Siam Paragon
 Siam Paragon with Parc Paragon and Siam Station | |
 | |
| Location | Rama I Road, Pathum Wan Bangkok, Thailand |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 9 December 2005 |
| Management | Siam Piwat |
| Owner | Crown Property Bureau (land) |
| Architect | J+H Boiffils |
| Total retail floor area | 400,000 m2 (total retailed area)) |
| No. of floors | 10 (including the underground) |
| Parking | 4,000 cars |
| Public transit access | Siam Station |
| Website | www.siamparagon.co.th |
Siam Paragon (Thai: สยามพารากอน) is a shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the current 3rd largest mall in Thailand, following CentralWorld and CentralPlaza WestGate, and one of the biggest shopping centres in Asia. The mall opened on 9 December 2005, operated by Siam Piwat.
Siam Paragon includes a wide range of specialty stores and restaurants as well as a multiplex movie theatre (consisted of 15 large size theaters with one of them having the biggest screen and seating capacity in Asia)[citation needed] and the Sea Life Ocean World (Underwater world) aquarium (the largest aquarium in South East Asia) and an exhibition hall and the Thai Art Gallery and also an opera concert hall. It also has a large bowling alley and karaoke centre. It is a joint venture by Siam Piwat, the company that owns the adjacent Siam Center/Siam Discovery shopping malls, and The Mall Group, which also owns The Emporium. Siam Paragon has attracted large crowds since it opened, but financial results aren't reported by the privately held Siam Paragon Development.[1]
History
Siam Paragon was built on the former location of the Siam Intercontinental Hotel, which was demolished in 2002 at the end of its lease. The site, leased for 30 years, is Bureau of the Crown Property land and at one time was the royal parkland of the Srapatum Palace. During the mall's construction, waiting passengers on the Bangkok Skytrain's Siam station platform could watch the building take shape.
When the mall opened on December 9, 2005, workers were still putting on finishing touches. During the first few months of its opening, there were signs of a hurried finish throughout the building, with unpainted ceilings and cracked floor tiles.
It was built at a cost of about 15 billion baht or 450 million US$ and covers an area of 52 rai (8.3 ha, 21 acres).
Clientele
Siam Paragon has become since its opening the place to be for Thailand's upper class, tourists, and locals who come to be seen and to see what Thailand has to offer.[citation needed] Paragon remains among the most popular shopping ground for the small number of Thai elite, without excluding everyday commonplace and popular Thai items.
Location
Siam Paragon is on Rama I Road in Pathum Wan district, and is adjacent to other shopping areas. It is next door to Siam Center and Siam Discovery Center and opposite Siam Square. MBK Center is also nearby. An elevated walkway beneath the BTS Skytrain tracks links Siam Paragon to the Ratchaprasong intersection, where CentralWorld, Gaysorn and several other shopping malls and hotels are located.
Transportation
- BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit and Silom Lines – Siam station has a skybridge linked to Siam Paragon's M floor.
- Parking – 100,000 square metres, accommodating 4,000 cars.
Facilities
Siam Paragon is situated on 13 acres (32 rai) and has a total gross area of 300,000 square metres.[2]
Department store and retail shops
The Paragon Department Store comprises 50,000 square metres. Another 40,000 square metres are devoted to retail shops selling luxury brand apparel, jewellery, electronics, musical instruments, audio equipment, sporting goods and exotic supercars, as well as a Kinokuniya, SE-ED Book Centerbook store. Some of the shops in Siam Paragon include Gucci, Chanel, Balenciaga, Valentino, Kenzo, Hermès, Bottega Veneta, Giorgio Armani, Jimmy Choo, Chloé, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Cartier, Bally, Fendi, Zara, MNG, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Emporio Armani, Hugo Boss, Prada, Ermenegildo Zegna, Swarovski, Coach, Shanghai Tang, Jim Thompson, Tod's, Mulberry, Kenzo, Escada, Emilio Pucci, Canali, Bvlgari, Paul Smith, Longchamp, Patek Phillipe, Dior, Massimo Dutti, Miu Miu, Montblanc, Vertu and many other upmarket brands.
The car showrooms in Siam Paragon including Lamborghini, Lotus, Aston Martin, Bentley, Porsche, Jaguar, Spyker, Maserati, BMW, Hummer and MTM.
Gourmet Market and food halls
The Gourmet Market is an 8,000 square metre internationally orientated grocery store on the ground level of the shopping centre, selling selection of foodstuff from various European countries, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. The front half of the store is oriented to trial tasting of wide variety of items and a fresh market. It is adjacent to a food court and bread shops area that has a wide range of restaurants and food stalls.[citation needed]
Foreign and foreign oriented restaurants
Siam Paragon has several restaurants and food outlets from other countries, including Tony Roma's, McDonald's, KFC, Häagen-Dazs, Swensen's Ice Cream, LeNotre, MOS Burger, Saint Etoile Bakery, Orvin and many others. Popular domestically run foreign oriented restaurants include Fuji Japanese, Kabuki Japanese Restaurant.
Thai traditional art
There is a section of Thai traditional arts shops offering a range of decorative silk, ivory and antique items.
Royal Paragon Hall
The Royal Paragon Hall is an 12,000 square metre events facility, with a capacity for around 5,000 people and is suitable for concerts, conventions and special exhibitions.[3]
Paragon Cineplex
Operated by Major Cineplex, the 25,000 square metre Paragon Cineplex comprises a 15-screen multiplex cinema including smaller Ultra Screen cinemas with reclining seats and the Enigma members-only lounge, as well as an Krungsri IMAX theatre and the Siam Pavalai by Bangkok Hospital, a 1,100-seat theatre suitable for theatrical and musical performances.
Leisure activities
In June 2013, Fitness First opened an Asia Flagship Platinum Club in 40,000 sqft of space on the fourth level, while the 30-lane Blu-O Rhythm and Bowl and karaoke facility is on the sixth, adjacent to the Paragon Cineplex.
Edutainment Zone
- Music Campus for General Public (MCGP) the college of music, Mahidol University
- Institution for language-learning, Berlitz.
Hotel
The five-star Kempinski Hotel Siam and serviced apartment complex is being built on 13 acres (53,000 m2) at the rear of the Siam Paragon property; open in second quarter of 2010.[4]
Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World
Inside Siam Paragon is Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (formerly Siam Ocean World), the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia which features marine animals including penguins, gray nurse sharks, rays, giant spider crabs, and giant groupers. For a fee, the aquarium offers a "Dive with the Sharks program" which lets visitors scuba dive side-by-side with the sharks and rays. The aquarium also features "Sanyo 4D X-venture," a 4D Theatre.
Energy footprint
Siam Paragon consumes roughly 123 GWh of electricity a year (2011). By comparison, over the same period, Mae Hong Son Province's quarter-million inhabitants used 65 GWh.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Nguyen, Lan Anh (July 21, 2006). "Unfinished Central World to hold grand opening", ThaiDay (print edition).
- ^ Siam Paragon - The Pride of Bangkok, the shopping centre's original website, mirrored at Tripod.com.
- ^ Royal Paragon Hall website
- ^ Kempinski Hotels - Development
- ^ Pasick, Adam (2015-04-05). "Bangkok's lavish, air-conditioned malls consume as much power as entire provinces". Quartz. Retrieved 10 Apr 2015.
External links
- Official site
- The Pride of Bangkok – History of the Siam Paragon and its location at 2bangkok.com.
13°44′47″N 100°32′6″E / 13.74639°N 100.53500°E
