1 May 2000

‘Ghost buildings’, a reminder of the past

’Ghost buildings’ dotted the Bangkok skyline, attracting media attention. The office buildings and housing projects had stalled after the 1997 financial crisis and now stood as skeletal symbols of the boom and bust years.

In Thai parlance, they were referred to as anusaowaree (monuments). There were reportedly 300 such buildings in the capital, left untouched by developers and banks who saw no financial sense in completing the projects. The New York Times wrote: ‘So the buildings sit, their lightness, empty spaces worrying passersby and frustrating city planners, legacies of the often-questionable ways some of Bangkok’s wealthiest families built and borrowed.’

1 May 2000

‘Ghost buildings’, a reminder of the past

’Ghost buildings’ dotted the Bangkok skyline, attracting media attention. The office buildings and housing projects had stalled after the 1997 financial crisis and now stood as skeletal symbols of the boom and bust years.

In Thai parlance, they were referred to as anusaowaree (monuments). There were reportedly 300 such buildings in the capital, left untouched by developers and banks who saw no financial sense in completing the projects. The New York Times wrote: ‘So the buildings sit, their lightness, empty spaces worrying passersby and frustrating city planners, legacies of the often-questionable ways some of Bangkok’s wealthiest families built and borrowed.’