MahaNakhon / Ole Scheeren, OMA
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
Ole Scheeren, a partner for Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and project leader of the recently completed Beijing’s CCTV Tower, considered among the world’s most imaginative contemporary architectural feats. With the tower complete, Scheeren has moved to design his first skyscraper, entitled MahaNakhon, “a dazzling, pixelated 77-storey tower,” that will rise to be the tallest building in Bangkok. With approximately 150,000 square meters, MahaNakhon will include a lush urban oasis with public gardens and a major transportation hub, luxury retail, residences, a new public square, and a five-star hotel created by New York’s Ian Schrager.
More images and more about the skyscrapper after the break.
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
Mahanakohn’s “distinctive sculptural appearance” offers a pixelated effect as the solid tower is carefully carved into. These spaces become “excavated portions of the elegant glass curtain wall to reveal the inner life of the building metaphorically and actually an architecture that encloses and protects its inhabitants while revealing the inner life of their city.” The protrusions create beautiful balconies with uninterrupted views over the city as well as larger areas for greenery.
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
In addition to the tower, a smaller freestanding 7-storey building, known as the cube, offers multi-level indoor/outdoor terraces with an extensive mix of dining and leisure facilities. These facilities activate the lower levels as the general public will have access via a direct above-ground pedestrian link.
The skyscrapper is due to be completed by 2012.
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
© OMA/Ole Scheeren 2009
what a cliche…this form
It looks just like Herzog & de Meurons bldg design for Leonard Street NYC… or Axis Mundi new Moma tower conceptual scheme… BLAH!
Dont think so, if you check better, the others copied that scheme
Cliche or whatever, I love it. Not closely that much, but from far away.
It’s a little like the Best box stores by SITE (James Wines) but much, much bigger.
Really great and amazing. Decontruction form
somehow it reminds me about the broken down bricks in the elevation of Best shop (designed by SITE in 70′s)
When you click through, the highest-res image posted is of Ole’s face…nice bldg though, even if quite reminiscent of H&DeM’s Leonard St. tower as mentioned above.
Herzog & De Meuron…?
ah ah ah !!!!
Totally agree! The first think i thought when i looked at it was H&D.M. But hey, we do learn from our elders, do we. And i think it is a very nice attempt.
I really like it. Does the “deconstructed” part actually spiral up the building?
i like the window opening part.
rest is only imagery.
i remember a retail-park project by Hans hollein; the building has ash-like corners…this building has the same openings i think.
i’d live there. if i could afford it. i think bangkok desperately needs some top tier world-class architects to build there. 90+% of the hi-rises there are just banal buildings. other than the “robot” building, nothing is memorable and nothing stands out. kudos.
Totally agree. I think it’s due to the rather protective market there; almost impossible to work there as a “farang”. I hope such buildings could make BKK more attractive to tourists, bringing more international culture and dimension… In Bangkok only shopping malls are full of westerners, which is anyway ridiculous compared to the beaches in southern Thailand.
It is definitely not an architectural wonderland but there are some nice smaller designs. Bed Supperclub (if it is still existing) comes to mind as do some other bars/clubs and restaurants. There are also some nice houses but too often these are obscured by protective walls.
Didn’t Future Systems (or what has become of it) design a new tower/mall for Bankok recently?
I really like the form, at first I thought the building was on fire and was structurally failing!
tower from H&deM is based on diferent concept. this is the spiral and tower from H&deM is something like disappearing gradient..
anyway.. who will build it first, that will winner :]
This building looks like it has a flesh eating virus.
Is awful, the metaphor of the tower destroyed.
I like it, but who´d live in a traditional building when you can do it in protrusions that create beautiful balconies with uninterrupted views over the city as well as larger areas for greenery? Its interesting the way in which instead of questioning the traditional skycraper it compares both proposals in one building.
Looks like a roast beef sandwich with some mozzarella….hey ohhhh
wonderful
Louis Kahn wanted to make beautiful ruins….
