Touring THE TALLEST Office Building in THAILAND!
(grandiose music) - Bangkok, the bustling capital of Thailand, known for its vibrant street life, impressive landmarks, and delicious cuisine. But what people don't know about Bangkok is that it's a growing metropolitan city full of business and commerce and is home to Thailand's tallest office building, One City Centre. Built by Korn Narongdej and his partners at Raimon Land, this 61-story ultra-luxury building was designed by SOM, who also designed iconic buildings like Burj Khalifa and One World Trade Center. This mega structure worth just under a half a billion dollars offers beautiful creative spaces with panoramic views, luxury eateries, and amenities, all in the heart of the city. Today we'll get a one-on-one tour with Korn to learn what this mega structure has to offer.
There's so much to see. Let's jump right in. (dramatic music) We are so excited to be in Bangkok, and this is something new for us. We actually don't really tour commercial buildings on our channel, but between the project, your team's commitment, and level of attention to detail that went into this building really intrigued us, so we are really excited to be here. - Thank you. I'm very pleased you are here. - Thank you. Thank you. So tell us a little bit about the building.
We are right in the heart of Bangkok. A lot's happening. And then you turn back and look at this building, it's really zen, architectural. It contrasts with the city really well. So tell us the design and overall story here. - [Korn] So this is the one of the latest creation from Raimon Land.
We finished this about June last year, that officially opened, and we standing in the plot of 2.5 acres. Half of it, as you can see, we dedicated to the green space, So 5,000 square meters not just for the tenant, but all the public. Everybody can enjoy. So because when we build it, the building, we not just build the building, but we want it to be the iconic. It would be something else that everybody for the whole town can enjoy.
- Amazing, and basically you built a landmark here. - Yes. - You were talking about how you wanted public to come and enjoy this space, take photos here, and I have to say, the exterior of the building is super architectural.
You have reflection pools, sculptures. So what was the inspiration behind this particular hardscape area? - We wanted something to be iconic, a new landmark that everybody can enjoy. Bangkok is now is one of the biggest metropolitan city in the world and we want to bring everybody who could come here to enjoy it. - I love it. I love it.
All right, can we go tour some of the exterior spaces? - Yes, please. - All right, let's do it. Because this building is so tall and basically you gain so much height space, that city probably required you and your team to make as much outdoor space as possible. - Normally with the laws and regulation, we can build up to almost near the street but just a little bit set back, but we wanted to different, not like other building.
That's why it's a huge step back, as you can see. This is right now the tallest office building in Thailand. - 61 floors above grade and four levels below grade, right? - Yes. - That's incredible. Once we get up there, the views are gonna be insane. We haven't been up there yet, so I'm really excited. I'm excited for all of you to see it.
And I have to say, this exterior landscaping, it really sets a different tone because walking up here, seeing the green areas, the sculptures, the water, it really sets a contrasting, relaxing tone. And then you walk in, it's a really modern building inside. We got a chance to meet you and your brother through the property that you own in Phuket. In that property there were a lot of art pieces. I'm looking at this building. I can already see the influence of art, design, throughout the entire property.
Why you wanted to bring art also into this building, since it's more of an office space? - I think most important, art, it's bring the life to all the property. Otherwise, just building. It's just house. It's just a property. But when you incorporate art, it give you life. It give you a new meaning of the buildings. - It gives a soul, for sure.
- Yes, exactly. - Amazing. So I want to talk about the exterior of the building for a second. You have this glass facade, then you have these metal strips kind of cutting through the glass, and I know that west corner of the building actually has no glass. - Yes. - So I can tell a lot of thought and engineering went into this property. - So actually, we are very fortunate to work with a architecture firm called SOM.
They're the one who did Burj Khalifa in Dubai. As we are standing now, you can see how strong the sun here in Thailand, so we also including the concept of sustainability here as well. That's why there's no glass on the west corner at all, because the sun here in Bangkok is more strongest during the afternoon.
