Development The complex, originally known as Amarin Plaza, was the first property of the Amarin Plaza Company, now known as
The Erawan Group. It was the first real estate venture by the
Vongkusolkit family, whose primary business was in the sugar industry through the
Mitr Phol Group. Isara Vongkusolkit conceived the project after being offered a deal with the
Srivikorn family, who owned the land, and the family partnered with the
Wattanavekin family to establish the company in 1982. The building, designed by architect
Rangsan Torsuwan, features the juxtaposition of Greco-Roman elements—including
Ionic columns, a
frieze and
cornices—with a modernist glass curtain wall. According to Rangsan, he did not set out to create a
postmodern design, but adapted according to what he expected would appeal to tenants' tastes. In fact, some of the project owners opposed his design, but he insisted, guaranteeing that it would sell, or he would forfeit his fees and also come up with a new design for free. Construction began in 1983, but initially faced problems with its
piling system, prompting the owners to switch from concrete drilled piles to a bored system. This then made very slow progress due to the soil structure, and the construction was again switched to steel drilled piles, which faced more problems as the construction was halted by a court order as the neighbouring
Erawan Hotel sued over noise pollution. Despite the setbacks, the project's advance payments provided it with financial security, and it was accordingly able to reduce its loan from
Siam Commercial Bank, initially estimated at 270 million
baht (US$10.8M at the time), to less than 100 million ($4M). The security also gave it advantage over competitors such as
Pantip Plaza, which opened a few months earlier.
Operations (right). Both properties were developed by the present-day Erawan Group and designed by Rangsan Torsuwan. The shopping centre opened as Amarin Plaza in 1985, with the
Sogo department store as its anchor—the Japanese chain's first international branch. This prompted
Mahboonkrong Center—another competitor which opened the same year—to also introduce the
Tokyu Department Store. Sogo became the household name by which people referred to the building. However, it faced heavy losses in its first few years as the number of newly opening departments stores brought intense competition. Sogo would continue to operate, opening a second location at the
Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel (a sister property which replaced the original Erawan in 1991), but closed down soon after Sogo in Japan scaled down its international operations in 2000. In 2007, The Erawan Group sold Amarin Plaza to the Srivikorn-owned Gaysorn Group (which operated what was then
Gaysorn Plaza on the opposite side of the road), as the impending end of the property's thirty-year lease limited renovation prospects. The mall was incorporated as part of the rebranded
Gaysorn Village retail complex in 2017, ==Facilities==