Bangkok’s abandoned ‘ghost’ towers still stand 20 years after crash

Upon its completion in 2016, the 314-meter MahaNakhon was named Thailand’s tallest building.?Offering luxury shopping and some of the most expensive properties in Bangkok, the glitzy skyscraper symbolizes a city on the rise.

But amid a construction boom in the Thai capital, the skeletons of long-abandoned buildings remain part of the expanding skyline. They stand as monuments to an economic crash that is slowly fading from view.

Less than a 20-minute?drive from the MahaNakhon, a dilapidated high-rise called Sathorn Unique Tower has stood empty for two decades.

Its crumbling walls are juxtaposed with million dollar views of the city’s skyline.

Pansit Torsuwan, owner of the Sathorn Unique Tower, stands beside the abandoned structure.

Derelict and deserted ??

Bangkok’s “ghost” towers have become a popular destination for photographers like Dax Ward, who has documented around 20 abandoned locations in Thailand. The American’s images form part of a photographic genre he calls “abandonia.”

ICE Tower —

Bangkok-based photographer Dax Ward captures images of abandoned buildings.

New World shopping mall —

Ward has photographed around 20 abandoned locations in Thailand.

New World shopping mall —

"Thailand has numerous sites which fit the 'abandonia' genre," he said.

New World shopping mall —

The New World Mall attracted media attention after the flooded ground floor became home to thousands of fish.

Oscar Theater —

The Oscar was a luxurious cinema and a popular family destination during its prime in the 1970s and 80s, according to Ward.

Oscar Theater —

"It eventually went out of business as moviegoers chose to go to chain cinemas instead," Ward said.

Paris Theater —

"The Paris Theater opened in the early 70s and was a very posh location at the time," Ward said.

ICE Tower —

Bangkok's abandoned buildings stand as monuments to a financial crisis that devastated Thailand's economy.

ICE Tower —

Bangkok's Din Daeng District, as seen from the abandoned ICE Tower.

Thai Fa Group tower —

The city's abandoned high-rises have become a popular destination for film crews.

Train graveyard —

"(People are) naturally curious about what once was, or what might have been -- (it's) an 'if these walls could talk' way of viewing old buildings," Ward said.

Airplane graveyard —

"... a desire to hold tightly on to the past as we see so much gentrification and change happening all around us," Ward said.

Abandoned hospital —

"I think that people are becoming more enchanted by a sense of nostalgia ..."

Abandoned hospital —

"It's difficult to speculate (but) I think that some of these buildings could very well remain as they stand for another 20 years," said Ward.

Train graveyard —

Besides buildings, Ward has shot abandoned train and airplane graveyards.

Bangkok's abandoned locations

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“I’ve never really felt that uncomfortable,” Ward said in an email interview. “The only eerie aspect – in a big city such as Bangkok – is being completely alone in such large, empty and strangely quiet spaces in the center of an urban sprawl. (I’m) naturally curious about what once was – or what might have been – with an ‘if these walls could talk’ way of viewing old buildings.”?

Bangkok’s abandoned high-rises have attracted urban explorers and parkour enthusiasts. Sathorn Unique Tower’s eerie interior has also been particularly popular among television and film crews. A horror movie based around a fictional suicide in the building, “The Promise,” is due for release in September 2017.

Graffiti now adorns the walls of the deserted tower.

“I think that popular culture has a part to play in the public’s interest in abandoned places, as there have been a multitude of post-apocalyptic settings in films and TV shows released in the past decade,” said Ward.

Monuments to crisis

With a central location and commanding views of the Chao Phraya river, the 47-story Sathorn Unique Tower was set to comprise 600 residential units, alongside shops and businesses on the lower floors.

The 47-story project was set to comprise 600 residential units, alongside shops and businesses on the lower floors.

But in 1997, Thailand’s economy faltered after years of rapid growth. In what came to be known as the “Tom Yum Kung” crisis, the collapse of the Thai baht triggered devastating financial instability across much of Asia.

Amid nationwide bankruptcies and job losses, construction on many towers across the country came to a sudden halt as financiers went bust.

“The building was 85 to 90 percent done,” claimed Sathorn Unique Tower’s owner, Pansit Torsuwan, before taking CNN on an exclusive tour of the abandoned building. “We (had) installed escalators, elevators and had equipped the rooms with their main utilities.”

Investors had hoped that Sathorn Unique Tower's central location and river views would have performed well on the property market.

With a legal battle over foreclosure ongoing, the tower’s future remains in limbo. Torsuwan said that the site is for sale, though for now, he can only recoup a fraction of his losses by allowing companies to project advertisements onto the building’s facade.

An evolving skyline

With Thailand’s construction sector booming once again, some of Bangkok’s unfinished developments serve as a physical reminder of the crisis.

“Even today, Thai skylines remain littered with abandoned projects, a legacy of the (previous) construction boom,” said Tim Leelahaphan, an economist at investment and securities services firm Maybank Kim Eng Securities.

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“Construction remained subdued (after the crisis), but it has started to recover as the economy turns its focus to exports, services and manufacturing.”

It remains to be seen whether developers have learned the lessons of the past, said Sinn Phonghanyudh, managing director of Bangkok architectural firm Plan Architect.

“There could be more abandoned buildings due to oversupply in the economy,” he said, suggesting that some existing “ghost” buildings may also remain unoccupied for the foreseeable future.

“Most abandoned buildings that cannot be demolished (will remain), usually because some contracts or commitments cannot be (agreed on).

Crumbling walls are juxtaposed with million dollar views of the city.

“(And due to) structural quality, some of them are not suited to redevelopment,” he added.

Ward, too, believes that the Bangkok buildings he photographs could remain empty for years to come.

“It’s difficult to speculate on what the future will mean for these places (but) I think that some of them could very well remain as they stand for another 20 years.”