So by eliminate all the glass and on the west corner, you can actually save about 20% on electricity. - Oh, wow. - Yes. - So it makes a big difference. - Yes. - Well, it looks beautiful.
It's very majestic. I can only imagine the views from the top floor. Let's go inside. - Yes (downtempo music) - In front, where the retail, we call it the Podium. So that Podium consists of the conventional parking, four levels, and also there will be a canteen to serve the tenants here, the office worker here, and a little bit of retails, as you can see. Then we step into the main building.
We start with a drop off for the VIP on the first floor. The second floor, the main lobby that we see, is the official lobby. And from third floor until the ninth floor is the automated parking. After that, four or five floor is we call the Atrium floor, and that's start the office rental space from that floor up until 37th floor, and from 38 up it's the high zone. And from 58 to 61, it's another retail space for a restaurant which will be open in few months.
There will be five outlets, both casual dining and fine dining. And upstairs, which already opened, is the rooftop bar, where you can see a 360-panoramic view of Bangkok. - Kind of like an observatory. - Yes. (downtempo music) So we're walking from the street level to the main building right now. As you can see, a lot of pictures has been taken.
We are very proud to say that we are one of the most Instagramable building last year here in Thailand. - I love that. - Yes (chuckling). - I know you mentioned that in your videos as well, and I love that you're constantly inviting public to come and experience the space, come dine here, and that's really nice. It's an inspiring building. And I also appreciate that some of the restaurants and spaces you have, there's a good price range as well. There are stuff that are very affordable.
There are obviously restaurants and cafes that are very premium as well. Now the question I wanted to ask you, from the street, you essentially go through the first building and then you go to the other building. - Yes. - So what is this building's purpose, or like, why there's a little bit of a separation? - So because of the set back. So we want the people to enjoy the garden first, and this a small retail space to serve the tenants here. Some of them are still under construction, as you can see.
And so the main lobby will be inside. So those who works here and the public who come to enjoy the building, they are quite separate. - Gotcha. I see, it's almost like a layer of separation with a commercial space before you really come to the office space, which is on this side. To our left, we have Dean & DeLuca. Now how do we get international brands like this to come and take part in your building? - Because I believe it's, first of all, it's the location. It cannot be more strategic location than this location.
- Fair enough. - Right? And secondly, the way the building is designed, it's very international. - Can we take a moment to enjoy what's behind us? This is a pretty impressive lobby, the ceiling heights.
The stone and material selection is very neutral, warm, inviting. I love that you have walls of glass throughout. It feels like a contemporary museum integrated to the heart of the city. So my question to you is, given that location is so valuable and every square meter of space counts, why you and your team gave so much space to this lobby? Why is this so grand? - First of all, I love you pick up about a museum because this lobby is actually inspired by the British Museum.
As you can see, all the stones and everything is very monolithic to give you a sense of warm welcoming. And I think why we invest so much in this lobby, because it's the first impression, of course. It's the first arrival space when the people get in here, so we want it to be as impressive as much as possible. And we think into a smallest detail.
As you can see around here, there's no seating area. The reason behind because a lot of building, when we put so much nice thing in the lobby, when we put seating around, there's a lot of delivery stuff that's going on here. So we have a designate delivery area, so the lobby is always clean and clear.
- You have this massive- - It's custom made, yeah. - So a custom-made island, which I'm assuming is your reception desk. - Yes, 'cause like we said, everything is, we like to incorporate all the art piece in here, and the reception culture is one of the art piece here as well, yeah. - Was this done by the interior design firm? - It's done by the same sculpture artist who did the one outside. - Really?
I love this piece. What is that sculpture or logo? - So basically this piece resemble the starting of the Earth, whereas everything grow up from soil, and this is the wind, representing the wind, because in when you do business, no matter how successful you are, you have to be adaptable to change, so it's just the wind of change. - Life is gonna take you where it's gonna take you.
