← The Urbanist
The Urbanist
Tall Stories 490: How renovations stripped Bangkok’s Robot Building of its personality
00:06:16
Loading summary
Transcript4 lines
- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:10]
B
Of the most characteristic features of the Bangkok skyline up until 2023 at least, was the Robot Building, with its rectangular structure and two round windows for eyes, adding to its droid like appearance. But after recent renovations took away most of its personality, and residents are left wondering why developers felt the need to eliminate the fun from this city icon. You're listening to Tall Stories, a Monocle production brought to you by the team behind the Urbanist. I'm Andrew Tuck. In this episode, Thomas Pinero explores an act of urban erasure in the Thai capital.
- [00:51]
A
Amidst the growing number of glass towers, Bangkok still has a few standout characters on its skyline. There's a so called Elephant Building, whose three towers and connecting cantilever form the silhouette of the animal, including a head with eyes, ears and tusks. There's the Pixel Building, the tallest in town, which, despite its glassy exterior, arranges terraces, skyboxes and stacked balconies in a pixelated cascade, as if digitally fragmenting before our eyes. And there was, until recently, the Robot Building, a structure that once mirrored the boxy robots of the retrotech years. The robot building boasted gridded windows that read as panels and screens, along with two antennas at the top button like bumps and huge mechanical joints. Its anthropomorphic quality was most clear in the upper volume, where two round windows resembled the eyes with heavy eyelids, giving the impression of a calm, slightly unimpressed machine that once kept watch over the city. Completed in 1986, this peculiar building was the work of celebrated architect Sumet Jumsai for the new headquarters of the bank of Asia. The idea came to him as he sketched on a notepad while his son played nearby with a Japanese robot toy. So Matt initially sent the drawing to the client as a joke. But they liked what they saw. The building as a symbol of the automation trends shaping the banking industry in the 80s. To Joom's side, this was, in his words, a happy project. A robot that smiled at people who smiled back. It represented technology as a part of life, the robot as a friend. In the original plan, he even wanted a light show for the building's eyes. With the two circular windows winking at night and seeing sending bright beams across the city. The building's eyes saw the development of the area. This was the first high rise in the Sathorn district. A giant robot dominating the low rise sprawl long before other high rises took over the area. They also overlooked the arrival of the Skytrain, which now cuts through Bangkok. For decades, kids glued themselves to the window to catch a glimpse of the robot as the train glided past. And a fair few adults did it, too. Bangkok's robot gained recognition well beyond Thailand, appearing in everything from books and magazines to children's cartoons, in exhibitions around the world, and even in a History Channel episode of Modern Marvels. Deservedly so. The Robot building was, after all, the forerunner of postmodern architecture in Asia, displaying the symbolism, imagination and humor that defined the style. Even with its playfulness, the building carried a certain elegance, a geometric clarity that gave it a charm only deepened with time. As tastes shifted, though, some began treating the robot building like last season's tech, waving it off as Yesterday's novelty. In 2023, Singapore's UOB bank, which had already taken over the building, announced remodeling plants. In the words of its president in Thailand, the remodel prioritized people's wellness and environmental sustainability. The new project introduced a complete reworking of the exterior, replacing the original facade with an all glazed skin set to, and I quote again, reduce carbon emissions and promote eco friendliness. The city, still healing from the loss of Scala Cinema, an art deco masterpiece, raced to the ground to make space for a shopping mall, held its breath for another architectural tragedy. Meanwhile, Jomsai and preservation group Doko Momo sprung into action, urging the bank to reconsider. They argued for updating the interior while keeping the frame and the distinctive facade intact. Since those carried architecture and cultural value, it made no difference. Today, as the train glides past, something remains another glass office tower. But something is missing, too. Bangkok's robot has disappeared from the skyline. If you're curious about what the robot building once looked like, you can head to Mplus Hong Kong, where they've assembled an archive of Joom Tsai's work, including models, drawings, sketches and photographs. The museum is becoming a repository of sorts for traces of of how Asian cities looked in the past. It's there alongside a preserved unit from Tokyo's dismantled Nakagin Capsule tower and examples of Hong Kong's fading neon signage that the Robot building has found a more lasting corner, if only as a model.
- [05:48]
B
Tolstories is a monocle production, the team behind the Urbanist. This episode was written by Thomas Pinero and produced and edited by David Stevens. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to receive new episodes every week. I'm Andrew Tuck. Goodbye. Thank you for listening, city lovers.