TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOPE LANGSUAN
BEYOND THE METICULOUSLY DESIGNED LIVING SPACES, SCOPE LANGSUAN ALSO OFFERS PUBLIC FACILITIES THAT FULFILL EACH HOMEOWNERS NEEDS PRACTICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY, AIMING TO ELEVATE THE EXPERIENCE OF A COMPLETE LIVING ECOSYSTEM AIDING EVERY RESIDENT’S ASPECTS OF LIFE
TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOPE LANGSUAN
(For Thai, press here)
The SCOPE Langsuan is where quality, rationale, functions, convenience, and aesthetic experience meet to fulfill each homeowner’s needs practically and emotionally. Apart from situating on a prime location that will help save the luxury of time and spare residents from the hassle of the city, the amenities provided in the SCOPE Langsuan will further enhance the experience of a complete living ecosystem aiding every resident’s aspects of life. This is achieved through the project’s facilities and services to all its homeowners. The planning and interior design of all four floors of public space are all carefully laid out by Thomas-Juul Hansen. The non-residential area in the project comprises over 12,500 sq.m. of which 2,500 sq.m of public facilities will give the aesthetic experience tailored to fit the lifestyle of each resident that values both practical living and convenience.
The third floor is separated into a mixeduse of programs starting from private storage usages that offer different variations of size from S, M, and L for homeowners with extra items and belongings they may not use on a day-to-day basis. In addition to Sub-Zero’s wine chiller in each residents’ home, there is a wine cellar space tucked away on this floor to store more wine collections. Other than storage, this floor is also utilized as a study room and conference room for any work-related purposes. There is also a lounge area and beverage bar facing horizontally towards Langsuan street for relaxing and leisure purposes. Another unique program assigned on this floor is a 25-seat private movie theatre and a soundproof music room large enough to fit standard bands and instruments for any music enthusiasts.
Club Lounge
Ascending to the upper level, the programs assigned to the fourth floor are primarily geared towards health and wellness. A temperature-controlled 30 m lap pool is exposed outdoor at the facade adjacent to a kid pool. Stepping into the indoor area, residents can also enjoy an Italian marble thermal bath with a full-height window view towards the east or get into a Swedish sauna placed in the same area. Homeowners can also book an appointment with their therapists and use the wellness suite for a massage session or physical therapy. On the same level, a generously sized fitness area takes most of the building’s south side, which separates a yoga studio, private running room, stationary bike, and fully equipped weight training area.
Dressing Room
When residents have to host and impress a bigger crowd, the 34th floor is perfect for accommodating a large number of guests with outdoor terrace areas, kitchen, private dining room, and cigar lounge all integrated at the rooftop level.
On the service prospect, to ensure that all residents receive an undisturbed flow of service they need whenever they want, the developer has made it clear that the sale units are limited at a ‘good quantity.’ This means that there will be fewer home units of 133 units compared to the space per unit area of the facilities and human resources. For instance, there is over 175 percent of parking space or around 231 lots and 24-hour valet service that will help save time once residents drive to the condominium’s drop-off area.
Grand Lobby
For ease of use and flexibility, the automatic parking system installed in the project is large enough to fit a full-size van. With the growing shift into using clean and sustainable automotive energy, the project also offers EV fast-charging docks to recharge electric and hybrid cars. The condominium also provides three times weekly housekeeping service and 24- hour porter service to assist you at the time of your needs. Each homeowner’s parcels will be taken care of and organized by the concierge staff that will act as personal assistants if any homeowner has any inquiry or emergency. Another commendable aspect of the planning design is how well thought out about all the users existing in the SCOPE Langsuan, which most essentially would include the homeowners’ maids and drivers. In most cases, these staff would be living inside the car or hidden away in a small room under the fire escape stairs.
