East elevation
HE number of first-class hotel
T rooms in Bangkok has trebled in
the last three years. According to an Asian Industry report at least 4,000 second class hotel rooms were built last year and six new luxury hotels are presently under construction to provide a further 2,000 rooms,
A good share of the design work for this hotel building boom has been undertaken by Bangkok archi- tect, Mr. Krisda Arunvongse, whose new buildings include the Manhora, the Oriental and the President Hotels.
On each of these projects the architect has worked closely with his interior designers from the initial concept and, while in modern multi- storey construction a distinguished exterior is difficult to achieve, in the interiors each extends an invitation to luxurious comfort combined with a Thai atmosphere presented through the media of furniture, material, colours and works of art.
The President Hotel exemplifies this effort to produce a building with both national indentity and international standards of hotel comfort and amenity.
The building itself is a long narrow rectangular structure of reinforced concrete, sited on an elongated area of about 5,000 sq. metres at Kesorn Road. The vertical or horizontal fins used as sunbreakers on most multi- storey buildings in Bangkok have been.
avoided, sun shading being achieved by a series of window-width protusions at each floor level. These, with the white washed gravel finish to the columns give the two main facades a chequer-board effect and produce in- teresting shadow changes.
A driveway ramp leads under a wide canopy supported by four slender columns at the main entrance, which gives direct access to the spacious main lobby at first floor level. Beyond the lobby at this level are two conference rooms with banquet seating for 200 and 120, the Rochana Room speciality restaurant
។
i-
South elevation
and the swimming pool with garden and poolside bar.
Below on the ground floor are 18 shops, staff rooms, snack bar (the Capuchino), grill room (the Fireplace Grill), bakery, cocktail lounge and nightclub (the Cat's Eye), and the mechanical services room,
The hotel's 169 bedrooms and eight suites are located each side of central corridors on the second to seventh floors. There are 30 guest rooms and one executive suite on each floor ex- cept on the seventh where there are 24 rooms, two executive suites and the presidential suite.
Mas
BATH
LAV
KITCHENETTE
CORRIDOR
氏
Suite floor plan
BEDROOM
Far East BUILDER, September 1968.
DINING ROOM
LIVING ROOM
i
BATH ROOM
BEDROOM
Typical guest room
FRAYS
49
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