And I really like that it has the same fabrication style like the sculptures on the outside. So the way the metal is worked, which is super cool. And I'm trying to think, we have a coffee shop here. When I was doing research on this building, I really liked that each one of the restaurants or like public spaces are totally different. It's like you get different experiences on each corner. How do you assemble and bring these kind of talented individuals under one roof? - I think a lot of it we owe to the credit to the building itself because of the location, of the design, everything.
And one of the key element that we try to stress is that when we give the, our customer is the whole experience, from the beginning until the end. So I think the experience of this building as well for the tenants or just a public who came to visit, from the moment you walk in and the the tour of every floor, each floor will give you a different feelings. - And the first level Korn wanted us to experience was the 18th floor. (downtempo music) - This is actually the first floor that we finished throughout the whole building. so you have a space like this to give clients an idea how they can configure and have different kind of finishes and, I guess, layouts within their floors. - Yeah, so we want to give them the ideas that they can do so many things within the space, like raise the floor, or they can have like the ceiling that shows all the construction, or the ceiling that's with small design, so a lot of flexibilities.
And like I said, again, there's no columns in the middle, so you're very flexible to do a lot of things that you wish to. - And again, we talked about earlier, but I wanna briefly mention this point, which I thought was fascinating. The way they designed the floors, that are parts of it that you can take out relatively efficiently so that if you want to connect to the floor below you and configure a space, given the fact that we have 61 levels here, it makes it super versatile, and that's really keeping the clients in mind. Can you show us around? - Yes, I want to point out a little bit on this, the whole structure of the building. As you can see when we walk in, the whole plot, again, is sitting on 2.5 acres,
and half of it's we dedicated to the green space, And here we have like a, we want to bring the green space up here also, so on this floor, we have like a little atrium that we bring in the green space as well. And top floor, which you will see later, is a rooftop bar, and there will be a restaurant which will open a few months. - What was the biggest challenge you and your team went through when it comes to constructing the building? - This building was built during the pandemic, so there's a lot of construction we have to stop because of they closing down the city and like sometime the the workers- - Blocking the roads and certain things. - The workers got infected, so we have to close the whole camp, but all in all, we very successful in terms of that the whole building is almost on schedule because we only delay for like two months only.
- And when we had our dinner a few nights ago, you also mentioned that it was only 2% over budget. - Yes (chuckling). - Which is unheard of, especially for a building this size. I don't even know how that's possible. It's like my friends celebrate when they're like 10 or 15% over budget. The fact that in the midst of all these complications and you and your team are only basically delayed for a few months and only few percent on the overall budget is really impressive.
How do you think the numbers are so on point? How was that possible? - I have to owe it big time to the teams because they've been carefully study everything in terms of costing since the beginning, and we try to put all the numbers as realistic as possible. - And that only shows you have partners like Mitsubishi. - Exactly. - Coming in, and that only builds more credibility because I'm sure even they expected some sort of a over-budget scenario given the times that we were in, but big congrats. That's really, really impressive.
- Thank you so much. - I mean, I'm out of words in regards to, I guess, construction of the building. All right, what's next? - This building, like I said, we put a lot of efforts in terms of like sustainabilities and other things.
So this building was the first one to get the Fitwel Award in Southeast Asia, and that's what make us very proud. And another thing, we just also received the the LEED goals, which is under the certification from the control of disease from the US. - When you look at a building in its pure form, it's a simple structure, but when you get into details and the amount of complications that you need to incorporate the each floor, each level, each specific space, it's insanity.
I mean, I can only imagine the blueprints of this building. And we're currently on the 18th floor. I have to say, you still get pretty amazing views. - Yes, it's actually, it's kind of feel, you can feel the different. When you this height, the view is one thing.
When you go up, it's another different. - [Enes] Obviously you have some different layouts or styles how people can build working spaces for the floors. - This is catered to the the new generation. With the office, they want everything to be open, even the executive office.
