LPN Development’s chief executive officer and managing director Opas Sripayak said that the approval would allow the business to plan a solid social strategy for the years ahead. It is one of 15 firms to be earn department approval and the only property business to be recognised.

Lumpini Property Service and Care currently employs 1,900 staff, most of them disabled women taking care of families. The firm’s business strategy is to provide opportunities for disabled people and improve their standard of living, he said.

Up to 69 per cent of its staff are millennials born between 1982 and 2004, 30 per cent generation x (1961-1981), with generation B (1945-1960) making up the balance of 1 per cent.

The academy provides a venue for staff of different generations to share and merge their experience and ways for the best approach to sustainable growth. An AP Property school was also set up to familiarise our staff with the latest technologies and innovations in the sector, he said.

The AP Open House was inaugurated in 2016, offering university students an opportunity to learn about the property business through training. A total of 110 attended the course in its three years of operation: 30 each in 2016 and 2017, followed by 50 this year.

Its programme not only focuses on the engineering and management aspects of the business, but also other faculties such as architecture and economy for those who pass an examination.

Furthermore, it offers a channel of communication with the younger generation through which we get to know about their lifestyles and residential preferences.

Design symposium

The academy’s AP Design Symposium, conducted by experts in the field, offers a venue for the creatives to share their innovations on project designs.

To fund the programme, the company has set aside an annual budget of Bt70 million as it believes staff improvement is the key driver to continued success and growth of our business, Vittakarn added.

Four university students who topped the class of AP Academy open house 2018, held by AP (Thailand) Plc, explained the concept on a recent visit to the Muji house and construction sites in Osaka, Japan.

“In the two months of training from the beginning of June, I have learned the various ways of residential designs that cater to the needs and lifestyles of different groups of occupants – including singles, families and the elderly, said Thikhamporn Samretsil, a junior student at the Faculty of Engineering’s department of Civil Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi and one of the four participants of the training programme awarded with the visit to Osaka.

Pimpisa Klinkajone, a junior at the Faculty of Engineering’s Department of Civil Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University said the site visits served as an inspiration on how to apply her training at the academy in her future career. I also learned new technology in construction, especially the prefabrication system and the construction process under Japanese standard.

Bhatralapa Vachekrilas, a senior at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, said the visits have familiarised her with the design thinking concept, such as the functional designs of various residential buildings and the importance of collaboration with all company units through each stage of a project.

“The visit also taught me the effective way of presenting a product, such as through the use of technology as witnessed on a visit to a sale office of a residential project in Osaka,” Bhatralapa said.

The two-month training in Thailand and Japan has advanced my goal to become a marketer, I will share my learning with other students at the university, said Noppawat Putthacha, a junior at the Faculty of Management Science’s Department of Business Management, Mae Fah Luang University.

On the visit to Muji House in Takarazuka, a representative said the company focuses on designing residential projects under the energy-saving concept and the future requirements of residents as the number of family members rise as well as the ageing issue.

“We launched our first residential design, Wood House, in 2004. It was followed by Window House in 2007 and Vertical House in 2014. All of our designs took into considerations the changing needs and requirements of occupants at each stage of living: from being young and single to becoming grandparents. Our flexible designs allow changes to the functions of the interior space, such as creating an area for family activities and adding or reducing the number of rooms in the house,” he said.

Since 2004, the company has designed at least 300 units of single-detached houses a year. It is now looking to expand overseas, he said.

Green and Energy-Saving Design

The Parkhouse Oikos Mikunigaoka in Osaka, designed by Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, exemplifies the latest concept, BIO NET Initiative, for condominium developments with its focus on green environment and energy-efficiency. The company is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Estate Group which is a partner of AP (Thailand) Plc.

Embracing the new model, a study of the ecosystem in and around the site was conducted prior to the design of a green area with suitable trees and plants.

“We also observed the birds and animals in the area with the intention of incorporating a natural habitat in the design of the green area, said Yuki Hikasa of the company’s international business planning department.

He added that the project has also installed an “ENE Farm” for the heating of all 182 units in the property. The system generated energy from natural sources. It helps reduce the cost of electricity by up to 80,000 yen a year from 120,000 yen for a residential unit of 80 square metres.

Flexible design of the units allows residents adjustment to the interior arrangement when required.

Up to 50 per cent of the 182 units have been sold, he added.

Vittakarn Chandavimol, chief of AP (Thailand) Plc’s corporate strategy and creation unit, said the company has learned from its strategic partner the latest technology and process in the development of residential projects. The company also encourages its staff to operate under the motto of “AP Way and AP Standard” to best serve homebuyers.

“For example, we plan to launch residential projects for the elderly in 2020. As a preparation, we have visited properties built for the same purpose in Tokyo by the Mitsubishi Estate Group to learn from its experience,” he said.

The AP Academy programme offers an opportunity for its staff and others to deepen their understanding of the property sector towards the goal of better quality and higher standard for sustainable growth,Vittakarn concluded.

He said the Government Housing Bank will also launch Bt60 billion worth of the new mortgage loans for residences priced below Bt1 million under the campaign, whose slogan is All Thai People Have to Have a Home.

Located on a 13-rai land, the project targets wealthy homebuyers such as top company executives, business owners as well as parents of students of the international schools in the vincinty , the company’s assistant managing director Bunyalit Jirapojaporn said yesterday.

The project will help drive the company towards its revenue target of Bt2.5 billion this year, he said.

Bookings for both projects will open next month, the company said in a press release on Monday.

Up to Bt10 billion will be used to finance loans to property developers building residential projects with a sale price not exceeding Bt1 million per unit. The remaining Bt50 billion will be granted to individuals applying for mortgages of not more than Bt1 million per unit with a special interest rate of 3 per cent for the first five years or monthly instalments of Bt3,800 per month, the release said.