HORTITECTURE The Power of Architecture and Plants

MENARA BOUSTEAD
KUALA LUMPUR, 1985
The Menara Boustead office building is designed as
a bioclimatic passive energy-saving high-rise building.
The façade allows for natural exposure on the north face,
which does not get constant direct solar insolation.
The other façades are recessed for solar protection,
preventing excessive heating of the interior spaces.
Vegetated skycourts as planted terraces are located at
the edges to provide opportunities for natural ventilation
spaces and to accommodate plants and green areas.
“The Boustead Tower is one of our early buildings (1985)
where we put vegetation on the outside. This building’s
image is important for me, because it is emblematic of
what an ecological aesthetic could look like. I believe that
ecological architecture as green architecture deserves its
own aesthetic. I think it should not be pristine, but appear
‘hairy’.”
100