A sinuous skin with 300,000 aluminum tiles. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A
22/05/2017.
[Bangkok] Thailand
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
A london-based architecture practice, led by Amanda Levete, has completed a sinuous shape tower cover with a skin of 300,000 aluminum tiles. A 37-storey mixed-use tower, inBangkok, Thailand.
Aerial view. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
View from street. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Terrace view. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Hall. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Hall. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Detail façade. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Detail façade. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Night view. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Night view. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Night detail. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
Floor level 3 plan. Image courtesy of AL_A.
Floor level 16 plan. Image courtesy of AL_A.
Floor level 36 plan. Image courtesy of AL_A.
Roof level plan. Image courtesy of AL_A.
North elevation. Image courtesy of AL_A.
West and East elevation. Image courtesy of AL_A.
South elevation. Image courtesy of AL_A.
Night view. Central Embassy in Bangkok by AL_A. Photograph @ Hufton + Crow
The tower designed by AL_A, is located within the former gardens of the british embassy on Bangkok’s Ploenchit road, the 1.5 million square foot project features a seven-floor retail podium with a 27-storey high-rise hotel. The two elements are brought together with a looped form that combines the plinth and tower as one sinuous structure. Amanda Levete's design seeks to unite traditional craftsmanship with digital design technologie.
Description of the project by AL_A
AL_A has completed Central Embassy, a striking retail, leisure and hotel tower in central Bangkok.
Central Embassy brings a distinguishing new silhouette in the city, one that opens out both to the street and the skyline, and extends an invitation to the people of Bangkok and the world beyond.
Located within the former gardens of the British Embassy, along Ploenchit Road, Bangkok’s primary commercial artery, the 1.5 million sqft mixed use project merges a seven storey luxury retail podium and a 27 storey five star Park Hyatt hotel tower into a cohesive, architectural entity. The tower is the first to be completed by a British architect in Thailand.
The hotel and shopping mall are bound together using the notion of a continual looped form to give a more intuitive merging between plinth and tower and between the programmes. The continuity of the tower line appears to break down the volume of the mass of the plinth, creating a structure that is asymmetrical in all dimensions.
The openness of the form embraces the city and sets up reciprocal views, with a series of terraces outside and balconies within to see and be seen. The elevated form that rises from the podium wraps around two vertical light wells, opening up internal spaces to reveal stepped terraces, and dividing hotel functions: private guest-related programmes face the gardens of Nai Lert Park, while the hotel bar, reception lounge and sky terrace face the city centre.
Uniting traditional craftsmanship with digital design technologies, the design of the façade builds on Thailand’s tradition of intricate pattern making. The exterior is clad in 300,000 aluminium tiles, each with two surfaces to reflect both the chaos of the city and the sky itself. Creating a dynamic pattern in response to external conditions, the distribution of tiles creates a moiré-like effect, articulated by the play of light and reflection along the varying profiles.
More information
Architects
AL_ALocation
Principal.- Amanda Levete
Architects Team
Architect Of Record.- Pi Design
Project Director (concept to Stage D).- Alice Dietsch
Project Director (Stage DD to completion).- Diba Salam
Area
1,500,000.0 sqf
Dates
Project Year.- 2017
Team
Ho-Yin Ng, Maximiliano Arrocet, Stefano Bertotti, Alex Bulygin, Filippo Previtali, Bruce Davison, Peter Feldman, David Flynn, Chris Geneste, Alvin Huang, Yoo Jin Kim, Naoki Kotaka, May Leung, Desislava Lyutakova, Cyril Manyara, Monica Noguero, Eoin O'Dwyer, Adam Peacock, Giulio Pellizzon, Fred Pittman, Filippo Previtali, Jakob Pryzblo, Tanya Rainsley, Irene Shamma, Joy Natapa Sriyuksiri, Jurgen Strohmayer, Paula Vega, Michael Wetmore, Claudia White
Collaborators
Project Manager.- PPS
Structural Engineer.- Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick and Arun Chalseri
Consulting Service Engineers.- MITR
Amanda Levete
Amanda Levete is a Stirling Prize winning architect and founder and principal of AL_A. She trained at the Architectural Association and worked for Richard Rogers before joining Future Systems as a partner in 1989, where she realised groundbreaking buildings including the Media Centre at Lord’s Cricket Ground and Selfridges department store in Birmingham. Amanda is a trustee of leading social innovation centre the Young Foundation and has served as a trustee of influential arts organisation Artangel for over a decade. She is a regular radio and TV broadcaster, writes for a number of publications, including the New Statesman and Prospect, and lectures worldwide.
