Bangkok’s Siam Discovery shopping centre has won the top Viva Award from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) for its “cutting-edge design”.
Siam Discovery, owned by Siam Piwat, was chosen from hundreds of projects around the world for the honour, awarded during the ICSC’s annual leasing convention in Las Vegas.
Siam Piwat CEO Chadatip Chutrakul said the award proves “Thai creativity and collaboration can take the country’s flag to the top, even on the world stage”.
“Siam Piwat’s strategy for growth is to do things in retail and retail development that have never been done before in Thailand or even the world. We are committed to being a thought-leader on the global stage through co-creation with retailers and other partners in our developments.”
The ICSC’s Viva Awards are presented annually, judged by an independent jury to “recognise the best-of-the-best in the world of retail development”. The judges praised Siam Discovery for being transformative.
“Siam Discovery is a highly imaginative project that gets away from individual stores and walls and into an immersive open experience. It is the first mall development that makes retail an experience as well as the spaces in between being exciting and stimulating. Siam Discovery brings the latest digital technology offerings to create an interactive and experiential retail environment,” the judges agreed.
Chutrakul described the centre as “a game-changing, hybrid retail destination where products, services, and activities are brought together in a way that suits the lifestyle of millennials”.
“Products are grouped without the constraints of a particular brand or school of design, in a way that puts the needs of the customer at the centre. Millennials want to discover their own style while exploring new experiences with other people. Here, they can experiment and discover what they like and what expresses their own identity best,” said Chutrakul.
Siam Discovery opened its doors to visitors in 1997 and underwent a THB4 billion rebuild before reopening in 2016 in its new, award-winning guise.
During the past two years, Siam Discovery has won six global awards from prestigious competitions in the world of retailing, including World Retail Awards – Store Design of the Year 2017, for being world’s best designed development.
