Fashion, Design and Culture destination ICONSIAM breathes new life into the banks of Bangkok’s sleepy Chao Phraya river.
ICONSIAM has established itself as a landmark destination that is transforming Bangkok’s riverfront and revitalizing the city’s Thonburi district by forging far-reaching collaborations between government agencies and commercial enterprises in Thailand.
“ICONSIAM is a game-changing destination that has successfully turned the Chao Phraya River and the Thonburi side of the city into one of Bangkok’s fastest developing business and tourism hubs, spreading prosperity to surrounding communities and businesses,” said Mrs. Chadatip Chutrakul, Director, ICONSIAM Co., Ltd. and Chief Executive Officer of ICONSIAM joint-venture partner Siam Piwat Co., Ltd.
“From the outset, we knew that succeeding with a venture of this scale would only be possible through partnerships across all levels of society. Today, ICONSIAM is living testament to the power of collaboration between retailers, architects, designers, artists, artisans, community leaders, riverside businesses, the travel and tourism sector, and government agencies. It has resulted in the birth of a new national landmark that is the largest private sector property development project ever to open in Thailand, and is a place that gives one more reason for visitors to Thailand to fall in love with our country,” she continued.
Mrs. Chutrakul said, “ICONSIAM is contributing significantly to the Thai economy, having created over 300,000 jobs and attracted more than US$ 165 million in additional foreign investment from tenants for the development of their stores. The first Apple Store in Thailand is located at ICONSIAM, many international brands opened their first stores in Thailand, and multiple luxury brands established flagship stores at the destination.”
She added that “hundreds of small business operators from all of Thailand’s 77 provinces, many of whom have never ventured outside their towns, have been given special support to present and sell their wares at ICONSIAM’s ‘SookSiam’ local market and to use the venue as a platform from which to showcase their products to the world”.
Mrs. Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, Managing Director of CBRE Thailand, said, “This had always been a quiet district, off the radar of real estate developers. Now it’s become a golden area. ICONSIAM is a catalyst development that has sparked tourism, investment, and property development on the Thonburi side of the river. During the past five years, the value of land along Charoen Nakhon Road and its vicinity have, on average, doubled in value.”
“In the residential market, there were 12 new condominiums with 6,509 units in 2018, and 8 new condominiums with 5,538 units in 2019. Condominiums located in the vicinity of ICONSIAM on Charoen Nakhon Road and Klongsan Road have sold well,” she said.
When Mrs. Chutrakul says, “We have to do things never before done in the world and make every Thai proud of being Thai and every foreign visitor fall deeper in love with Thailand,” it seems that the world’s foremost development and retail associations agree. The US$1.7 billion landmark has become one of the world’s most-awarded destinations. It has received top prizes from prestigious international bodies, including the ‘World’s Best Design’ award from the World Retail Congress which cited ICONSIAM as “breathtaking… and takes retail design into the future”, as well as being selected the global winner of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) VIVA best-of-the-best awards for “Best Design and Development 2020” for “ingenuity, innovation and forward thinking vision”.
About ICONSIAM
Covering 750,000 square metres of floor space, ICONSIAM brings together, in a single, visually stunning riverside destination, vast and varied artistic and cultural offerings, an endless roster of activities, entertainment, restaurants, luxury residences, as well as extraordinary shopping possibilities. It is the first time in the East Asia region that cultural and commercial space has blended together on this scale with more than 100 local and international artists contributing their creations for display and making them integral parts of the development. The opening of a 10,000 square metre riverside park for public use, and the sponsorship of public infrastructure worth more than US$50 million, affirm ICONSIAM’s pioneering approach to large-scale development.
