The highly-anticipated two-level auditorium in Bangkok’s Iconsiam has opened, injecting an additional 12,000m2 of conferencing space to the Thai capital city.
Named True Icon Hall, the venue spans levels seven and eight, seating up to 2,700 people in flexible, fast-change halls that incorporate automated banks of seating. In addition to its three large halls, True Icon Hall also boasts 14 meeting rooms, ranging from 26m2 to 400m2, which can accommodate a further 950 people.
Several innovative solutions have been included in the auditorium, including fast registration through facial recognition scans, and an audio translation innovation that allows conference attendees to listen to real-time translations from an application on their smartphones instead of rented headphones.
Sound insulation systems have also been embedded into the walls to reduce disruption from other events held in adjacent or nearby halls.
Yet another highlight of True Icon Hall is the use panels of light pixels for the ceiling – said to be the first in an Asian conference venue. Talun Theng, leader of the management team of True Icon Hall, explained that the panels allow very precisely ‘tunable’ ambient lighting to suit every occasion.
“The ceilings can also be used to run colours and animations, enabling stunningly immersive multimedia experiences to excite audiences and manage moods in concerts as well as meetings and events,” he added.
Market interest in the new venue has emerged swiftly, with more than 30 conferences and events confirmed for 2020 and another 100 pending confirmation. Attendance at these events range from 200 to 3,000.
Two confirmed events are the Asia-Pacific Society of Cardiology Annual Conference in March 2021, and the World Congress of the International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections, set for December 1-4, 2020.
Supoj Chaiwatsirikul, managing director of Iconsiam, said: “The opening of True Icon Hall will give major new impetus to Thailand’s MICE industry, as well as to the development of the Thonburi side of the river. It will also help fill many rooms in the numerous four- and five-star hotels along the river, and reinforce the Chao Phraya River as a new global destination.”
