UOB Building - Bangkok

The so-called "Robot Building" on Sathorn Road was finished in 1986. Our hotel (Ascott) stands at left.

Slowly but surely the images from our trip to Bangkok are migrating onto the web. We must hurry up because the Passengers fly to Bali tomorrow for a long weekend. More photography will be conducted. This entry showcases the tower for United Overseas Bank in Bangkok.

The building stood next door to our hotel, the pleasant Ascott, on Sathorn Road in the city's main banking/commercial district. Several other banks have buildings just down the street, but our neighbor was the only office block that looked like a Gobot (video link: sound alert).

The so-called "Robot Building" was designed by Thai architect Sumet Jumsai and completed in 1986 for Bank of Asia, later acquired by UOB. Notice the tower has four distinct masses stacked atop each other with the top layer dramatically smaller than the lower registers. The building has the silhouette of a square snowman and rectangular projections along the sides that could be mistaken for arms. Two round windows facing the street suggest eyes, and several levels have octagonal attachments akin to monstrous lugnuts. I was most amused by the feature unfortunately on the backside of these images, but visible from the Ascott swimming pool. A flat blue contraption appended onto the "head" hosts two sturdy antennae, but the combination looks like a wireless router writ large.