Icon Siam calls in the experts

ICON SIAM, the Bt50-billion mixed-use decelopment underway on the Chao Phraya River, will also feature an 8,000-square-metre Heritage Museum.

The Ministry of Culture’s Fine Arts Department recently agreed to contribute ideas and help ensure that the museum is administered according to top standards. It will also locate, analyse and restore the antiques and artefacts to be displayed in the museum’s National Heritage Gallery.

Icon Siam is scheduled to open next year and the Heritage Museum in 2018.

At the signing of the agreement with the department at the National Museum of Bangkok, Icon Siam director Chadatip Chutrakul called the Bt500-million deal “an example of how the government and private sector can work together to support the government’s ‘Public-Private Collaboration’ policy”. 

She said the museum plan was “a driving force that showcases the country’s valuable historical and cultural heritage to the world and to Thai people in a tangible manner”.

Anan Shooshod, director general of Fine Arts Department, said he expects more such collaborations that will “improve the field of curatorial and museum management in Thailand”. 

“A board of directors will be set up to oversee the management, while Icon Siam also expressed its wish to donate part of its earnings from admission fees to the Archaeology Foundation for the future restoration of historical sites, artefacts and the national museums.”

Apart from the National Heritage Gallery, the Heritage Museum will have two other spaces. 

The Temporary Exhibition Gallery will feature shows of work by master artists and from museums around the world, and the River Gallery will host contemporary works by local and foreign artists along with art-related activities. 

Chadatip said the Heritage Museum would meet high standards in infrastructure and operations through Lord Cultural Resources, a “global professional practice dedicated to creating cultural capital” that has worked on the Louvre in Paris and the Guggen-heim in Bilbao, |Spain.

“They also helped set up the operation of Britain’s Tate Modern, the security and filing systems at the US Library of Congress and exhibition models for the Thailand Creative and Design Centre,” Chadatip said. 

“Our expert task force will be responsible for the museum’s space-utilisation models, the security system for valuable exhibits and the quality guidelines for materials used in the design and construction. 

“They’ll also be responsible for other important aspects of the museum’s operation, such as air-quality |control, moisture |control and running |the areas where |valuable objects are displayed.”