Last picture is really bad: looks like a 1500meters tall seagram bilding wrapped into H&dM Leonard Street.
However, great design, with purpose (so rare) even if i’m usually not fan of “boxes”. Interiors are nice and it’s mostly thanks to the great job on the windows. Nice work.
no more diagrams???
It’s more like a renewed design of a tower in tokyo 2004, more than the one by h& dm
http://www.oma.eu/index.php?option=com_projects&view=project&id=570&Itemid=10
Inspired by Star Wars under-construction Death Star!?
It is really frightening still to see such concepts developed by many architects. The lack of sustainable architecture education and the underdeveloped cultural background are the main reason of this poor result shown in the presented example. This is the continuation of the XX century trends…and what about the new ideas for to answer to the global warming problem?
These nice 3D images are the lost of time…Please leave it for the “Stars”.
In general I think this is a nice design…at least compared to the usual banal towers flying up around the world. This is far better than any of the designs for the freedom tower I have seen and would be a welcome addition to any skyline in my opinion.
I agree with Lucas for that this is a “nice design…at least compared to the usual banal towers flying up around the world », however still backward architecture and selfish, mainly showing the architects EGO concept…
Absolutely Beautiful! Nice to see the typical tower typology challenged, deconstructed and redefined!
What will it take to reduce the use of curtain wall for every god damn building. Classic developer project with a twist, as seen so many times before. I expected something more inspiring…
H&deM,yes
Daniel Liberskind,yes
this is a spectacular building, has a great sense of expression and its fragments (modules) which tend to miss as the building goes up. great work by great architects.
while i find the concept very one liner and i’m not sure what would happen if i full opened my folding windows on the 55th floor (actually i think the wind will help reorganize my living room for me) i’m excited to see an OMA project in bangkok. i’d be excited to see anything half way decent in this city, which right now it all seems to be typical crappy towers or direct interpretations of robots/elephants. this building, regardless of how you feel about the design, could do a lot of good for the thai architecture scene. it is much needed, hope it really happens.
it is like WORLD TRADE CENTER after the incident
this is really nice…
how can you exceed yourself after CCTV?
this is one of the peak points of this style (post-post-post modern)of designing.
Yes, the WTC just after…tunami resistant, just for to change in the thaï architectural landscape you says?
I like too much this shape… Congratulations!
Looks like termites has eaten the building. Perfect for termite infested city like Bangkok.
http://cheungvogl.com/alexander_house_ny.htm
fits great in the rectangular cluster of new york, and the scale might be more reasonable…
still, i like the oma design.
Oma is great Oma is Grand Mother ha!ha! In de Platte Land van Kaas
the cube
Maybe more spiritual: Kaba? I love OMA’s sense of humor!
first thing that came to my mind is….
TERMITE INVASION!
This is the rightway to go for skyscraper in Bangkok.
OMA can find the concept of building.Because they understand lifestyle of people who live in this city.Maby this is the best thaistyle skyscraper not of form or element .But from fully thaispirit in the heart of building.
take a note of this…
The credits in this article reveal an important political moment in OMA, where Rem Koolhaas is giving place for his younger partners to get credit… Rem is preparing O.M.A..to be a future S.O.M..
but we still need you Rem!!!
It is probably a consequence of the split in 2006 of Prince-Ramus / OMA due to copyright issues… I don’t think Koolhaas has so much choice now but give credit to his partners…
Only one word to say….pretty!
Hallo Ole Scheeren. Misschien is er wat meer uit die van boven naar beneden en horizontaal naar binnendraaiende ramen te halen? Stel: van beneden naar boven horizontaal naar buiten? Bij een lage zon kan het dan wellicht ook als zonnewering dienen (Dit idee heb ik van RAU (Thomas architect, oa WNF, Zeist). Hoe dan ook:
neem zoveel mogelijk DUBO mee, zou ik zeggen en veel succes daar. Vriendelijke groeten,
Toon van Hooijdonk
5:03 AM Jul 26th
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