Thailand's most spectacular riverside landmark, ICONSIAM, on Friday opened with a dazzling programme that included the largest flying drone display ever organised in Southeast Asia with more than 1,500 drones, and attended by tens of thousands of well-wishers, celebrities and Thailand's 'Who's Who'.
The US$1.65 billion landmark is one of Asia's most exciting new developments and is billed as a 750,000 square metre mega-destination that "brings together, in a single destination, a great riverside location with art, culture, lifestyle pursuits, endless dining options, super-luxury residences, and shopping. It's a place to regenerate and refresh, to be inspired and seek new ideas, and a place to discover the best of Thailand and the best on offer from around the world," according to Mrs. Chadatip Chutrakul, Director, ICONSIAM Co., Ltd.She said, "ICONSIAM is a destination - not a mall or a mixed-use development - and it is born of a joint creative effort that has united the hearts of Thai people from many different walks of life.
They include experts from many disciplines and from many countries who love Thailand and want to contribute to a new symbol of Thailand, making Thais proud while also making visitors from around the world fall deeper in love with Thailand."
She said, "ICONSIAM was created by a collaboration of unprecedented scale between Thai artists and experts from around the world. As Thais, we are also proud that the world's leading fashion and luxury brands have trusted us and created an impressive presence at ICONSIAM. They collaborated with ICONSIAM by thinking outside of the box and also, in a rare first, collaborated with Thai artists, allowing them to create masterpieces that integrate Thai themes and materials such as using Thai silk to decorate their stores."
Among the outstanding features at ICONSIAM is the River Park - a 10,000 square metres riverside community space that is open to the public every day. There is also a multimedia water feature, which is the longest in Southeast Asia, that is designed to be a global iconic attraction, "and do for Bangkok what the London Eye does for London and the Botanic Garden at the Marina Bay Sands does for Singapore," Mrs. Chutrakul said.
On the ground floor is a four-acre space called SookSiam where communities from Thailand's 77 provinces present their creative capabilities, whether it be in products or performances. SookSiam aims to be a platform where provincial products can benefit from professional merchandising and marketing to help them penetrate international markets.
There is also Thailand's most technologically advanced auditorium that aims to boost Thailand's international incentives and convention industry. It is scheduled to open in July 2019, at the same time as ICONSIAM's 'River Museum Bangkok' which will be the first world-class museum in Thailand and capable of hosting top world-touring exhibitions.
Mrs. Chutrakul said, "ICONSIAM is also the first commercial development in Thailand to ever sponsor large-scale public infrastructure including the Golden Line Skytrain mass transit line as well as the improvement of public piers along the river to ease potential traffic congestion created by our huge destination."
Supoj Chaiwatsirikul, Chief Executive Officer, ICONSIAM, said, "Our retail offerings are unmatched, with more than 7,000 Thai and international brands represented, many for the first time in Thailand and with new concepts and special products exclusively at ICONSIAM."
Among the 'first-ever' brands and stores is Takashimaya, Japan's legendary department store; the first flagship Apple Store in Thailand; Japan's most successful cosmetics specialty store @Cosme; H&M with first-ever triplex store; Urban Revivo; the first outlet in Thailand for multi-brand sports fashion chain JD Sports; the first Nike Kicks Lounge in Southeast Asia; Asia's largest Adidas Original Store; and an area of 2,500 square metres called ICONCRAFT that presents Thailand's creativity at its best by assembling a vast array of art pieces and contemporary craftwork by Thais.
ICONSIAM also houses luxury automotive brands including Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Mini, BMW Motorrad, Porsche, and Toyota, with BMW offering Virtual Reality (VR) experiences.
He said, "Our opening extravaganza lasts for three days from the 9th to the 11th of November, during which time visitors are treated to a host of unforgettable shows and performances of national and global stature as well as unmatched promotions that offer visitors who choose to shop the chance to be awarded double the value of their spending in credit."
Mr. Visit Malaisirirat, Chief Executive Officer of Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), developer of the two residential towers at ICONSIAM, said, "Magnolia Waterfront Residences are 379 luxurious condominiums located by the river in a 70-floor tower. There is also a 52-floor, super-luxury tower that is the first Mandarin Oriental-branded residential development in Southeast Asia, with 146 super-luxury homes. Residences in both towers have raised the bar on quality and luxury in residential development in Thailand and brought them on a par with the best anywhere in the world, helping them achieve record prices in the city with a two-bedroom condominium starting at US$2.58 million."
ICONSIAM is being developed by three of Thailand's most successful businesses, including Siam Piwat, the owner and operator of prestige retail developments such as Siam Center, Siam Paragon, and Siam Discovery; Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), the owner and developer of luxury quality residential and mixed-use projects; and multi-national conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.
