International architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) have revealed they are designing the largest ever private-sector development in Thailand: a 16-hectare mixed-use development called One Bangkok.

Development firms TCC Assets and Frasers Centrepoint Limited have unveiled plans for the mammoth scheme in the heart of the Thai capital.

One Bangkok, located adjacent to the city’s Lumphini Park, will be formed of hotels, shops, public spaces, offices and residences – with an estimated 60,000 people to live and work in the district when it is completed in 2025.

SOM have visualised “a vertical village” designed to foster community and promote wellbeing in a dense urban environment. Eight hectares of public plazas and landscaped green space, in between the buildings “will form a new centre of social life in the city.”

“Bangkok is one of the world’s most dynamic, energetic cities, with an exceptionally vibrant street life,” said SOM design partner Scott Duncan. “Our vision for One Bangkok seeks to capture that energy, extending the vitality of the city’s streets through the district and then upward, weaving green, outdoor spaces into the fabric of the towers as they rise.

"Inside and out, places for collaboration, socialising, and relaxation cultivate community in a vertical environment.”

The architects have designed a selection of towers in the district, each with its own unique character and form. Green terraces cascade down one tower; on another, two volumes are joined together by a lattice of sky gardens and atria.

One Bangkok is the first project in Thailand to target LEED Platinum certification for Neighborhood Development, and the masterplan centralises energy and water-management systems to create efficiency and anticipate future growth.

SOM are known for their large-scale urban masterplans. In addition to the Bangkok project, the studio are also developing leisure-filled new districts for Philadelphia and London, among other cities.