The view doesn't always improve with height

The main problem with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's plan to build an observation tower for the city is its intention to make it the world's tallest

Published on April 29, 2008

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has just announced an ambitious plan to build the world's tallest observation tower. What the city government didn't say was why the tower has to be of such great height.

Certainly there will be the pride of having the world's tallest such structure, purpose-built to provide panoramic views of this expansive metropolis. Locals and tourists alike can be expected to flock to the observation tower, generating handsome revenue for years to come.

To be the tallest, the Bangkok tower will have to surpass the CA Tower in Toronto, Canada, which is 1,815 feet tall with its observation deck at 1,398 feet, according to WorldArchitectureNews.com.

It would be an architectural and engineering feat to build such a tall structure, and an exciting experience to see Bangkok from it - as anyone who have been to the observation deck of Bangkok's current tallest building, Baiyoke Tower, and the top floors of other high-rises can attest. Seen from great heights, even traffic jams can look beautiful.

Although the city administration has yet to decide where the tower should be located, it is understood that the vantage point selected must offer good views of the Royal Palace and the Chao Phya River, among other important landmarks.

Tall is not all

So, what is there not to like about the idea?

For a start, there is not much point in splurging on building the world's tallest observation tower if it can simply be surpassed by some other city almost as soon as it is completed.

Instead of aiming for a superlative height, it would be wiser to select the optimal one. Planners and experts should determine what elevation would provide the clearest possible views of the city's great landmarks, based on careful analysis of weather conditions, wind and smog.

What would be the point of paying to go up the tower if the view is as often as not obscured by smog or low-lying clouds?

Also, the city government should not allow the excitement of building the observation tower to distract it from its main duty of making Bangkok a better place to live and work through proper town and city planning, enforcement of regulations, building codes, and new ways to unclog city streets and reduce pollution.