Nothing is more telling of a city’s progress than the state of its skyline. Bangkok is currently a frenzy of construction as contractors race to deliver an impressive line-up of new buildings, among them the 615m-high Rama IX Super Tower, set to be the seventh tallest in the world. Notable buildings completed in recent years include the MahaNakhon – or the Pixel Tower as it’s known – by architect Ole Scheeren, and Central Embassy, a curvilinear, three-dimensional coil by Amanda Levete’s London practice AL_A.
Newly moved into the upper 24 floors of the latter is the much anticipated Park Hyatt Bangkok. Set within the former gardens of the British Embassy at the corner of Wireless and Ploen Chit Roads – the city’s heaving commercial artery – Central Embassy is the Central Group’s flagship property, and was already home to six floors of luxury retail.
For Park Hyatt, New York and Toronto-based firm Yabu Pushelberg has embraced the soaring volumes and irregular, free-form architecture of the building to create fluid, intimate and calming interiors that belie the intensity of the city outside. It has also successfully captured a sense of place, with subtle Thai references that eschew time-worn Asian details. ‘Bangkok is the most modern Asian metropolis today,’ explain the duo. ‘So the context of modern luxury is important; upon arrival, you immediately become aware of embracing the future that is rooted in this place.’ Throughout the property, custom-made furnishings and natural stone are delivered in a soft, neutral palette, with modern black accents to provide definition.
If the world’s best street food doesn’t entice, one of the hotel’s three restaurants will – not least the Penthouse Bar & Grill, a soon-to-open destination venue set over the top three floors of the building and designed by New York-based outfit AvroKo. For the full Park Hyatt experience, meanwhile, the Embassy Room serves up a mix of Asian and Western dishes from a state-of-the-art open kitchen. The menu can be sampled al fresco, beside the infinity pool, against a backdrop of the building’s shimmering, sweeping curves.
The designers have embraced the soaring volumes and irregular, free-form architecture of the building
They have also successfully captured a sense of place with subtle Thai references that eschew timeworn Asian details
I were you, by Gao Weigang is on display behind a desk by Khun Tong Sampan, from Art of T, in the ground floor foyer
An intimate corner in the embassy room with a custom-made table and 'Grace' chairs, by Emmanuel Gallina, for Poliform
The result is fluid, intimate and calming interiors that belie the intensity of the city outside
Pagoda Mirage, by Hirotoshi Sawada hangs in the ballroom staircase
The 40m saltwater pool on the ninth floor
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
88 Wireless Road
-
Introducing Wallpaper’s new video series, Work in ProcessIn this series, Wallpaper* discovers the processes by which creative visionaries bring their work to life. First up, we head to the the Fonteyne Studio at the Royal Opera House to meet esteemed ballet dancer William Bracewell
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpieceNow hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
Technogym’s new Pilates reformer blends peak performance with sleek designThe Technogym Reform is the latest addition to the company’s design-led equipment roster, made from sustainable materials including apple-skin leather
-
Retreat to Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, a sleek city sanctuaryAman returns to its Thai roots for its third civic outpost, weaving past and present to create an urban pleasure dome
-
Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
-
How Four Seasons Hotels became The White Lotus’ unofficial starAs The White Lotus season three whisks us to Thailand, Marc Speichert, chief commercial officer of Four Seasons Hotels, discusses the luxury group’s perfect synergy with the hit HBO series – and where you can live the experience
-
Tour an iconic 1970s Bangkok hotel rebornA new generation of luxury awaits at the entirely rebuilt Dusit Thani Bangkok, with interiors by André Fu Studio
-
Aman’s cabana pop-up shop arrives with an eye to sustainabilityFind the new Aman cabana pop-up shop, in collaboration with Luxury Frontiers, at Amanpuri in Phuket, Thailand, and coming soon elsewhere
-
InterContinental Chiang Mai The Mae Ping is a graceful sanctuary in Thailand’s northern capitalFrom welcoming chimes to a skybar, InterContinental Chiang Mai The Mae Ping blends five-star hospitality with Southeast Asian culture
-
Navigator: the Wallpaper* guide to BangkokWhat to see and do in Bangkok, from sprawling retail stores and dazzling restaurants to awe-inspiring contemporary galleries and impressive new hotels
-
Elephant World wins Best Sanctuary: Wallpaper* Design Awards 2021Including exhibition space set amid courtyards and pools, the Elephant World's architecture nods to both human and elephant needs; all, to a design by Boonserm Premthada's Bangkok Project Studio in Thailand
