Bandar Malaysia
Bandar Malaysia is proposed mixed use development that aims to create an integrated new community that will propel future development and growth in Kuala Lumpur while setting a new benchmark for sustainable design and planning in the region. The 196 ha development site, which sits on the former Sungai Besi Airforce Base and is located 5km to the south of the heart of Kuala Lumpur, is the largest of its kind in Malaysia, providing a unique opportunity to create a compact, complete and connected neighbourhood that is people-centric, liveable and sustainable. As well as creating an exemplar new district for the city, Bandar Malaysia will also provide an exciting new gateway to the city through its hyperconnectivity to its regional neighbours and the wider world with two planned high speed rail links to Bangkok, Singapore and the international airport, easy access to a range of city highways and MRT lines connecting the district with the rest of the city. Bandar Malaysia will be a place of many characters with seven distinct character districts being proposed, each a response to the physical and heritage characteristics of the existing site as well as the socio-economic aspirations of the development. One of its central aims is to become an international destination for culture and the arts, showcasing Malaysia’s rich and diverse cultural offering and enabling it to reap the potential economic benefits of investment on the arts as seen in countries like Hong Kong where its investment in the arts contributes almost 4% to its overall GDP. Bandar Malaysia will also a mixed use working community creating opportunities in emerging and creative industries, supporting entrepreneurs and SME enterprises and creating world-class opportunities for education with direct links to industry. This working community will be supported by more than 27,000 new homes with at least 10,000 of these affordable as part of a wider vision to ensure a diverse mix of residents within the development site and a vision to create high quality and affordable housing for all across the wider city. The heights and density of the buildings across the development site have been carefully planned to create a legible city and aid navigation through the community while maximising the benefits of the changing topography across the site. Bandar Malaysia will also play a key role in driving Kuala Lumpur towards is zero carbon city aspirations with a wide range of sustainable strategies underpinned by a commitment to providing 20% of the development area as green space, including the creation of a new Central Park. Other strategies will include the introduction of multi-model streets across the district that will minimise the need for car use, extensive solar energy to provide 20% of the district’s energy needs and a sewage processing facility to reduce water demand by up to 50%, a process supported by the introduction of sponge city principles across the district aimed at capturing as much water as possible for reuse.
The Exchange TRX
A ‘Park in a Mall’ The Exchange TRX is a vibrant experience-led destination offering socially immersive experiences that encompass events, entertainment, arts and culture, dining and concept stores. With a placemaking approach, the interior is conceived as a network of interconnected, yet distinct malls, seamlessly integrated under a shared park. These include City and Park Avenues, Central Exchange, The Concourse, Urban Junction, Luxury Precinct, Welcome Halls, Beauty Precinct, and the Dining Terrace. The design not only redefines the landscape but also emphasises a profound connection between nature and urban life at The Exchange TRX. At the heart of the development, the Central Exchange features crystal petal chandeliers, landscape arbours lining the atrium, with Batik flower motifs reimagined into monogram patterns forming an ‘urban rug’ for the exchange floor and cladding the escalators. These distinctive elements serve as a recognisable focal point for gatherings or events, blending cultural heritage with contemporary design. In the Dining Terrace and Welcome Halls, vibrant spindle lighting features are inspired by a modern interpretation of traditional Malaysian Songket weaving and looms. Such touches of local heritage elements transform the mall’s interiors into memorable places and highly photogenic, Instagram-worthy spots. The urban and luxury precincts showcase striking portals and atriums highlighted by fashion-inspired sculptures and distinctive materials, creating a dynamic destination that offers stunning vistas and forges connections, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for the mall’s community.
Ceylonz Suites @ Bukit Ceylon
One of the many misconception of developing a high rise building with a very small land size is that they are not able to contribute much in combating the global climate change and improving biodiversity. The site used to be an abandoned construction site occupying the entire land size of 2,300 sqm with zero true ground for planting and depleted natural habitat and food resources for small wildlife and pollinators located within close proximity to the iconic landmark KL Tower at the pinnacle of Bukit Nanas Forest Reserve within the CBD (Central Business District) of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is then regenerated into a 39-storeys high rise development crafted with natural ventilated pocket recreational spaces sprawling with wild greeneries from the inside out and crowned with a lush communal rooftop garden. The landscape design philosophy is based on an unconventional interpretation of Minimalism by venturing deeper into its core philosophy of searching for happiness and freedom through life itself. The design coils around the idea of living in the moment of freedom through the biomimicry of the natural environment, harmoniously and cohesively intertwine with the Architecture and green infrastructures. Diving headfirst into the untamed splendor of the natural world, the “Growing Wild” radiates a profound appreciation for the richness of indigenous flora. By seamlessly weaving native plants and forest species into the fabric of skyrise landscapes, it fosters bio-diverse ecosystem that beckon local wildlife and harmonize with the urban built environment, striving a delicate balance that is both awe-inspiring and ecologically sound. Through its broad spectrum of landscape spaces and services the tower avails itself to maximum greenery and habitability focusing on promoting a healthy lifestyle by incorporating small pocket and communal recreational spaces; environmental-centric design solution though high carbon absorption planting design, self-sustaining and self-regenerating clean water fish pond which reduced pollution as well as innovative infrastructure design by reducing stormwater surface run-off; and re-cultivating biodiversity through naturalistic planting design. Ceylonz Suites is the Metropolitan representation of the ideal living in the moment of naturalist freedom, a reflection of the new dynamic in this era of restoration and self-vigilance. “ Every impactful changes for the better always starts with the smallest. “.
