Altoon + Porter Architects LLP and its client CPN received the Best-of-the-Best global design and development award presented by ICSC for their CentralWorld project in Bangkok, which was up against 94 other global competitors. ICSC’s Best-of-the-Best Awards acknowledge the most exceptional retail property in the world, and honors the professionals who designed and developed the project, establishing it as the industry standard for cutting-edge design, innovative solutions and creative responses to market trends throughout the world.

Altoon + Porter transformed the CentralWorld, from an introverted complex world trade center maze into an engaging functional space allowing visitors to be exposed to the elements of modern design. As the second largest shopping complex in Southeast Asia, CentralWorld is the civic heart of Bangkok’s main shopping district. The project has been redeveloped as a mixed-use center designed to bring the excitement of the annual New Year’s Eve countdown all year round. It includes retail, offices, entertainment, leisure and hospitality space, as well as a visually stunning seven-story high, 350-meter long glass façade capable of hosting a digital Media Wall with the potential to project multiple LED images, ticker tape and lasers. The new high-tech face of the phenomenal center looks out on a revitalized plaza complete with fountains and gardens.

The redesign transforms the existing eight-story maze by opening up the plan and optimizing vertical circulation including stairs, escalators and elevators to the space behind the glass façade. In addition, the entire complex is a transit oriented development by virtue of a new bridge link to an adjacent train.

Just days before ICSC announced the “Best-of-the-Best” awards, political upheaval struck in the Bangkok shopping district, where rioters torched a portion of CentralWorld. Fortunately the damage from that event only affected one-sixth of the retail space.

“I just can’t adequately express my sadness about it,” said Ronald A. Altoon, FAIA, partner of Altoon + Porter Architects. ”It’s just tragic, but the mall will be rebuilt,” he said. “It was not only the largest shopping center in Thailand, but also the best-performing, so I look forward to the next iteration.”

Altoon + Porter Architects’ project team included: James F. Porter, AIA, partner-in-charge; Ronald A. Altoon, FAIA, LEED® AP, CDP, partner-for-design; William J. Sebring, AIA, design partner; and Mitchell Lawrence, AIA, CSI, project manager.