Driver Lounge
“It is important to us to raise the quality of life and satisfaction for everyone that uses this building, not just the homeowners but also the life of every staff unit and our employees.” Mr. Yongyutt Chaipromprasith stated. As such, there is a staff canteen and a lounge for any drivers to relax while waiting for their shift in the back-of-house on the ground level
DESIGNED BY THOMAS JUUL-HANSEN, THE INTERIOR DESIGN OF SCOPE LANGSUAN IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE CAN ACHIEVE A NEW PARADIGM OF LUXURY THROUGH ITS EXQUISITE AND MISCELLANEOUS DETAILS
TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOPE LANGSUAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
To further reflect the ambition to achieve Bangkok’s elevated living standards in the modern era, SCOPE Langsuan initially gathered a selected group of world-renowned designers for this ambitious project. Ultimately, the team has specifically handpicked Thomas Juul-Hansen, a New York-based Danish architect, as the most fitting interior designer for this project. Although this is his first project in Asia, Thomas Juul-Hansen is no stranger to the world of luxury interior design projects in the west and has masterminded interiors for New York and London’s most buzzed-about developments. One example is the 75-story One57, home to New York City’s most expensive residence. His firm has also developed a diverse body of design works not just in residential projects but also in hospitality, retail and commercial interiors.
SCOPE LANGSUAN 2 Bed Unit
For each project, the firm designs a unique and innovative formal option to create a notion of timeless manifesto through thoughtful investigations of contextual sensitivity, materiality, and customization. “I believe that luxury is a universal language. And it is about the harmony between quality of light, space, functionality, and material.” Thomas told art4d with confidence when approached with a question regarding the definition of luxury. “In that way, the epitome of luxury in Bangkok is not that different from that of New York or London.”
Thomas Juul-Hansen | Photo: Ketsiree Wongwan
The interior planning design is sequenced and sectioned in consideration of residents routing from lobby entrance to their door home. On the ground floor, residents will first enter a pristine lobby greeted with a sculptural green marble concierge and light fixtures made with pink onyx hanging from the ceiling, designed to fit the space by Thomas himself. Exclusivity and privacy are also part of the planning. In the lobby area, each area of the services, circulating between the residents and the staffs are designed to avoid an unnecessarily overcrowding space. Moving forward from the lobby, private elevator will simply take you directly home. Each room’s specifications are restricted beyond specific dimensions to ensure that all residents experience the best possible atmosphere. This space design has been decoded to be the ideal ratio of ‘good size’ between 83-436 sq.m. and ‘good floor to ceiling height’ at 3.5 and 4 meters. This uncompromising composition of size and height also provide the feeling of living inside a single-unit house.
In terms of the look and feel, Thomas further described the inspiration he obtained from his visit to the city as, “Bangkok is the city of light and air. It has a very bright quality and an airy, warm tropical climate. So I wanted to showcase the light and airy palette to reflect that quality of Bangkok.” Upon entering the room, residents can undoubtedly feel a sense of those qualities, not only from the spacious dimensions but also attained by the full floor-to-ceiling window that illuminated the space with natural light. The bright material selection and color palette accentuates the interior and embraces its inhabitants with soothing warmth and refined serenity.
