Best of interior design and architecture: MahaNakhon / Ole Scheeren, OMA

Monday, July 27, 2009

MahaNakhon / Ole Scheeren, OMA

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.

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.

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.