A truly effective workspace is far more than just a place to complete tasks.
As the Co-founder of Paperspace, Sombat Ng brings over 25 years of expertise as an interior architect shaping dynamic environments across the Asia-Pacific region. He champions the belief that the workplace is a powerful, often underused catalyst for organisational performance. It is also a vital ecosystem where teams connect, decisions are made, and a company’s core values become tangible.
Could you share your firm’s vision and design philosophy for the modern workplace?
I co-founded Paperspace with Chanidapa Marpraneet. Over the years, we have collaborated with global brands and leading Thai organisations who share a particular conviction with us: that the work environment should be designed to enable people and business outcomes—not simply to accommodate headcount.
To achieve this, we anchor every design decision in clarity, functionality, and long-term relevance—not in trends. This philosophy was shaped by seeing firsthand which workplaces age well and which do not; which ones support culture and which quietly erode it. Ultimately, we combine strategic thinking with design excellence to create refined, effective environments built for how organisations work today, while remaining adaptable for what comes next.
What do you think are the main challenges in localising a multinational’s brand DNA for workspaces in Southeast Asia?
Western brand DNA is built on cultural assumptions—about hierarchy, privacy, and collaboration—that do not translate one-to-one into Southeast Asia. Bringing global standards into a local office without questioning them produces spaces that look correct on paper but feel foreign to the people using them. The opportunity lies in letting the complexity of a global brand meet the texture of local culture without one overpowering the other. That intersection is where the most meaningful workplaces sit.
What core design principles will define the successful office of tomorrow?
First, deep human understanding. The successful office of tomorrow will be designed for the actual diversity of people who use it—their culture, working style, and how they draw energy. The era of designing for an average user is over. Second, the office must inspire. A workplace that only houses tasks is a missed opportunity. A space that gives people something to feel—that subtly raises their sense of what is possible in their own work—is a place that changes the people inside it.
What’s next in the pipeline?
Recently, I have been deepening my study of Eastern metaphysics—BaZi, Feng Shui, the Five Elements. Historically, workplace design has revolved around function and aesthetics, but these leave out a third dimension: how a space holds the people inside it, and how energy moves through a room. I am integrating this into a methodology called QiWish, bringing spatial design, Chinese metaphysics, and human behaviour into one conversation. It is the next horizon of our work: designing not only for what people do in a space, but for what the space does to them.
Ready to be the next Top 50 and stand out among SEA’s most notable designers?