With a synergy of form and function, SCOPE’s decision to use German appliance brands like Gaggenau and Bulthaup was a no-brainer. From the highest quality and aesthetic of the appliances to how they blend perfectly, every aspect has been rigorously thought out. The level of attention applied to the details comes as little surprise when you consider the uncompromising functions of each element in the kitchen. Take one example of the material used for both countertops, the ivory and creamy off-white Taj Mahal quartzite. This single slab of stone serves both aesthetic functions and also protects from any absorption of water so residents can use it without any worries of color change over time caused by spillage and extreme usage. There is an abundant row of storage spaces in the entrance room through to the living area to assist residents in decluttering. These cabinets are designed to up to hundred pairs of shoes and other electronic appliances like washing and drying machines. Beside the entrance cabinets are the walk-in closet from an Italian brand, LEMA. This open structure U-shaped closet sits next to an all-white marble-covered voluminous bathroom. Adding to the high level of attention to detail and concern for its luxurious functionality, there are many custom pieces of furniture personally designed by Thomas himself. “It’s something I learned long, long time ago that handcrafting a bespoke furniture that fits with the setting of the space, the whole experience changes.” The furniture pieces in the room, such as working tables, TV consoles, and other built-ins, are made by Thomas down to the detailing level to work best with the space and the program in each room. This further adds to the level of careful craftsmanship, and attention to design that the project feels is essential for achieving a new paradigm of luxury
EXPERIENCE THE FEELING OF BANGKOK-ONLY KIND OF LUXURY IN THE SCOPE LANGSUAN EXTERIOR DESIGN BY KOHN PEDERSON FOX ASSOCIATES (KPF) WHICH RESONATED WITH THE THAI ATTITUDE OF HUMILITY AND HOSPITALITY TOWARDS ITS CONTEXT
TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOPE LANGSUAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
Kohn Pederson Fox Associates (KPF) is one of the world’s preeminent architecture firms and one of the first name that comes to mind when clients think of the most innovative, tallest buildings in all geographic regions. KPF is often known for its cutting-edge design with an inventive form that contributes to being a landmark for over 35 major cities worldwide. Although, with the firm’s diverse portfolio, one characteristic is shared among all projects designed by KPF, which is to ensure the programmatic functions are fully optimized and the most innovative solution is pursued in the master planning while offering a visually stunning exterior. This characteristic is also clearly apparent in the proposed design for SCOPE Langsuan that KPF has stepped in as an architectural design consultant for this ambitious luxury project.
Photo: Ketsiree Wongwan
Externally, the condominium carries a unique, contemporary aesthetics that is the signature of KPF’s residential high-rise projects, yet SCOPE Langsuan stands out among those lavish buildings with its distinct simplicity and sleek composure. “We could have made a much more extravagant design to the building, but it would have defeated the purpose. This building is representative of the shift in luxury from a very loud, in-your-face luxury into a more minimal, no fuss, no guilt kind of luxury that we’re starting to see around the world and so we wanted to keep everything simple and calm”, Trent Tesch, a design principal also responsible for the project, told art4d. With this tranquility mindset, the SCOPE Langsuan aims to be a more understated type of luxury by adopting a humble approach with its design. The textured façade of the condominium features gently slanted windows and aluminum frames to create a ripple effect across the building’s surface, giving the structure an organic and natural motion. “Human scale and relationship that a person has to the scale of the building play an important role. The fold shape facade would allow people to feel more connected to the building rather than having a flat surface that may resemble more to an office building”, Trent added.
Architecturally, the construction of the building is visibly separated into three main volumes with stepped heights, emphasizing the structure’s graceful verticality. Variations in the glass surface distinguish the building’s components: the two outermost volumes, ornamented with creased windows, house the residential units, while a fritted glass wall distinguishes the central core. These glasses are made with an 8 mm high-quality, double-glazed insulated Low-E coating so that the residents can ensure their privacy from external viewers even at night and offer a clear internal observation through to the capital’s spectacular view. Furthermore, this special Low-E coating acts as a threshold to protect its inhabitant from Bangkok’s harsh weather and intense heat. It is undeniable that the rhythm between these extensive use of undulated glass and the private balconies of the exterior of this building allowed for a more sleek and dramatic visual experience that homeowners can take pride in.
Overall, the exterior perfectly captures the design ethos of the building with its inside-out thinking that KPF executed explicitly for this project. Its tripartite design is derived from the desire to reflect the internal program, segregating the service core with the living space to the outside. This simplistic, straightforward rationales results in a beautifully crafted verticality of its exterior and claim SCOPE Langsuan a sight to behold for the city with its modern and expressive elements. Finally, pursuing an understated approach also allows the building to resonate with the Thai attitude of humility and hospitality towards its context. “I couldn’t imagine this building anywhere else in the world. This is site-specific to Bangkok-only kind of luxury,” Trent ended.
