The Street Ratchada, Bangkok Retail, Thailand Shopping Facade, Shop Building Images

The Street Ratchada in Bangkok

Thai Retail Development, Thailand, Asia – design by Architectkidd, Architect

10 Apr 2019

The Street Ratchada

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Architect: Architectkidd

The Street Ratchada

With over 10 million inhabitants, Bangkok continues to grow into its urban form. Architectkidd’s approach for The Street Ratchada project attempts to introduce public and urban characteristics into a newly developing neighborhood outside of the central metropolitan area. Comprising of cafes, restaurants and other retail and commercial functions, The Street Ratchada creates new exterior and semi-interior urban spaces to engage with the surrounding people and community.

Occupying a busy intersection, the open space in front of the building has been transformed from car-parking overflow to a pedestrian-orientated space. Architectkidd along with the Interior Designer and Landscape Architect worked with the client to design the outdoor space and amenities that not only facilitate commercial uses but also public programs and events.

The building facade is designed to interact between the open plaza and the interior retail spaces. Upon first impression, the continuous metallic surface seems to convey a monumental presence but it is actually a porous layer composed of triangulated panels uniquely sized and cut. The gradient transparencies of the perforated panels unveil the underlying framework and the atrium behind which serves as an intermediate public space. At night, the lighting dematerializes the facade and creates an inviting glow from within the atrium that spreads on to the outdoor and public areas.

The outdoor plaza and exterior envelope work together with the atrium and interior volume to create a total space for The Street Ratchada. Visitors can gather on walkways and landings within the atrium, and with its multiple visual apertures, look inward, outward and peripherally across the building. This enhances not only the functional circulation but also creates a connected spatial experience between the exterior and interior areas.

With this project Architectkidd attempts to break through expectations of a commercial large-scale building type and to inject a diversity of urban and architectural scales into a rapidly developing area of Bangkok.

The Street Ratchada – Building Information

Lead Architects: Luke Yeung, Manassak Senachak, Jariyawadee Lekawatana, Korpong Sanaha, Tammarat Rodpul, Tamfun Vatayanon, Marisa Charusilawong

Project location: Bangkok, Thailand
Completion Year: 2016
Gross Built Area (square meters or square foot): 42,000 square meters

Client: Univentures Public Company Ltd.
Interior Designer: PIA
Landscape Architect: P Landscape
Lighting Designer: Withlight
Structural Consultant: KCS & Associates
MEP Consultant: W & Associates

Photo credits: W Workspace, Luke Yeung, Aey Somsawat (photographer name attached to each image file name)