The controversial design of ‘Wiman Pra-in’ has been removed from the Chao Phraya River land mark project after netizens claimed it was a replica of Russia’s Crystal Island Tower.
A design team from the King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) decided to scrap the design for a new Bangkok’s promenade landmark after critics said it was not original.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sakul Hovanotayan, head of the design team, said in response to criticism that his team did not copy the design of Crystal Island Tower in Russia. Some internet users even claimed that Wiman Pra-in also bore a resemblance to a landmark located in front of a train station in Nagoya, Japan.
The team’s spokeswoman, Assoc. Prof. Antika Sawatsri, said the decision to withdraw the design from the project was to end the controversy while insisting that the team did not model Wiman Pra-in after the two other landmarks.
