6 ways Bang Na (Bangkok) is raising the bar for urban living

The dynamic Bangkok enclave flaunts proximity to an international airport, top schools, and an impressive array of real estate investment options

Bang Na’s modern-day dynamism belies its agricultural origins. It’s a densely populated hive of activity covering every imaginable facet of life, from expos, F&B and retail to religion, entertainment, and education. Among its standout localities are Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre, pioneering malls CentralPlaza Bangna and Mega Bangna, and a clutch of top international schools. It was also once home to the world’s largest restaurant. All these, combined with its proximity to Suvarnabhumi Airport, make Bang Na a prime catchment area for local and foreign families, resulting in fine recent exemplars of real estate.

Britania Bangna KM.39

This 232-unit project, scheduled for completion in Q4 2025, is a serene “wellness village” modelled on London’s modern, luxurious townhouses—two seemingly incompatible concepts juxtaposed in this tropical environment. The former element comprises indoor and outdoor areas beneficial to physical and mental health. There’s a two-acre wellness garden, jogging track, swimming pool with jacuzzi, fitness area, basketball court, stone-art healing garden, pet zone, library, and study room. There’s a small-scale replica of Big Ben and a windmill, design elements you don’t often see in Southeast Asian megalopolises. The development’s eco-friendly credentials include EV chargers and technology to combat air pollution.

Origin Play Sri Lasalle Station

A 29-storey high-rise comprising more than 1,400 units and a gym, Origin Play Sri Lasalle Station aims to circumvent the more functional tendencies of such largescale metropolitan buildings by introducing expressive interior design features from Paon Architect Ltd. These include paintings of landscapes and vibrant colours intended to inject vitality and passion into the lives of residents and provide a creative base for energetic Gen-Z urbanites living in a fastpaced society. While the award-winning, multinational Vector-Arch firm oversaw the architecture, local Thai company Redlandscape had a leading hand in creating the sizeable green space outside the condominium, which is replete with swimming pools and a rooftop sports area.

Mega Bangna

This giant shopping hub has become one of Thailand’s top shopping experiences, as well as Southeast Asia’s largest low-rise mall. It houses more than 800 standalone stores reflecting the international profile of its clientele, on top of 160 food outlets and anchor tenants including IKEA, hypermarkets, and a Mega Cineplex. Where it excels is in its elegant landscaping, ample indoor planting, and most of all, in its allages appeal: Children in particular gravitate to the ice rink, The Movement playground, and games arcade, while tourists enjoy the in-store service counter and VAT discount booklet. It might lack the novelty factor of a rooftop water park (like near-neighbour CentralPlaza), but Mega Bangna has the community appeal of the very best lifestyle malls.

Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre

BITEC, as it’s commonly abbreviated, is a world-class MICE space opened in 1998— one of Thailand’s first such venues—and conveniently connected by a 500m “skywalk” to Bang Na BTS station. A vast public building, it has enough capacity within its 70,000-sqm floor area to serve 100,000 visitors a day. There are 10 exhibition halls, six convention halls, and 28 breakout rooms, as well as an office tower and convention centre. For 13 years, it played host to the Bangkok International Motor Show, the annual petrolhead display showcasing supercars and classic automobiles, but the breadth of its conventions is surprising. Most recently, BITEC hosted a giant furniture fair alongside Mission to the Moon, a forum describing itself as a “work-life survival guide”.

Wat Bang Na

Built by refugees fleeing the BurmeseSiamese War in Ayutthaya in 1767, this historical religious monument counterbalances the rampant hypermodernity on show elsewhere in Bang Na. Originally constructed on an inaccessible canal, it was later relocated to the Chao Phraya riverside. Architecturally, the temple isn’t extraordinary, containing a Buddha image receiving offerings from an elephant and a monkey. But Wat Bang Na most famously contains the mummified corpse of Luang Pu Seng, a polyglot monk who completed the highest level of dharma studies (the Buddha’s teachings) in 1944, and whose amulets are said to bring good luck and protection. While his remains— he died in 1988—might appear somewhat gruesome for more delicate tastes, there’s no denying the monk’s spiritual importance to Thais.

Bang Nam Phueng Floating Market

Just across the river from Wat Bangna Nok Pier lies this desirable attraction—that rare Bangkok focal point for locals, rather than tourists, to escape their daily lives in a semi-rural location that isn’t gimmicky or pseudo-traditional, surrounded by lush forest. Like other floating markets, Talad Nam Bang Nam Phueng (literally, “place of honey”) is characterised by thatch-covered stalls selling everything from T-shirts to potted plants, but naturally, the emphasis is on local edible produce, from betel nut to an array of street snacks, and there are plenty of tables where customers can enjoy their Thai meats, satay, rice, or noodles. While not endowed with long-tail boats in the manner of Amphawa, Bang Nam Phueng is inexpensive, pleasantly sheltered from the sun, and authentic.

The original version of this article appeared in PropertyGuru Property Report Magazine Issue No. 185 on issuu and Magzter. Write to our editors at [email protected].