The launch of Bangkok’s new tallest tower was marked with a light show on Monday night.
The timing of the launch event for the MahaNakhon building in the capital’s Sathorn district was delayed from 7.30pm to 8.15pm owing to rain, but spectators were ultimately treated to a glitzy light show to mark the occasion.
The building, some seven years in the pipeline, has 77 floors and reaches a height of 314 metres, stripping the Baiyoke II Tower of its reign as Bangkok’s tallest by just 10 metres. MahaNakhon sports a distinctive pixelated design approach described by those behind it as a ‘distressed cyberhelix’ effect.
Until recently, the building has housed little beyond a branch of the US coffee chain Dean & Deluca on the ground floor, and a number of high-end restaurants on the storeys just above. Ultimately, however, the structure will include a hotel, bars, restaurants, shops, and luxury Ritz-Carlton condo apartments.
All the same, MahaNakhon is expected to enjoy only a short reign as leader in the Bangkok height stakes, as the upcoming 615-metre Rama IX Super Tower threatens to push it from the top spot.
