Heatherwick designs glowing lantern&like towers for first project in Thailand

UK practice Heatherwick Studio has revealed its design for Hatai, two hotels in Bangkok, Thailand, with stacked, rounded forms in different sizes that nod to Thai lanterns.

Described by the studio as a Lantern Quarter, the 10,500-square-metre Hatai development will feature two hotels – Six Senses and Narai Hotel – with more than 300 rooms.

The buildings will be located on the site of the original Narai hotel in the historic Silom district and also include a ballroom, conference facilities and a wellness centre.

The buildings are designed to glow at night, drawing on traditional Thai lanterns and aiming to bring “softness and soul to the city skyline,” Heatherwick Studio said.

“We’ve designed a series of lanterns stacked on top of one another, collectively forming a much softer silhouette in the skyline, and we have the opportunity to create a major piece of public space – including rain protection, planting and water – all designed to encourage street-level life filled with curiosity and exploration,” studio founder Thomas Heatherwick said.

Heatherwick Studio has also designed a 5,200-square-metre public space below the two towers, which will feature elevated walkways.

Intended to function as a “public village”, this space will also include a plaza with native planting alongside a shrine, an open-air market, a nursery and event spaces. A restored canal will flow through the space.

Heatherwick said that for the Hatai project, the studio’s first in Thailand, it aimed to create a space for everyone in the city’s urban landscape.

“There’s a richness to Thailand’s culture and historic architecture, but the anonymous, blank severity of many so-called modern buildings in Bangkok does not speak to this at all,” he explained.

“We wanted to do something that connects with the country’s heritage in a deeper way and builds detail, feeling and story back into the city.”

Hatai will open in 2028 and marks the latest Heatherwick project in Asia to make use of innovative shapes. In China, Heatherwick Studio recently unveiled a commercial district in Xi’an that featured a tree-like vertical park.

In 2023, the studio completed the Azabudai Hills development in Tokyo, which is defined by undulating roofs topped with greenery.

The images are courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.

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