Angkasa Raya Kuala Lumpur, Ole Scheeren Malaysia, Architect, Design, Project

Angkasa Raya, Malaysia : Kuala Lumpur Tower

Landmark Tower in Southeast Asia: Angkasa Raya Building – design by Ole Scheeren Architect

9 Nov 2011

Angkasa Raya Kuala Lumpur

Ole Scheeren to build landmark tower in Kuala Lumpur

Design: Ole Scheeren

Internationally acclaimed architect Ole Scheeren unveils designs for landmark tower in Kuala Lumpur

Ole Scheeren, the architect behind one of the most iconic buildings of the 21st century, the CCTV headquarters in Beijing, today revealed his design for a new landmark tower in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. The 268 meter tall tower, Angkasa Raya, was unveiled today at an official ceremony in the capital, and will stand as a symbol of Malaysia’s diverse and multi-cultural society.

images © Buro-OS

In 1998, Kuala Lumpur made world news for constructing the tallest skyscrapers in the world – the Petronas Twin Towers. Today, Malaysia will once again appear on the world stage with a stunning new piece of architecture that alters the perception of what a skyscraper can be and how it connects to the city by inviting life into its balancing heights and visually projecting it back into the urban landscape.

Commissioned by leading Malaysian property developer Sunrise Berhad (a member of UEM Land Holdings Berhad), the new tower will stand directly across the Petronas, offering new architectural qualities to the vibrancy of the city’s inner core. Rather than a single mass, Angkasa Raya is made up of three cubic volumes which appear to float above open, horizontal layers. The “ground levels” form an interconnected spiral of both pedestrian and vehicular circulation and draw the diversity of the streetscape into the building. A multitude of public spaces and activities including shops, a food court, car parks, terraces and prayer rooms bring urban life into the transparent stacks, while tropical nature invades and enlivens its multiple levels.

images © Buro-OS

A second stack of horizontal slabs is lifted up in the air and hovers above the city. These “sky levels” contain a restaurant, bar, and multi-function spaces amid lush vegetation, giving the public access to one of the city’s most breathtaking views across its skyline and the neighboring Twin Towers. The three floating blocks accommodate the high-end Service Residences, a Luxury Hotel and Premium Offices.

Angkasa Raya demonstrates possibilities for the amplification of life and activities within the heart of one of Asia’s great capitals. Lush green gardens and terraces offer intimacies within the extreme urban density of the surrounding metropolis, while carefully shaded facades and a naturally ventilated atrium underline the environmental responsibility of the design.

With demolition of the existing building on the site completed in August 2011, construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 2012.

Angkasa Raya continues to demonstrate the abilities of Buro Ole Scheeren to successfully work at extreme scales.

Among several other projects, the firm is working on a major development in Singapore – a 140,000sq meter ensemble of towers, which will display a system of curved surfaces and cantilevered volumes that create an expressive silhouette and generate dramatic spaces through a symbiotic interplay with neighboring buildings.

On a considerably different scale, an intimate artist’s studio/gallery in Beijing allows Ole Scheeren to explore a more personal vision of a private space. Standing as a pavilion in a traditional Chinese garden, a series of shafts penetrate the building, bringing diffuse daylight into the workspace and connecting it to the multiple levels of the site.

Furthermore, Buro Ole Scheeren is working on a scheme for a contemporary art museum in central China and an art center in Beijing.

Angkasa Raya Kuala Lumpur images / information from Ole Scheeren

Ole Scheeren

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Southeast Asia