A Sculptural Addition for the skyline of Bangkok
Heatherwick Studio reveals the design for Hatai, a mixed-use development in Bangkok, marking the firm’s first project in Thailand. Situated on the site of the original Narai Hotel in the city’s Silom neighborhood, the scheme integrates two new hotels with a public plaza, canal restoration, and open-air community programs.
The architecture draws from the material and symbolic qualities of traditional Thai lanterns. Vertical structures are conceived as stacked volumes, their surfaces textured and articulated to diffuse light and soften the development’s silhouette against the city’s sharp commercial skyline. The composition introduces a layered rhythm that contrasts the blank, repetitive facades common in the area.
‘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,’ Thomas Heatherwick explains. ‘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.’
Heatherwick Studio reveals its first project in Thailand, sited in Bangkok’s Silom district | images © DEVISUAL
Integrating Public space and Native planting
Hatai will house both a new Narai Hotel and a Six Senses hotel, totaling over 300 guest rooms. Amenities include a wellness center, ballroom, and conference facilities. The upper volumes are designed to appear light and luminous, while the lower levels are rooted in a denser program of activity that ties into the surrounding street life.
At ground level, the design by Heatherwick Studio prioritizes public access and engagement in Bangkok, Thailand. The open plaza is shaded by a wide canopy structure and interspersed with native planting to create a more temperate microclimate within the dense urban setting. A once-buried canal is set to be restored, reintroducing flowing water into the landscape and offering a contemplative counterpoint to the city’s pace.
Additional elements in the public realm will include a shrine, event space, children’s nursery, and a traditional open-air market. These programs reflect the studio’s intent to embed civic infrastructure within the development, allowing it to serve as more than a hospitality project.
the architecture is inspired by the craft and glow of traditional Thai lanterns
heatherwick studio learns from Culture of thailand
According to Thomas Heatherwick, the studio approaches the commission with sensitivity to Thailand’s architectural heritage, aiming to offer an alternative to the region’s increasingly homogenous high-rise developments. The design of Hatai is shaped by local craft traditions while incorporating new construction methods to support complex mixed-use functions.
A network of elevated walkways will further integrate the site into the surrounding neighborhood, improving pedestrian movement and offering shaded paths between buildings. With 5,200 square meters of new public space, the project is framed as both an architectural gesture and an urban intervention. Hatai is currently under development and is expected to open in 2028.
a stacked composition of illuminated forms softens the outline of the Bangkok skyline
the ground level features a green public plaza with native planting and a restored canal
project info:
name: Hatai
architect: Heatherwick Studio | @officialheatherwickstudio
location: Bangkok, Thailand
completion: expected 2028
visualizations: © DEVISUAL | @devisualchina
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