- They don't want it to feel like an office. - No. (both chuckling) - [Enes] And after the tour of the model units, Korn quickly wanted to show us what a typical unfinished floor that the clients receive looks like. - So this is the handover condition when the clients take the space.
- And you have most of the utilities, everything exposed, so depending on their liking, they can configure it however they want. You can see the three meter, the ceiling high there. - So there's two standard on the ceiling. You can either have the cover ceiling or you can have like this more industrial.
- More industrial. Look at these massive concrete beams holding up each one of the levels. It's kind of insane when you think about the amount of material that goes into a building like this, the amount of concrete, steel. And think about it, you cannot just build this at one take, so days, months worth of concrete trucks arriving here day by day, stacking the concrete on top of each other.
So much human effort goes into it, and it's beautiful to admire it in a space like this, where you can see the raw concrete. You can actually see some of the stains when the concrete was curing. So there's a lot of character. A lot of love goes into a building like this.
- Yes, so normally for the traditional building, when you want to do the duplex, you have to knock out half of the floors. So this one you just take out this part, so it's quicker in terms of cost and also in terms of time. - It's one thing to have a really nice building, but it's another thing to make sure when they move into the building, it works for them as quickly as possible. You don't want a client that comes in and the first two years they're building their space.
You want 'em to get up and running as quickly as possible - From the design process until the completion, it take about five years. The construction alone, around three years. And the reason behind that, we want to build something that's like a trophy asset in one of the best city in the world.
- If you were to put a value or a price tag on this building, what would it be? - Considering its location, its quality, and the effort that's put in with also the number occupancy right now, I would say, roughly estimate, around 450 million US dollars. - Almost half a billion dollars anchored right in the heart of Bangkok. That's incredible.
(upbeat music) - Welcome to the 37th floor. We are now at the work coworking space, JustCo. So please come inside.
- Amazing. Let's go see it. - The concept we develop together with them is we want something to be more like a lifestyle hotel concept. So because you have traditional office throughout the building already, so this is more like relaxing, creative space.
- Lot of color, a lot of comfortable furniture. It has kind of a cool layout. You have a circular reception area, and you walk into this space. So why there was a need to bring a company like this into the building? - Because coworking space is such a big concept for the past few year. Especially after the pandemic, a lot of consumer behavior change a lot, and now some company are looking for a smaller space, and they don't want to invest so much into the office, so coworking space is the best answer for that. - How do you rent a space like this? Do you rent it per person, per room, per space? - There's a different kind of...
There's a day pass that you can use the whole day. That's for $20 per day, which is very good. - Oh, that's nothing. - Yes. - Yeah. - And they have like a meeting space I wanna show you here.
- [Enes] So this is one of the private spaces you can rent, and that's all dedicated to you? - Yes, and this start from $25 per hour. So sometime when you are like a consultant firm, you don't have a big office, you want to have a meeting with your clients that representable, this is the answer. - And do you feel like a lot of international business owners or employees end up using a space like this? - Yes, and a lot of startup company as well, yeah. - Really amazing, and what is your take on coworking spaces, like in general as an industry? - I think it's a new concept that especially with the younger generation, they enjoy it so much.
It's more relaxing, and it's more flexible, and they come with a full service as well. You have like reception that can attend to all your needs. You have a secretary service, a print out service, everything. - Oh. - So you don't need
to invest everything on your own. - You can just show up here with your laptop, and you're set basically. - Exactly. - This is really cool. Another business within the building.
So what is the occupancy rate of a space like this? - 90% right now. - 90%. I guess there's a big market for it, coworking. Good to know. Awesome. Where are we going next? After covering a few floors, the team and I were getting really hungry, so like any distinguished host, Korn invited us to one of the many places to eat in One City Centre.
