The East Asiatic Building is a historic building in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

's Bang Rak District. It sits on the eastern bank of the

Chao Phraya River The Chao Phraya River is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Etymology Written evidence of the river being referred to by the ...

, opposite the Oriental Hotel on Soi Charoen Krung 40 and adjacent to the Catholic Mission and Assumption Cathedral. The building was built c. 1900 in

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

style to designs by Annibale Rigotti, and served as the headquarters of the East Asiatic Company (Thailand) until 1995, receiving the

ASA Architectural Conservation Award The Architectural Conservation Award () is given by the in recognition of architectural conservation efforts by both the public and private sectors in Thailand. The awards, first given in 1982 and held annually since 2004, are presented to multipl ...

in 1984. In 2023, Asset World Corporation announced plans to renovate the building into a hotel under the

Plaza Athénée The Hotel Plaza Athénée is a Brunei-owned historic luxury hotel in Paris, France. It is located at 25 Avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, near the Champs-Élysées and the Palais de Tokyo. The hotel is part of the Dorchester ...

brand, in partnership with Nobu Hospitality.

Site

The East Asiatic Building is located at the end of Soi Charoen Krung 40, facing the Chao Phraya River, in Bang Rak district in Bangkok. The building sits next to the

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group International Limited is a multinational hospitality and management group focusing on luxury hotels, resorts, and residences, with a total of 43 properties worldwide, 20 of which it either wholly or partially owns ...

, on opposite sides of the ''

soi In Thailand, a ''soi'' ( ) is a side street that branches off of a major street (''thanon'', ). An alley is called a ''trok'' (). Overview Sois are usually numbered, and are referred to by the name of the major street and the number, as in "S ...

''. The Mandarin Oriental, originally the Oriental, was formerly owned by Andersen & Co., established by

Hans Niels Andersen Hans Niels Andersen (10 September 1852 – 30 December 1937) was a Danish shipping magnate, businessman, diplomat and founder of the East Asiatic Company. Early life Born into a working-class family in Nakskov, he trained as a shipbuilder bef ...

and

Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu (24 February 1852 – 25 March 1932) was a Danish naval officer and businessman who became a Siamese admiral and minister of the navy. He was granted the Thai noble title Phraya Chonlayutthayothin ().

, which later become the

East Asiatic Company The EAC Invest A/S, formerly known as the Santa Fe Group and East Asiatic Company ( or ''ØK'') is a multinational holding and investment company, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded by Hans Niels Andersen in 1887. It owned 5 subsid ...

(EAC). The building has direct access to the river via the Oriental pier.

Architecture

Sources credit the building's design to Italian architect Annibale Rigotti. The building, in Renaissance Revival style, is a masonry structure with three floors. The river-facing front façade features rows of semicircular-arched windows and a central projecting porch, the height of the building, topped by a large parapet bearing the company's insignia. A grand front staircase leads up to the main entrance on the middle floor.

History

The plot of land where the building stands previously served as a warehouse for the EAC before being torn down for the new building, which was constructed around 1900 to serve as the headquarters of the company. In 1995, EAC Thailand moved its headquarters to Lumpini Tower, and the building was sold to

Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi (; zh, c=, p=Sū Xùmíng, s=苏旭明, t=蘇旭明; : ; ; born 2 May 1944) is a Thai business magnate and investor. He is the founder of ThaiBev, Thai Beverage, and the chairman of conglomerates TCC Group (Thailand) ...

's business group. For some time in the 2010s, it was used as a commercial event space and rented as a filming location, administrated by Charoenkrung Studio. The building is generally closed to the public, but was opened to visitors in November 2018 when it was one of the venues for the

Bangkok Art Biennale The Bangkok Art Biennale is a biennial contemporary art exhibition held in Bangkok, Thailand, following the ''biennale In the art world, a biennale ( , ; ), is a large-scale international contemporary art exhibition. The term was popularised by ...

Future

In 2023, Asset World Corporation (AWC), a real estate developer under the

Sirivadhanabhakdi family The Sirivadhanabhakdi family () is a Sino-Thai business family and one of the wealthiest in Thailand. The family is headed by Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, who made his fortune in the alcoholic beverages business and has since, through many major acqu ...

's business group, announced that it would renovate the building as a hotel, to be operated under partnership with Nobu Hospitality as the Plaza Athénée Nobu Hotel and Spa Bangkok. Due to the building's cultural significance and heritage, AWC will preserve the building's exterior, whilst incorporating elements of Nobu hotels. The hotel is planned to be completed by 2026.

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