Thailand has welcomed an interesting modern addition to their city skyline called the MahaNakhon, or the Pixel Tower. Bangkok's tallest building, standing at 314-metres tall, will house a luxury hotel, bars, restaurants, residential apartments and retail stores.
Designed by ole scheeren, MahaNakhon is a 77-storey high-rise complex located in bangkok’s central business district. the scheme, which recently opened as thailand’s tallest building, also comprises a landscaped public plaza and a multi-level retail center, which includes restaurants and cafés. the skyscraper also accommodates 200 serviced apartments and a 150-room boutique hotel. a direct link to the chongnonsi BTS skytrain station is also provided.
Buro ole scheeren’s 314 meter-tall design (1,030 feet) seeks to dismantle the typical tower and podium typology in order to create a skyscraper that gradually dissolves as it flows downwards. cascading indoor/outdoor terraces — accommodating retail and entertainment facilities at the base of the tower — have been conceived to evoke the shifting protrusions of a mountain landscape. Pixel is referred to as the ‘cube’, an adjacent freestanding seven-storey structure with corresponding terraces creates an expansive outdoor atrium. in turn this forms a network of social, dining, and leisure spaces that serve both residents and the public. at the front of the tower, MahaNakhon square is designed as a public plaza for planned and spontaneous cultural events. The tower incorporates a three-dimensional ribbon of ‘architectural pixels’ that coil up the tower’s full height and reveal the inner life of the building. this gesture results in projecting glass skyboxes with sweeping views, as well as generous indoor/outdoor spaces suited to bangkok’s tropical climate. the pixels have been designed to maximize unobstructed vistas over the city and chaophraya river.