Enishi, a Japanese ramen restaurant with the most delicious DanDan noodles. (upbeat music) - [Sandra] I'm super excited. I've been wanting to try ramen since we got to Thailand, this entire time, so I'm excited to see how it tastes. (upbeat music) - [Luis] Packed full of flavors. It was delicious. (upbeat music) - [Enes] The building is also home to several other excellent eateries and cafes. For a quick bite and a cup of coffee or matcha, Arabica and Ksana are the places to go.
Of course, we can't forget about the famous New York pastry cafe Dean & DeLuca. There's also Green & Been, a cafe created by Michelin star chefs Chef Gaggan Anand and the Sheerin brothers that specializes in premium coffee beans and teas imported from Japan. And earlier on we had a chance to try their coffee, and it certainly lived up to its name. And lastly, if you're looking for a view, head to the 61st floor that's home to a stunning rooftop bar with jaw-dropping views of Bangkok, but we'll explore more of that space later.
After wrapping up our lunch, it was time for us to head up to the 54th floor. - So we're now on the 54th floor, almost the highest, but this is the office for Raimon Land or RML for short. So we're gonna show you a little bit of the most impressive view in town.
- Amazing. I'm excited. And this is a really good, generous-sized lobby, and you were talking about this in the elevator. It takes less than a minute to get the elevator no matter how busy the building is, right? - Yes, yeah, we try to minimize the wait time of all the tenants, but less than a minute for the elevator. - Amazing, amazing. All right, can you tell us a little bit about your company? - Yeah, so the company has been founded about 37 years ago. When you talk about luxury developer in Thailand, Raimon Land will probably will be of the few names that come up first.
And for the past 37 years, all our projects is all sold out, every single project. And in Thailand we have a foreign quota for all the residential, about 49%, and we are only the few company that achieve highest foreign quota in every project as well. - Basically what you're saying is only 49% of the building can be bought by foreign buyers, and your company always accomplishes that quota.
- Yeah, reach the highest. - Which means your projects really speak to the international audience. - Exactly. Yeah. - Amazing. Amazing. And on the 54th floor is Raimon Land's office. It's a beautiful space, but it's hard not to talk about these views. Can we get close to one of these windows? - Yes, please. - Because one of the things
that really surprised us is, obviously, Bangkok is a big metropolitan city, but I have to say, I didn't expect this many high-rises. - So basically Bangkok, it's been developing a lot for the past few years. You can see a lot of high-rise building and a lot of building that the newly developed. As a Thai resident, we are very proud of that, yeah. - Yeah, I can tell Bangkok is pushing the architectural boundaries, and that's really exciting. I feel like this building is playing a huge role in the city as well.
I'm sure a lot of people are taking it as an inspiration. And we're really high up. I mean, I know these buildings look small right now, but you wouldn't say the same thing if you were on the ground level. And also these are the metal screens that you have on the exterior. - Yes. - So what was the inspiration behind that? - The inspiration, we want the building to look more sleek and have some, a little bit of details and touch on it, so, yeah. - Gotcha.
Almost like create additional dimension. - Exactly, yeah. - And also when I was researching the building, these glass walls are triple glaze. - Yes. - Why they were triple glaze? - Because, first of all, to prevent the UV sunlight directly come into the building. We want enough sunlight for the tenants, of course.
And secondly about the noise. So the high up you go, so it's more serene. It's more calm, a good work space, yeah. - Yeah, I mean, it doesn't even feel like we're in a really crowded city right now. All I can hear is the AC just slowly dispersing air. This is really nice.
And can we talk about the rest of the office for a second? Obviously, it's designed in a really minimalist fashion. I love that you have linear glass on the bottom. Even the small office spaces, you didn't wanna have it closed off, right? - Yes, exactly. - You wanted it to breathe. When you design a commercial building, because you're working with really strong materials like steel, concrete, and if you're building ground up, with new technology that we have, you can really configure it and build a very strong concrete core in the center and build a really strong parameter that allows you to have the interior spaces basically vastly open. That's one of the best advantages of new, well-developed commercial spaces.
