Building Investment (September-October 2021)

The architectural intent is to ‘touch the ground’ as lightly
as possible. For that purpose, the exhibition halls are housed
in three separate levels, suspended on very long slender legs,
hovering four to six metres above the ground. The three organic
forms will touch the earth at as few points as possible, and are
intended to invoke to the tropical jungle with allegorical treecolumns
reaching up for the sunlight, trying to be taller than their
neighbours so that their food generating foliage escapes the
darkness under the forest canopy.
To make the building appear as if floating above the forest of
columns, the ground level is enveloped by a series of structural
and non-structural slim columns that are positioned and oriented
in order to efficiently hold the structure above without the need
to increase structural sizes. Horizontal structures holding the slabs
will consist of steel beams that sit under timber planks; the canopy
ceiling would freely hang from these beams in order to obtain the
undulating profile.
The façade is made of certified sustainable meranti wood; the
use of concrete is kept to a minimum during construction, mainly
relying on steel so that the building material can be recycled after
dismantling of the pavilion.
The “ramp” is another interesting design feature of the
Malaysia Pavilion. The ramp excitation gives the experience of
walking on a suspension bridge, which fulfilled all the structural
approvals and compliance while still being able to give visitors the
feel of the suspended bridge.
The auditorium, business centre, café and facilities are housed
in the basement, carved four metres into the sands and siltstones
on the site. The sunken gardens in the basement will allow
sunlight and natural ventilation into the basement box. In terms of
massing, the basement box is the heavy massing solid object base,
nestled into the soil. From this heavy mass, the tall and slender
tree-columns will rise up above ground.
The Pavilion has two floors, each offering a variety of
experience unique to Malaysia.
➢ The First Floor – The Black Room Concept
Canopy 1: Malaysian Rainforest
Upon entering, visitors will be greeted by the immersive
experience of Malaysian rainforest, which is the extension
of the architectural experience that was designed from the
beginning. Visitors will have the opportunity to go through a
journey involving all senses, giving the closest experience of
being in a rainforest, and learn more about the biodiversity of
Malaysia.
Canopy 2: Sustainable Agricommodities
The next exhibit will showcase Malaysia’s sustainable
agricommodities. Here, visitors will bring back a wealth of
knowledge on Malaysia’s aspirations, and how this sector
eradicates poverty for many smallholders as well as the
technologies that drive and innovate this sector.
Artist impression.
September-October 2021 | www.b-i.biz 19