Bangkok super-tower to be tallest in South-east Asia

A Thai developer is set to build a 615m tower in Bangkok that will be the tallest building in South-east Asia when completed – more than 160m higher than Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world until 2004. 

The Super Tower project is to be developed by the Grand Canal Land Public Company (G-Land). It will be 125 storeys tall, it will contain 320,000 square metres of floor space, and 90,000 square metres of office space, a six-star hotel with 260 rooms, restaurants and an enclosed observation deck.

The front podiums of the tower will house an open-air plaza and a conference centre. Retail arcades will be situated in low-rise building on either side. The developer intends the tower to be the centre of a new business, shopping and residential district in Bangkok, costing $3.1bn.  

The tower is designed to resist earthquakes, and will be designed to reach the LEED Platinum standard for energy efficiency. According to G-Land, it will achieve this by using features such as  insulated glass and a highly-efficient air-condition system. 

G Land has recruited American architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill as the lead consultant for the development.  

The largest building in Thailand currently is the 85-storey Baiyoke II tower, also in Bangkok, which is 328m tall. 

The project would be the second tallest building in the world if it were completed today, but will probably by the ninth tallest when it is completed in 2019.