in 2013, a decade after the completion of kuala lumpur’s distinctive petronas towers, bjarke ingels group was invited to design a new landmark for a central business district adjacent to césar pelli’s celebrated structures. in an attempt to create a visual counterpoint to the existing urban epicenter, the design team sought to establish a new tower which could enter into a dialogue with the neighboring petronas towers.
all images courtesy of bjarke ingels group / BIG
a typical skyscraper steps back as it rises, providing less space as the views get more desirable. BIG’s design exploits the changing context from the foot to the pinnacle, proposing a skyscraper turned upside down. as it reaches for the sky, the surroundings open up to leave more room, air, and light around the trunk of the tower.
exploiting the necessary separation of the tower into distinct fire sections with evacuation terraces and sky lobbies at regular intervals, the tower is articulated as a stack of balancing volumes rather than a single mass. consequently, each part constitutes a different typology: tower, slab, cube and perimeter block.
the hotel is positioned at the top of the tower with a sky lobby presenting 360° views beneath the hovering half cube. the center of the volume is excavated to create a courtyard in the sky — like a crown balancing at the top. sheltered from the winds at 1,250 feet, and surrounded by rooms with spectacular views of the city, the courtyard is an oasis in the sky, a garden with water and nature orchestrated in precise geometries. the façades are designed as a double-skin, creating a chimney effect for natural ventilation that allows for spectacular views without resulting in overheating.
project info:
project: kuala lumpur signature tower
year: 2013
type: prequalified competition
client: 1malaysia development berhad
collaborators: kumpulan senireka sdn. bhd.
size: 200,000 sqm
location: kuala lumpur, malaysia
status: idea
partners in charge: bjarke ingels, andreas klok pedersen
project leader: min ter lim
team: blake smith, david tao, daram park, ricardo palma prieto, edouard champelle, hanna johansson, ryohei koike, romain pequin, lucian racovitan, andre schmidt, katarzyna siedlecka
ARCHITECTURE IN MALAYSIA(21)
Aug 21, 2020
Jun 05, 2020
Mar 13, 2020
Jul 27, 2019
Jun 25, 2019BJARKE INGELS GROUP / BIG(243)
Oct 26, 2020
Oct 23, 2020
Oct 12, 2020
Oct 01, 2020
Sep 29, 2020SKYSCRAPER ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN(202)
Oct 29, 2020
Oct 21, 2020
Oct 08, 2020
Sep 25, 2020
Sep 15, 2020PRODUCT LIBRARY
Oct 29, 2020
Oct 28, 2020
Oct 27, 2020
Oct 27, 2020
it just hurts the structural engineer’s feelings very deeply!
Gee it fits into the skyline when viewed from about 50 stories up and from only one direct line of sight. That’s a pretty lame dialogue with the Petronas Towers. Looks like Thor dropped his hammer and it landed shaft first. Oh sigh, modern architecture!
Such a splendid idea, a building that opens its heart to the sky.
it’s wrong.
that’s a bullshit plan….once a time he made a mistake 😉