And you would think for a second having a couple columns may not be an issue, but when you're creating an open layout or designing an office, you don't want to be restricted with given columns. So it's nice that you walk into an open space, then you can decide however you want to configure it. All right, can we see the views on the other side? - Yes. - All right, let's do it. - So one of Bangkok's highlight for all visitors is to visit the Chao Phraya River.
And even though we right in the middle city, and we can just still see the river. And on the much clearer day, you can see the mountains as well. - All the way back. - Yeah, and I think
the space there utilizes very well with a full-height glass, and also the ceiling height is three meter, which is very generous for office building as well. - Exactly, having your ceiling height let's say another 25, 30 cm higher may not sound like a big deal, but when you build 64 floors up, you know what that means? You compromise five or six floors. - Exactly. - Just to make the interior spaces a little bit higher. On a calculation basis, when you do commercial real estate, that's so much valuable real estate, I don't wanna say wasted, but thrown away for sake of making the building more comfortable, enjoyable. So that just shows the level of commitment you and your team have to make sure people really enjoy and appreciate each level.
- Thank you. (downtempo music) - What kind of legacy you hope that this building leaves on Bangkok? - I want to take you back a bit. When we talked to the operator who did the bar and restaurant up there, when we first talk about the concept, he asked, "Is there any requirement from us?" I say, "I only have one requirement, is that when you develop the concept for the bar and the restaurant, if you were foreigners coming to Thailand and you only have three nights in Bangkok, one of the night, you must come to visit here." So that's the- - That's the standard. So basically to answer that, it's when you talk about Bangkok, I want this building to be one of the top of the mind when people talk about Bangkok. - What is that moment for you where you go, "I'm so glad I did this"? Is it like a split second or when you get that feeling? - It's every day after the building's finished, to be honest, and I personally believe that no matter what you do in life, first of all, you need to have passion for it.
I can see in your eyes when you talk about project, your eyes kind of lit up. So it's the kind of same for me because I believe when you have passion, when you love the things that you do, it's not really considered work. It's considered like it's your love.
It's your lifestyle. It's your- - Part of who you are. - Little baby, you know. So every day you wanna wake up and think about your passion and do about your work and do the best that you can. I think it's very important, and, for me, I personally believe that if you love something, the success rate is at least 50% there already because you do it with your heart.
- When the possibility of us coming to Phuket was represented to you, what were your thoughts, or like, what did you and Kris think? - Oh, we say yes right away without, (Enes laughing) without thinking because I've been following your channel for quite sometimes now, I've been almost four years. And funny enough, Kris was watching your channel without letting me know. So somehow we saw one property, I think it was the one in Newport Beach, and he sent it to me and said, "Can you look at this channel?" I said, "Oh, I've been watching it for so many years now." (Enes chuckling) So when they said that you have a chance of coming here, I say yes without any hesitation at all, and it's a great honor to have you here.
Thank you so much again. - Thank you. Honor is ours. Again, thank you so much for everything. This has been great. I mean, it's been really nice getting to know all of you, and you and your family have been so genuine and open to us.
We genuinely really, really appreciate that. - Thank you so much. Thank you. - Thank you. After our time with Korn, it was finally time to see the 61st floor where we have the Akara Sky Hanuman rooftop bar, which offers a breathtaking 360-degree views of the city. (downtempo music) - [Everyone] Cheers. - [Enes] With that, we're done with this tour.
What a building, and what an incredible opportunity for us to experience something so unique and different. Bangkok is an incredible city that's constantly evolving, and this building stands out as a beacon of progress. It's been fascinating to understand how a mega project like this comes together and hear the impact that it's having on the city. Huge thank you to Korn and his team at Raimon Land for hosting us, and you can find more information about this property in the description of this video. Lastly, thank you for watching this video and being with us on another tour, and we'll see you on the next one. (downtempo music)
2024-08-13 15:21
