to visualise what a building under construction will look like when completed. “In my opinion these are nice thing to have as they helps give a feel for the building and can be enjoyed as a piece
of sculpture,” Mario added.
“We might even produce a movie animation along with all the presentation tools needed to market the finished building. These could even include a showroom, like the one we have designed to promote the W-Tower at Wong-Amat, and we can even sell the units for the developer if required.
“Wandeegroup is not only a professional architectural office with high grade engineering skills, it has growing expertise in on-site construction methods. Everything is integrated, including our good relationships with the Thai and Chinese authorities, which is enormously helpful in ensuring proper planning procedures and hopefully leading the way to possible future larger-scale developments in this region.”
Mario the architect will often become Mario the site manager if the Wandeegroup is hired to construct the building – “but I do require 100 per cent authority to make decisions on the construction site!” he said. “In some cases the developer seems to forget we have agreed this and tries to change things in ways that I believe will not please the authorities or the ultimate buyers because the design quality presented to them will have been compromised.
“My job is to advise people and the big advantage to the developer of having me involved from the start to the finish is that I can see what’s possible and I can deliver the project most cost-effectively at the end.” Ω