Diplomacy, organisational ability and attention to detail are qualities that Chinese woman Nittaya Wongsin has in abundance. They are qualities that her architect husband, Mario Kleff, appreciates enormously for they free him up to concentrate on what he does best – producing outstanding structural designs to adorn the Pattaya skyline.
The pair share a mutual understanding that underpins the success of their Wandeegroup design and construction business. While Mario immerses himself in innovative architectural solutions to his clients’ requirements, Nittaya quietly sets about ensuring that his grand plans are delivered – on time and on budget.
Mario freely concedes that his wife is effectively in charge of the day-to-day running of the business, oiling the wheels of the Wandeegroup in a way that he himself would find difficult at best and impossible at worst. Nittaya’s job is to translate Mario’s architectural designs into workable projects, procuring every conceivable component, from a stainless steel door handle to a bespoke air conditioning system, and ensuring that they are installed to the exacting, high standards the Wandeegroup has set itself.

Interior fittings
To complicate matters even further, the kind of interior fittings that Mario incorporates in his designs are unlikely to be found in your neighbourhood hardware store or at the local builder’s merchants.
Virtually every component, from interior doors and window frames to furniture, bathroom washbasins and kitchen fittings, are individually designed and, therefore, individually manufactured. Touches like that make Mario Kleff-designed buildings unique, but they also present a giant-sized problem to Nittaya whose job is to turn his visions into reality.
“My task is to source the materials and source the labour needed,” Nittaya told REm. “But first I need to understand exactly what the architects want in order to deliver it. Very often they require something special, in which case I would go to three separate suppliers to obtain estimates.
“If it’s a piece of furniture made from teak or mahogany, or a washbasin made from granite or marble, intended for a condominium block, I will arrange to have a prototype made to ensure it is exactly what is wanted before going into production.”
With nothing quite fitting into the category of ‘ordinary’, every showerhead, kitchen tap, door handle and window latch is a potential challenge.

Invaluable contacts
That’s where Nittaya’s vast network of contacts proves invaluable. The world is virtually her oyster with international borders providing no barrier.
Whether it’s marble from Italy or India, aluminium or glass from China, wood from Laos, Myanmar or Indonesia or handcrafted stone tiles from Greece, Nittaya knows exactly where to go to get it. And if the Wandeegroup’s own army of craftsmen can’t make it into something practical – and usually they can – she invariably knows where to go to find the requisite skills.
“We make all our own furniture,” Nittaya added. “We have a talented team of carpenters and upholsterers which I supervise. I will source the materials they need, arrange delivery and payment and ensure that the finished product is exactly what we want before I even let Mario see it! Every single investor and developer contracted to Wandeegroup will appreciate this service, along with the detailed and precise construction quotations we give them following Mario’s architectural designs.”
Nittaya enjoys nothing more than working with a team and with 10 or more projects encompassing around 350 residential units on the go right now, effective teamwork is key to the success of the business.
“I like to facilitate,” said the woman who is the embodiment of an iron hand in a velvet glove and whose contribution to the Wandeegroup business is every bit as crucial as that of her architect husband Mario Kleff.
“I like to motivate people, get their commitment to a project and ensure that they can work together as a team. And teamwork is what is Wandeegroup is all about.”

Total involvement
Her involvement in a project is total, from dealing with local authorities over initial planning applications to arranging a cleaning team to smarten up a completed building. As a result her workload is immense, requiring exceptional organisational abilities to ensure everything runs smoothly.
In typical Chinese manner, she handles the contract paperwork herself, clears legal matters and meets with all the team players involved to produce exact quotes for new projects.
“Being well organised is the key,” she said with commendable understatement. “Every month we draw up a timetable for each project and every two weeks I meet with about 15 key people – construction managers, engineers, carpenters and so on – to make sure everything stays on schedule.”
And invariably things do stay on schedule, although with the Wandeegroup continually growing, it is clear to Nittaya and Mario that the management structure is going to have to change to cope with the increasing workload. “We are working on introducing a new layer of management which will hopefully solve our next big challenge – quality control,” added Nittaya. “We need to build more time into our schedules for more comprehensive testing of systems.”
Nittaya Wongsin plays a key role in recruiting staff for all facets of the business, whether they be painters, decorators, construction workers or cleaners. It’s a job that Mario himself did for several years, but as the business grew the task became increasingly more time consuming, taking him away from the drawing board.
“Now I will simply say to Nittaya ‘find me 50 or 60 more people’ and she does, freeing me up to spend more time doing what I do best – designing buildings, making presentations to customers and planning and supervising construction engineering,” said Mario.

Running smoothly
“While I am doing that she is making sure everything is running smoothly on our building sites. Of course, I visit the sites and look at the final interiors when I can, but Nittaya won’t let me visit them until all the work is done properly!”
Mario freely admits that he and his wife are opposites, but their skills are complementary and their relationship is a key factor in the ongoing success of the Wandeegroup. “Together we work in a minefield,” said Mario. “But luckily Nittaya knows exactly where all the mines are.”

Exotic furniture
The sumptuous interiors that result from their partnership are rare in Pattaya’s condominium blocks, but are standard in condos, premium villas and exclusive houses built by Wandeegroup. Entrance doors, windows and solid, beautiful, exotic wood furniture are made directly on construction sites by Wandeegroup’s Chinese carpenters. Nittaya controls and co-ordinates all the teams involved in the same way Mario supervises his foremen and builders on skeleton construction work.

Effective leadership
“I think Nittaya can do these tasks better than I can,” said Mario, lead architect of the Wandeegroup, which has more than 250 on its payroll. “Not only does she understand where and how to get products and materials, but she knows how to lead the teams effectively. These are tasks that generally women can do much better than men.”
Nittaya added: “Together with Heights Holdings, we are trying to develop one or two superior condominium blocks that raise the interior standards for this kind of project in Pattaya.
“Haim Bar-David, CEO of Heights Holdings, well understands Mario’s desire to improve the general standard of rooms and together they sit for hours working on future plans.”
In her meeting with REm, Nittaya compared one of her Heights Holdings projects, Park Royal N 2 on Pratamnak Hill, with the modern Thai villa to be built on Phoenix Golf Course.
“Mario’s engineering designs for both these projects are so difficult to quote on as some of the steel parts involved have never been fabricated before and his extreme solutions for footings have never been tried in Thailand,” she said. “However, both projects will be highly valuable assets for their owners to live in with exteriors and interiors coming together
in harmony.
“It is particularly rewarding for me to see Pattaya’s housing stock improve in this way, not only with beautiful and more affordable condominiums, but also with single European and Thai-style homes.
“Organising and planning projects such as these is what I really enjoy.
“From living and working with a professional designer, I can appreciate how it feels to achieve such a goal. Mario loves to see his ideas for Pattaya become reality, and I will help him and support him all I can to make sure they happen. He has designed many projects outside Thailand, and with the help of our Middle Eastern and Russian investors I hope he can do the same here.”

Ambitious projects
There’s no doubt Mario Kleff and Wandeegroup can do the same here if the evidence of ongoing and recently-completed projects in Pattaya are anything to go by. With ambitious projects such as Laguna Heights, W-Tower, Heights Holdings’ Club Royal and the new Park Royal No 2, it would seem that, with enthusiastic support from investors and Government building authorities, they think so too. Ω