FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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‘Green’ concept in vogue for luxury condos 

‘Green’ concept in vogue for luxury condos 

 AMID INTENSE competition in the luxury segment of the residential market in Bangkok’s central business districts (CBDs), creative architectural and interior design and use of the “green” concept by global architects and interior designers are increasingly the trend when it comes to designing the capital’s top-end condominiums.

“Location and price are still the main factors for customers when deciding to buy a residence, but what will be the deciding factor if they see properties at similar locations and prices? Architecture and interior design with concern for functionality and the value of raw materials inside the projects will be the final thing persuading them to buy, and this is why we concern ourselves with architectural and interior design by using the global standard for our luxury condominium projects,” Sansiri president Srettha Thavisin said during a recent interview with The Nation.
He made the remarks when talking about the current trend followed by developers of luxury condominium projects in Bangkok’s CBDs.
Sansiri is just one of the country’s leading high-end developers using global fashion designers to decorate its condominiums – notably at 98 Wireless, which offers units from Bt550,000 per square metre, and Khun by YOO, Inspired by Starck, where prices start at Bt330,000 per square metre.
The design of 98 Wireless has been inspired by Beaux-Arts style, with marble being extensively used in both the architecture and interior design. 
The interior-design team has also selected furniture and accessories for the project from New York’s classic fashion designer Ralph Lauren to decorate all residential units and the public areas.
Khun by YOO, meanwhile, has been inspired by prolific French designer Philippe Starck, while Sansiri has also collaborated with the YOO international-lifestyle design studio – founded by global property magnate John Hitchcock and Starck himself. This is also Starck’s first branded condominium in Thailand, which makes the project a collectible for design lovers and the designer’s fans, Srettha said.
Real Asset Development is another top developer decorating a luxury condominium project in collaboration with a major foreign designer, with the furniture for the Laviq Sukhumvit 57 being supplied by Italian brand, Fendi Casa.
“A condominium is not only residential but it represents your lifestyle, so we selected fashion furniture from Italy’s Fendi Casa to decorate our project in a way that fits our customers’ lifestyle,” managing director Sakulthorn Juangroongruangkit explained.
 
Global architects
Meanwhile, luxury developers – concerned about the architectural design of their projects – are using globally renowned architects as advisers.
For example, the MahaNakhon, which is Bangkok’s tallest building, used German-architect Ole Scheeren as project adviser, with the building designed under the theme of a three-dimensional ribbon of architectural pixels that circle the tower‚ full height, “as if excavating portions of the elegant glass curtain wall to reveal the inner life of the building while generating a set of very special features, well-suited to the tropical climate of Bangkok”, said Pace Development Corp, which developed the project.
“We selected Scheeren to be the architectural adviser for our masterpiece project because we wanted to build a landmark for Bangkok that had to incorporate design under a global concept. This has also inspired our customers to buy,” chief executive officer Sorapoj Techakraisri said earlier.
All our customers wishing to buy a luxury residence require design and function that differentiate it from the normal, and using a global architect offered us different ideas and also created a luxury building as the landmark for the area, he added.
While foreign architectural and design advice is in demand, local architects who have had experience in designing buildings overseas are also chosen by property developers to design luxury condominiums or mixed-use projects, in which customers seek design and function that meet their requirements.
For example, Grand Canal Land’s Super Tower, which will be the tallest skyscraper in Southeast Asia at 615 metres, is designed by well-known Thai architectural practice, Architects 49.
The developer’s chairman, Yothin Boondicharern, said the tower would not only be the tallest in the region, but the building was also designed for functionality and environmental friendliness, as construction was being undertaken to platinum-level certification by the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED).
 
Green building design
Sansiri’s 98 Wireless has also been designed under the green concept, with an application for LEED Silver certification having been made at the outset of the project, as the intention is for 98 Wireless to be a sustainable building for the long term.
In order to qualify for LEED Silver accreditation, the company had to design the building using green construction materials, while its infrastructure, such as electricity and water systems, also had to match the LEED standard, said Uthai Uthaisangsuk, Sansiri’s senior executive vice president – business development and project development division (high rise).
Lersuk Chuladesa, co-chief executive officer of Pruksa Real Estate, said the trend for residential development in the future “has to be concerned about value creation for customers”.
“We are highlighting the utilisation of modern innovations in residential construction by collaborating with residential innovation experts from Germany to develop the ‘Pruksa Plus House’, a prototype house at The Plant Exclusique Patthanakarn 38,” he explained.
The objective is to meet the four aspects of future needs for customers – a safety home, healthy home, green home and smart home – he added.
The green home is aimed at incorporating environmentally friendly innovations and alternative-energy solutions into the house construction, ranging from solar-cell installation, ice storage system/ hot-water storage, thermal insulation and water-efficient toilets, to a new air-ventilation system with heat-resistant technology and temperature control inside the house, the co-CEO said. 
These innovations can both reduce the world’s energy consumption and help save electrical expenses for the residents, he added.
Lersuk also said that while it was crucial for all property firms to research and develop their residential projects – be they condominiums, detached housing or townhouses – to ensure that served prevailing demand, when it came to luxury homes, customers were not only looking for function, as they also paid close attention to lifestyle needs and required value for money when making a residential purchase costing at least Bt10 million.
“With the market competition, property firms have to create differentiation for their products to serve different demands in the market, and that is why they don’t just focus on location and price, but have to incorporate architecture, design and environment features, too. This is the long-term trend for designing luxury residential projects,” he emphasised.
 

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