KLIFD Program Mix-Use Location Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Client 1MDB Completion 2010 GFA 2,14 m2
The intent and ambition of the project is not only to create a new home for the world-class institutions of Malaysia’s financial system, but also to provide the ideal location for the first Islamic finance hub in Asia. Besides its international context the development will also have a determining local impact and likewise the project has to be able to reflect the complexity of its unique context. The skyline of Kuala Lumpur seems to literally inherit the multiplicity and ambition of Malaysia’s society, formed by numerous ethnicity’s and religions. Ultimately also 1MDB embodies the 1Malaysia principles of acceptance, equality and sharing, in line with the new dynamics shaping global demands for ideas, talent and high value creation. Accordingly the masterplan aims to represent the national unity and ethnic tolerance behind this idea. The center of Kuala Lumpur is characterized by large squares with abundant greenery, broad streets, and parks. The however most determining landmarks in Kuala Lumpur are surely the Petronas Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower. Due to their enormous height, the two building dominate, but also relativize the skyline of Kuala Lumpur. In fact buildings under 200 meters seem to get easily absorbed by a sea of towers from which only very few structures are able to emerge. But the Petronas Towers and the Kuala Lumpur Tower are also unequivocal reference points within the city: By viewing the two towers in relation to each other they become a precise orientation device with allows for the quick determination of direction in the city centre. Interestingly this condition has also a much more historic reference which can be found in Florence, where the dome of the Duomo flanked by Giotto’s Campanile rise from the precise symbolic and transportation center of the city as a point of orientation visible in every section of the city and for kilometers outside of it.
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