Going for gold

‘They’re going to make the ceiling gold,” is what Natapa Sriyuksiri, managing director of Dusit Estate and Group Creative Strategy, had alarmingly texted a few years ago to the interior designer of Dusit Thani Bangkok, Andre Fu.
He texted back, reassuring: “I think we could make it work.” This stepped golden ceiling can now be viewed at the lobby of the reimagined Dusit Thani Bangkok. Streamlined and soft on the eyes for arriving visitors, the effect is calming and anything but garish, as one may suspect with the mention of this hue.
In fact, Fu’s lobby is an opulent but intimate design triumph, given how it incorporated a diamond shape, a waterfall, two brightly painted pillars, only one wall, and all topped with a gold ceiling.
Following the original hotel’s closing in 2019, the new incarnation of the hospitality legend just staged a soft opening on Sept 27. As one of the longstanding properties when it came to luxury hotels in Bangkok — one with a storied history dating back to 1970 — the company’s decision to tear down their iconic flagship and inject its legacy into a completely new building makes it an extremely unique project with emotional linkage.
The head of the globally-renowned design firm Andre Fu Studios, who oversaw all of the new hotel’s interiors, was recently in town and chatted with Life from the airy, dusty pink Event Studio room, where future brides can get dressed with views of both the waterfall and Lumpini Park.
“The first obvious [detail] is the guest room with a 5m-wide window from a single pane of glass,” Fu said of just one of the hotel’s most outstanding features.
“I’ve always wanted to create this long daybed like a sala where people can sit by the window and look out at this kind of picture frame. When you lean back, there’s Lumpini Park and this amazing patch of greenery, then you have the cityscape of Bangkok as the backdrop to all of that.
“It goes beyond just a picturesque view. It’s a dialogue between the past, present and future. I think that’s such a cinematic and provocative vision. For me, that really captures the spirit of the project.”
All 257 rooms promise this spectacular view, as does the Napalai Grand Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,400 guests and now features floor-to-ceiling windows that offer an engulfing splash of sunlight. A striking (and welcome) upgrade throughout the hotel that old guests will immediately notice, is the amount of natural light many spaces now allow in.
The Dusit Thani’s grand ballroom itself is like a core character in many Thai memories, having hosted decades of weddings and royal occasions, yet this dashing new version impresses for creating the feeling that one is outdoors despite being indoors.
Fu said the hotel’s founding family had been keen to use the original chandelier for the fond memories it encapsulated, but in the end, new vintage-looking chandeliers were chosen. Made with Murano glass and evoking a feel of the 70s, this is a discreet yet deep-seated way of paying homage to the hotel’s founding year, as well as balancing the old with the new.
There are preserved pieces also, of course — such as the two colourful Benjarong pillars which have been painstakingly saved from the old property and now sit at the entrance of the lobby’s lifts.
Painted by Paiboon Suwannakudt, who was a first-batch student of sculptor Silpa Bhirasri, the pillars retain their position as a showcase of Thai art in the hotel. But what’s just as interesting are the other points of “Thainess”, which are elevated to a much more streamlined and sleek appeal. Thai shapes and motifs are quietly worked into the outlines of custom-made lamps, cabinets and headboards, while Celadon green is featured on luk fak-patterned panels.
Fu has infused modernity and his language of “relaxed luxury” to the designs, but emphasises that it comes alongside extensive research and studied decisions. In fact, the hotel had even enlisted experts and faculty members from Silpakorn University to keep record of the old property’s elements that are worthy of conservation.
“The Dusit team did very thorough and genuine research where every element and motif has been recorded and analysed,” said the 49-year-old designer.
“What makes this project special is the research that went into the original property and how we’ve extracted, modified, tweaked and reimagined that and made it relevant to the designs we’ve created. That’s a more intellectual interpretation, rather than just saying, ‘Oh we fused all these Thai fabrics in and that makes it Thai’. ”
Given the breadth of the hotel’s history and heritage, Natapa revealed that Fu’s sharp vision for the new Dusit Thani helped immensely with their decision-making.
“Andre’s previous projects at that time felt very Asian-hospitality driven, with modern comfort and softness to the design,” said the managing director.
“We wanted to fuse that in because Dusit Thani’s heritage was quite heavy. If you look at our old furniture, it’s all quite hard and timber based, with a lot of teak. We really needed somebody to have that vision because we do have a crazy amount of archives — we have three books on Dusit Thani.
“To be able to be bold and respectful at the same time while making decisions about what to bring forward is appreciated, in the context that we want to be a new product and not just a copy of the old.”
Born in Hong Kong and educated in the UK, Fu has worked on prestigious projects around the world, from collaborating with Louis Vuitton for their Objets Nomades collection to designing spaces for world-class hotels such as Claridge’s London, The Upper House Hong Kong, Hotel The Mitsui Kyoto, and Villa La Coste, Provence.
He had initially been nervous about working on the Dusit Thani project for its sentimental importance to so many Thais, but his passing knowledge of Thai culture did not hinder him.
“Whatever I do will not be Thai enough because I’m not Thai, but equally, many times in my career I’ve been asked to celebrate a city that I’m not so familiar with,” Fu said.
“I guess it boils down to my upbringing and the cross-cultural perspective has always been an integral part of my DNA. I’m not afraid of going to a city and organically immersing myself in the culture to subconsciously absorb and make decisions.
“I don’t want it to look like some foreigner trying to do a Thai thing that looks cliché — I want people who loved the hotel to feel, ‘Oh my god, it captures my fond memories, but better’.
“The big statement is about bringing 50 years heritage of Dusit Thani and reimagining it through a modern lens. Hopefully this brings the brand into a new chapter that is relevant to the global stage. I feel there is no better moment to showcase Thai hospitality than now.”