King Power Mahanakhon
Büro Ole Scheeren · Bangkok, Thailand · 2016
King Power Mahanakhon reworks the smooth glass skyscraper as a visibly inhabited vertical city. A spiraling band of recessed and projecting “pixels” cuts through the tower's curtain wall, creating terraces, balconies and double-height spaces while giving the skyline an unmistakable fractured silhouette. The mixed-use program combines hotel, residences, retail and observation spaces, with a smaller companion volume helping shape the public base. Büro Ole Scheeren's design is most persuasive when seen from changing distances: the pixelated cut reads as a single urban gesture from afar and as a collection of occupied outdoor rooms up close. The project marked a new phase of globally oriented high-rise architecture in Bangkok.