Central: The Original Store Opens in Bangkok’s Creative District
Retail conglomerate Central Group returns to its roots with the opening of Central: The Original Store, a four-storey community space home to a design library, gallery, cafe and bar, and a restaurant, with architecture by Vincent Van Duysen and interiors by Japanese studio Tripster
With 60 malls and department stores and more than 5,000 hotels and restaurants to its name, Thailand’s Central Group, operated by the Chirathivat family, is one of the country’s biggest entrepreneurial success stories. Like most commercial giants, it rose from humble beginnings: a small shop, opened in 1950, along Bangkok’s Charoen Krung Road. Over time, while the Chirathivats expanded their empire with architectural showpieces such as the Amanda Levete-designed Central Embassy mall and its SIWILAI concept store by Yabu Pushelberg, the original shop fell into disuse. But now, 70 years and a thorough renovation later, it welcomes guests once again.
Spearheaded by Barom Bhicharnchitr, great-grandson of Central Group’s founding father, Central: The Original Store is a tribute to the group’s rich history. ‘We felt it was our duty to create something really special here,’ Bhicharnchitr says. ‘It has always been Central Group’s mission to help Thailand grow, and with this project we wanted to help develop the neighbourhood in a modern way.’
While Bangkok’s current creative zeitgeist aims to capture the many elements of ‘Thainess’ and celebrate Thai design, it was Belgian architect Vincent Van Duysen who was enlisted to design the exterior, with Tokyo-based studio Tripster (the team behind TRUNK(HOUSE)) taking the lead in the interior design. ‘Charoen Krung was one of Bangkok’s most cosmopolitan and culturally diverse areas back in the day,’ Bhicharnchitr explains, ‘We wanted to reflect that.’
Van Duysen took design cues from Central Group’s vast property portfolio. The modular facade, bedecked with handcrafted terracotta tiles from Thailand’s Lampang province, hints to the group’s first flagship department store in Bangkok’s ritzy Chidlom district. The large street-front windows recall the city’s first window displays, which the group introduced to Thailand. Inside, terrazzo floors, exposed concrete and wooden ceiling beams all pay homage to the original shophouse design. The rear of the building remains traditional, featuring neoclassical windows and ornate roof trims like those found on historical shopfronts around the neighbourhood.
Connected by a sculpted concrete staircase, the building’s five levels feature floor-to-ceiling windows framing views over Bangkok’s historic centre. Glass display cases on the ground floor host rotating exhibitions of vintage magazines (Central got its start as one of Thailand’s first English-language newsstands) and Central-themed merchandise. One floor up, a retail-themed library serves to educate a new generation of retail tycoons. ‘This project isn’t just about us,’ Bhicharnchitr says. ‘We want to inspire and activate the younger generation through our journey.’
A courtyard, a common feature in traditional shophouses, functions as a cafe by day and turns into neon-lit live jazz bar SIWILAI SOUND CLUB at night. Above it, accessible via a hidden staircase, the intimate Audiophile Bar channels the atmosphere of Tokyo's vinyl bars where, under a mirrored ceiling, a bartender-DJ mixes both drinks and music.
Australian chef David Thompson (a Thailand resident for more than 30 years) takes over the top floor and semi-open rooftop terrace with Aksorn, a 40-seat dining room with an ever-changing tasting menu based on recipes found in Thompson’s Thai cookbooks from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Central: The Original Store is a smart move in ensuring that the family’s legacy lives on. And just like its first store brought fresh ideas into this neighbourhood, this new reincarnation helps cement the status of Charoen Krung as Bangkok’s de facto creative district even further. With that, it has come full circle.
Text / Chris Schalkx
Images / DOF Sky|Ground
