Waldorf Astoria Bangkok

The Magnolias Ratchadamri Boulevard is a mixed-use development comprising an ultra-luxury residential tower, offices and a five-star hotel managed by the Waldorf Astoria Bangkok. It sits on Ratchadamri Road in central Bangkok, between the Grand Hyatt Erawan and the Peninsula Bangkok, on a narrow 43-by-240-meter site that demanded a spatial solution tailored to its proportions. The tight gap between the two high-rise volumes produces, year-round, an evergreen, almost mysterious atmosphere that invites exploration and rediscovery. The site is boxed in by streets, leaving little ground space for landscape between road and boundary, so a tall green wall is introduced, turning the limited area into an evergreen, forest-like zone that also acts as a vegetated screen against street noise and air pollution. Curved lines, inspired by the beautiful, sweet yet substantial petals of the magnolia, run through the landscape to correspond with the architecture. On the fifteenth floor, the building's curved line creates a small, luxurious triangular outdoor landscape visible from the interior lobby; shade trees run along the edge of a still reflecting pool that extends into the lobby, giving a seamless sense of green. The sixteenth-floor roof is an open deck with a sweeping skyline over central Bangkok, and a curved, giant umbrella-like facade shades the pool below while setting the project apart as another of Bangkok's landmarks.