King Power Mahanakhon (), formerly known as MahaNakhon (มหานคร), is a

mixed-use Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

in the

Silom Si Lom Road (also written as Silom, , ) is a major street in Bangkok, Thailand. The road is best known for its commerecial neighbourhood, which, along with the nearby and roughly parallel Sathon Road, forms one of the city's main business distr ...

/ Sathon

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

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 ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It was opened in December 2016 by MahaNakhon Managing Director Kipsan Beck. It features the unconventional appearance of a glass curtain walled square tower with a cuboid-surfaced

helix A helix (; ) is a shape like a cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is for ...

cut into the side of the building. Following transfer of the first residential units in April 2016, at with 77 floors, it was recognized as the tallest building in Thailand on 4 May 2016 by the

Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is an international body in the field of tall buildings, including skyscrapers, and Sustainable design, sustainable urban design. A non-profit organization based at the Monroe Building in ...

(CTBUH). Featuring hotel, retail and residences, 200 units of The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok inside the building are priced between around $US1,100,000 to $US17,000,000, making it one of the most expensive condominiums in Bangkok. The building was recognised as the tallest building in Thailand until the Magnolias Waterfront Residences at ICONSIAM broke the record in 2018 with the height of 317 metres. The building was purchased from CEO Sorapoj Techakraisri of PACE Development by

King Power The King Power International Group () is a Thai travel retail group, based in Bangkok. The chairman and CEO was Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha until his death in October 2018. He was succeeded as chairman by his son, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha. King P ...

group in April 2018, resulting in the name change from MahaNakhon to King Power Mahanakhon.

History

Details of the MahaNakhon development were announced on 27 May 2009. The development team included German architect

Ole Scheeren Ole Scheeren (born 6 January 1971) is a German architect, urbanist and principal of Büro Ole Scheeren Group, Büro Ole Scheeren with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Berlin and Bangkok and was a visiting professor at the University of Hon ...

, former partner of the design firm

Office for Metropolitan Architecture The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is an international architectural firm with offices in Rotterdam, New York, Hong Kong, Doha, and Australia. The firm is currently led by eight partners - Rem Koolhaas, Reinier de Graaf, Ellen va ...

; Thai company Pace Development; David Collins Studio in London; and Industrial Buildings Corporation (IBC). In 2015 PACE bought the remaining shares of former partner IBC, thus becoming the sole project developer. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

ceremony was held on 20 June 2011, the building was topped off in 2015, and was completed in 2016. The total project value as a result of pricing changes during the course of construction reached 21 billion

baht The baht (; , ; currency sign, sign: ฿; ISO 4217, code: THB) is the official currency of Thailand. It is divided into 100 ''satang'' (, ). Prior to decimalisation, the baht was divided into eight ''fueang'' (, ), each of eight ''at'' (, ). The ...

(US$620 million). In October 2013, the construction of the smaller CUBE building was finished. At that time the main tower reached the 4th floor, growing at the rate of approximately two to three storeys per month. As of September 2014, construction of the main tower reached the 45th floor, and in December 2014 the building had reached the 60th floor. In April 2015, PACE revealed that the tower had reached its full height and was topped off at 314 meters, making it the tallest building in Bangkok. Finally in 2016, the CTBUH recognized the building as completed. In March 2014, PACE announced that the development was now being sold

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

, having previously been a leasehold property. The building was purchased from PACE Development by

group in April 2018, resulting in the name change from MahaNakhon to King Power Mahanakhon.

Design and location

The tower is the shape of a square prism with the appearance of a rough spiral with cuboidal surfaces cut into the side of the building. The building features a pixelated ribbon that swirls around the exterior, peeling back its surface layer to expose an inner layer, creating balconies with views of the city. The glass walls are divided horizontally and vertically, adding to the building's "pixelated" and "unfinished" appearance. Its height surpassed that of the

Baiyoke Tower II Baiyoke Tower II (, , ) is an 88-story, skyscraper hotel at 222 Ratchaprarop Road in the Ratchathewi District of Bangkok, Thailand. It is the third tallest completed building in the city, after MahaNakhon and Magnolias Waterfront Residences a ...

's record of at the time of completion in 2016, making it the 88th tallest building in the world. Among the features of the building are: of retail space (MahaNakhon CUBE and MahaNakhon HILL Retail components); 209 residences serviced by Ritz-Carlton, which, with prices ranging from approximately 42 – 500 million baht (US$1.2–14m), are among the highest prices asked for Thai luxury real estate, freehold or leasehold in Bangkok; The Standard Bangkok Mahanakhon, with 155 rooms, to be operated by

Standard Hotels The Standard Hotels is a worldwide chain of twelve boutique hotels operated by Standard International Management. The chain was established in 1999.Its two original properties, in Hollywood and Los Angeles, closed in 2021 and 2022 respectively. ...

; as well as a rooftop observation deck. MahaNakhon at one point featured Thailand's first L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Bangkok), Thailand's first restaurant by Iron Chef

Masaharu Morimoto is a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show ''Iron Chef'' and its spinoff ''Iron Chef America''. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food. Career Morimoto was born in Hiroshima, where he rece ...

, Thailand's first Vogue Lounge, and the largest Dean & DeLuca in Thailand, however all retail outlets have been closed in 2019 pending redevelopment by the new owners. An outdoor plaza ("MahaNakhon Square"), will connect the tower to the Chong Nonsi station of the BTS Skytrain

Silom Line The Elevated Train in Commemoration of Bhumibol Adulyadej, HM the King's 6th Cycle Birthday 2nd line, also known as Silom Line, is one of the rapid transit lines of the BTS Skytrain, BTS Skytrain System in Bangkok, Thailand.The line runs eastward ...

and the

Bangkok BRT The Bangkok BRT is a bus rapid transit system in Bangkok, Thailand that consists of one line connecting Sathorn with Ratchaphruek. The route has 14 stations in the centre of the road that give at grade access to the right hand side of the ...

station on Narathiwat Ratchanakharin Road. In January 2013, PACE Development announced the sale of the highest-price condominium penthouse in Thailand at MahaNakhon, a two-floor, residence costing 480 million baht. PACE Development marketed MahaNakhon overseas, including in the Middle East, the first time that a Thai property developer had marketed Thai property in the Middle East as well as in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Awards

In September 2014, the project earned the first of several awards for Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok at MahaNakhon as "Best Luxury Condo Development 2014 (Bangkok)" at the Thailand Property Awards. In October 2014, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Bangkok at MahaNakhon was named "Best Thailand Development 2014" and "Best Luxury Condominium Southeast Asia 2014" at the SE Asia Property Awards. In 2015, former chief marketing officer and former managing director of MahaNakhon Kipsan Beck accepted the winning three major awards including Best Mixed Use, Best Residential, and Best Residential Highrise at the Asia-Pacific Property Awards. Subsequently, the project has also been recognised with presentations at the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU; ; , ) is a public university, public Autonomous university, autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally founded during King Chulalongkorn's reign as a school for training ro ...

Trivia

Mahanakhon is part of Bangkok's ceremonial name and means "large (or great) city" Reproduced in .

References

External links