Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
CASE study<br />
A woven façade<br />
David Chadwick looks at how Vectorworks Architect enabled GDP Architects to add another iconic<br />
building to the Kuala Lumpur skyline<br />
Having run a case study in our last<br />
issue about a makeover for a<br />
campervan using Vectorworks, I<br />
thought it would be a good idea to<br />
include another case study in this issue<br />
which lies at the other end of the scale -<br />
the design of a fabulous corporate<br />
headquarters for a banking organisation<br />
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The case<br />
study was released at the same time as<br />
Vectorworks <strong>2022</strong> to illustrate what the<br />
software is all about - a design tool for<br />
architects and planners that can be used<br />
by individual architects and the smallest<br />
of practices through to companies<br />
handling large and prestigious projects<br />
with no limitations.<br />
The Asian Institute of Chartered<br />
Bankers Building (AICB), which<br />
won Building of the Year 2021 -<br />
Public and Institutional (Gold)<br />
at the 2021 PAM Malaysia<br />
Awards, was designed by<br />
GDP Architects using<br />
Vectorworks Architect.<br />
The design of the<br />
building centres<br />
around a façade<br />
that's nothing<br />
short of<br />
captivating.<br />
Its<br />
overlapping panels are based on<br />
songket fabric weaving, a pattern that<br />
belongs to the Malay world.<br />
Kuala Lumpur is no stranger to iconic<br />
buildings. It's the home of the Petronas<br />
Towers, the twin towers<br />
which were the tallest<br />
skyscrapers in the<br />
world from 1998-<br />
2004. They have<br />
recently been<br />
joined by<br />
Merdeka<br />
118, which<br />
with its<br />
118<br />
stories, standing at 678.9 metres is now<br />
the second tallest tower in the world (by<br />
virtue of its 150m spire). The AICB<br />
building isn't aspiring to join such lofty<br />
company, but through its design and use<br />
of Malaysian inspired detailing it is set to<br />
firmly establish itself in Malaysian<br />
iconography.<br />
SONGKET FABRIC WEAVING<br />
The songket-inspired pattern used in the<br />
AICB building links commerce and<br />
culture tastefully and unabashedly, a nod<br />
to the idea that commercial buildings<br />
must respect the regions where they're<br />
built. It would've been easy to design any<br />
old pattern for the façade, but GDP<br />
Architects not only understand the<br />
distinct footprint left behind by such a<br />
substantial building - they embrace it.<br />
The pattern can be seen throughout the<br />
façade, so much so that the firm labels<br />
the diamonds an overall motif for the<br />
project. The aluminum diamonds serve<br />
both form and function. In tropical Kuala<br />
Lumpur, they redirect rainfall off the<br />
building to preserve it from natural wear<br />
as well as invite natural light into the<br />
building.<br />
The AICB building is built on a 3.16-acre<br />
site, with a gross area of. 514,359 sq. ft.<br />
and net area of 325,621 sq. ft. It consists<br />
of two separate areas - an office complex<br />
which stands 12 stories high and a 6<br />
storey training center.<br />
SELECTING MATERIALS<br />
The architects focused on the building's<br />
presence in the Kuala Lumpur skyline.<br />
The 12-story tower is made of glass and<br />
aluminum, offering both elegance and<br />
lasting durability. Other material<br />
selections include sandstone in the<br />
training podium and solid aluminum<br />
panels in the auditorium. The architects<br />
selected warmer-toned materials for<br />
street level to appeal to passersby.<br />
18<br />
<strong>Jan</strong>uary/<strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2022</strong>
Change language