THE SCOPE LANGSUAN ADDRESSES LUXURY BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL SENSE WITH QUALITY OF SPACE, WORLD-CLASS AMENITIES, AND SERVICES, ENSURING A MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCE IN EVERY MINUTE OF LIFE
TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO COURTESY OF SCOPE LANGSUAN
(For Thai, press here)
It is common knowledge that the index of measuring a value of a high-end real estate project depends on several key factors such as location, value,material selection, provenance, or even brand reputation. Although, with the ever-changing modern living and lifestyles that are constantly changing, the flexibility and nature of contemporary lifestyles and work schedules have allowed us to be at home much more than ever and this has tremendously increased the time we spend and the interactions we have with our homes. The sudden growth in home utilization beyond being just a space for living now demands an adaptive solution to answer to new needs.
High-end developers are often confronted with the challenge to push the boundaries and opted for an innovative definition of what a luxury project should provide to its buyers. Undoubtedly, depending on materiality and materialism alone to justify the price of a luxury project are strongly questioned; luxury is rediscovering an immaterial dimension — time, quality space, and also meaningful experiences — an intangible quality can be as luxurious as an object and to meet the perfect balance between both realms can be considered supreme luxury. Having ownership of the city’s most prime and rare location as Langsuan which was a record-breaking price per sqm. back in 2017, together with its top quality material selection satisfies the conventional definitions of luxury, but it is also important to Scope Langsuan to address luxury beyond the traditional sense and offer to its client an experience of timeless and relevant living space through good design.
“Time is a luxury.” Forth Bagley, principal at KPF and design consultant of the Scope Langsuan boldly stated. “To the extent that architecture can provide, it should be a space where residents can recharge, think, and saves you time. I think we were very much aware of that when we were laying out the plans and programs of the building with the client.” Beyond the considerations of such a prestigious address location and consumer attention, especially for modern generations who prioritize work-life balance, is now focused on the complementary services that can ease the burden of daily chores and enhance their overall living experience to save their precious time. Scope Langsuan is becoming more than just another luxury residence, it subtly gives an impression of a luxury hotel with its 2,500 sqm. of world-class amenities and hospitality-level services to answer to all of those desires for a better quality of life and to ensure that its residents’ lives are as smooth as possible. These services include a hotel–standard concierge as well as a 24-hour valet and porter service to cater to every homeowner’s needs.
Also, much like a hotel experience, the design consultants paid extra attention to make sure that the sequences, as soon as you step into the property, are unique and private. The overall design elements, which are going to be elaborated in detail in the series, work together to create a sense of serenity to offer inhabitants a tranquil state of mind that can relieve the stresses from the outside world. “An owner of a residence at Scope Langsuan, hence, ‘The International Premium’ would have stayed of the nicest hotels around the world”, Forth tells art4d. “The expectations they have once they’ve experienced those spaces would also be elevated and they would expect those experiences to be in their home too.”
The co-dependent parallel relationships between high-end residential and hospitality design are undeniable. The appeal of being at home yet feeling a sense of retreat has become an enticing concept for urban residents with an increasingly busy life. As far as we can tell, the blurring lines of this experience are here to stay and the world-class team behind Scope Langsuan is well aware that this is a major direction they took into consideration when designing the space for the project to ensure that the experience that you get is one of a kind.
