ENDURING SYMBOL OF ARCHITECTURE

       The main feature of the mixed-use MahaNakhon projecty will be a 77-storey tower that will be one of the tallest structures in Bangkok's central business district (CBD).
       It is the creation of internationally acclaimed architect Ole Scheeren, one of the principal architects in the Dutch firm Office for Metropolitan Architecture and widely recognised for his work on the pioneering CCTV Building in Beijing.
       With its distinctive sculptural appearance, MahaNakhon will have a three-dimensional ribbon of architectural "pixels" circling the tower's full height, as if excavating portions of the elegant glass curtain wall to reveal the inner life of the building, said Pace Development CEO Sorapoj Techakraisri.
       MahaNakhon's profile will generating a set of special features - projecting glass skyboxes with sweeping views and generous indorrr/outdoor spaces well suited to Bangkok's tropical climate. Residences without pixels will exjoy innovations never seen before: double-height living spaces and duplexes with full-height folding balcony windows that fold inwards to open up homes and allow living areas to become indoor/outdoor environments.
       MahaNakhon's stacked surfaces, terraces and protrusions have been' conceived to convey the energy, intensity and inclusiveness of Thai society and celebrate Bangkok's emergence as a true global capital, fitting the Thai meaning of the name MahaNakhon (great metropolis).
       The complex will stand in the CBD on more than 9 rai directly adjacent to Chong Nonsi Skytrain Station on Narathiwat Road, between Silom and Sathorn roads.
       Its components will include MahaNakhon Square, a landscaped outdoor public plaza intended as a new public destination within the city; MahaNakhon Terraces, 10,000 square metres of lifestyle retail space with gardens and terraces on multiple levels for restaurants, cafes and a 24-hour marketplace; The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok, with 200 highly-customised single-level and duplex homes, managed by The Ritz-Carlton with five-star amenities for all residents and interior-designed by David Collins Studio; and The Bangkok Edition, a boutique hotel with 150 rooms that will be a collaboration between Marriott International and renowned hotelier Ian Schrager. The complex will be topped by a multilevel rooftop Sky Bar and Restaurant, 310 metres above the street.
       Sorapoj said the project was the result of strongly held wish to do something for Thailand that would be both an enduring architectural symbol and proof of the company's commitment and confidence in Thailand's long term economic prosperity and cultural diversity.
       Architect Ole Scheeren said MahaNakhon would not be an inert isolated skyscraper, but rather a building that would actively engage the city and connect to its urban fabric.
       The three-dimensional pixels that spiral up the tower will offer differentiated indoor and outdoor spaces of an energetically public and exclusively private nature. The building will absorb Bangkok's intensely vibrant energy and simultaneously give it back to the city.
       The project has passed an environment-impact assessment, and application has been made for a construction licence, so building can start around the end of this year, for completion in 2012, Sorapoj said.