IN ORDER TO REACH THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, YONGYUTT CHAIPROMPRASITH, CEO OF SCOPE CO., LTD. COLLABORATES WITH KOHN PEDERSEN FOX (KPF) AND THOMAS-JUUL HANSEN IN DESIGNING SCOPE LANGSUAN
TEXT: JINTAWACH TASANAVITES
PHOTO: KETSIREE WONGWAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
Most people’s goal in life is to live a luxurious life but what exactly is luxury? Luxury as a concept has always seemed inherently rooted in materialism. Over the centuries of living space design, luxury has been precious, rare, innovative, opulently extravagant, or even starkly minimalist. No matter what, luxury has always involved the owning of beautiful, often superfluous, things. However, it is seen recently that the perspective to luxury designs, especially in the space for living, has slowly but gradually changed in the past centuries. Referring richness solely on expensive items can be seen as a predated idea of luxury. There is a movement away from the human desire for excess necessities and opulence towards the term ‘luxury essentialism’. This modern take on luxury has stripped down its heavy emphasis on materialism to giving more focus on the immaterial and satisfying the essentials and functionalities to living a fulfilled human life, with aim of achieving physical and mental wellness to be its priority instead. It would be naive to think that the desire for materialism is ending, of course, it isn’t, but there is a growing sense in this generation for balance and prioritization. There’s a shift from viewing luxury from just visual and high-priced tags to surrounding oneself in carefully tailored craftsmanships and design that serves a specific purpose to every aspect of human activities. This core essence is the vision and idea behind SCOPE Langsuan.
Yongyutt Chaipromprasith
Despite the over-flowing supplies of condominiums and apartments in Bangkok, among this highly competitive market catering to all parts of the economy, there’s still a gap of apposite quality that seems to be missing and SCOPE Langsuan aims to be one of the first projects to ever fill that gap. The visionary behind SCOPE Langsuan, Mr. Yongyutt Chaipromprasith, CEO of SCOPE Co., Ltd, said, “We crafted this project for potential homeowners that share with us the definition of ‘luxury’ and giving attention to living space is of great significance to them among all other aspects of their life that they want to invest in. They have seen a lot and they have diverse experiences. I believe that for them, living in a carefully crafted home is the key fundamental of life. We coined the term ‘The International Premium’ to specify this group of owners.” This statement holds to the age of globalization where people’s access to the endless flow of information has shaped their standards to be somewhat ‘internationalized’. Before making purchases nowadays, most people would dive deep online to make sure they have a complete grasp of what they are going to buy to make sure they truly understand what is considered finest. They are not comparing what they’re buying with just the products in their countries but to the whole world. And most of the time, these people’s craving for knowledge and experiences often lead them to all parts of the world to have a hands-on appreciation of what they are investing in. As such, ‘The International Premium’ is a new luxury segment that offers a global standard between the balance of quality, rationale, functions, convenience, and aesthetic experience that can fulfill the practical and emotional needs of these homeowners.
Thomas Juul-Hansen
And of course, living is and will always be about the location, and Langsuan is the perfect location to complete this vision. Langsuan remains one of the most expensive residential locations not just because it is at the center of Bangkok city where every activity and amenity is not only conveniently connected and easily accessible but also because it is a rare location where a sense of peace and tranquility can be offered, despite being in the highly congested inner part of town, that can serves to each homeowner’s emotional wellbeing. Most importantly, SCOPE Langsuan sits on one of the very few freehold properties that are considered highly sought-after and scarce in this specific area with its front door only 140 meters away from the city’s public metro line.
Thomas Juul-Hansen
“With this distinctively wonderful piece of land, we wanted to make a truly iconic building to be at a global stage.”, Mr. Yongyutt stated. “To do so, we need an international team that can complete our vision and that’s the reason why I chose to work with Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and Thomas-Juul Hansen.” KPF sits as this project’s architectural design consultant and is one of the world’s most admired architectural design firms known for city-defining landmarks and innovative design seen all over the Western and most recently, Eastern cityscape. Together with Thomas Juul-Hansen, a renowned interior designer known for his understated style of luxury design who is behind some of the most inspired luxury interiors and apartments worldwide such as the ONE57-building which has the highest selling price of an apartment in New York. With the ambitious vision paired with a team of specialized experts, SCOPE Langsuan is setting itself up to be an exciting luxury architectural addition, not just in Thailand, but at a worldwide scale.