Ceylonz Suites
The imminent paradigm shift in the working environment today introduces a blurred line between work and life. With the rise of highly accessible digital technology, where convenience is no longer a luxury but a necessity, people are yearning for autonomy in the workplace. In fact, work is less of a place than it is a form of activity. Malaysia is no exception as it has also jumped on the bandwagon of ‘agile working’, particularly appealing to the Generation Y. With virtually everything at our fingertips, flexibility has become a growing trend in the way we work. Work is ever increasingly demanding and requires us to be on-the-go, while we want our own definition of time and place for work. Working from home means the nine-to-five norm and time wasted for commute are of a bygone era. Enter Ceylonz Suites, a 39-storey office tower standing out in the metropolitan cityscape of Kuala Lumpur with a refreshing take on redefining work, life and play. The building takes on a point-block configuration with 442 studio-sized units (384 - 578 sqft), the space of which can be modeled into microapartments or co-working spaces, suiting to the owner’s needs. Despite the compact design due to the limited 0.23 hectare land, the block packs ample lifestyle amenities such as the Sky Gym, Rooftop Infinity Pool, Sport Lounge, as well as work-centric facilities like conference and meeting rooms, Business Lounge, etc. The building incorporates ‘play’ by designing the massing playfully, akin to the Jenga blocks. The prominent elevation of the building has volumes extracted at interval levels, leaving negative volumes of space that open up and transformed into Pocket Gardens. Instead of ‘plug and play’, this approach translates into ‘pluck and play’, i.e. plucking portions out and leaving the voids as ‘play’ spaces. These ‘play pockets’ are carved out to seamlessly integrate with the curtain walls as negative elements of the facade collectively. Every Pocket Garden is designed with its own character, each offering a unique ‘play’ space to quench the younger generation’s excitement for variety and novelty. To add to its idiosyncratic design, each Pocket Garden also frames the magnificent view of the Kuala Lumpur cityscape at different altitudes, which resonates with the youth’s ethos for personalization and individuality. Like cogs in a machine, the programmes are integrated synergically among the three elements - work, live and play. The three programmes can occur regardless of time and space, subject to the user’s choice and needs. Because work is becoming less of a formal activity, its unconstrained flexibility allows it to interlace with the element of ‘play’. Part and parcel, the minimalistic approach is taken in the design in terms of space, form and facade. The building uses materials sporting a ‘raw concrete’ look, complemented with ventilation blocks and timber toned screens which promotes natural ventilation while shielding the spaces from the perennially harsh tropical sun.
OpenHouse
OpenHouse is a Malaysian fine dining restaurant which celebrates the local tradition of "open house", where people of all races and cultures open their homes to friends, family and guests over festive periods to celebrate and enjoy the many exquisite and exotic cuisines here. OpenHouse strives to capture that festive spirit, the multi-cultural richness, and the celebration of food that is such an integral part of the local culture setting a very high bar for us in creating the rest of the customer experience, including an interior that needed to be as rich and diverse as the menu it celebrates. OpenHouse as a design is ultimately about storytelling... We avoided cliches when translating a Malaysian identity into interior experiences, instead crafting a series of stories rooted in local culture but abstract in their representation - colours, textures, and silhouettes all come together in an eclectic installation of over 500 individual objects representing the diverse story that is Malaysia through a series of interconnected spaces with unique personalities... Malay, Chinese, Indian, Peranakan, Colonial, Indigenous, capturing the spirit of the rural kampungs on the South China Sea to the bustling trading port for silks and spices that once was Melaka, our palette is as diverse as our source yet still cohesively works as a whole. As Malaysia is modernising rapidly, yet still so culturally diverse, we wanted to capture that dichotomy in our interior with something that felt fresh yet always familiar. Understanding how the many cultures here are interwoven in peoples' daily lives became key to our drive to weave a similar dynamic in their experience here. Maximalism was our objective, restraint became our tool in making this all work. Furniture, finishes and artefacts were chosen both for their richness and their eclectic diversity, including over 170 fabrics shortlisted from an initial 500, where subtle nuances of colour and texture were examined to find that fine balance between chaos and chemistry. Individual rooms link seamlessly telling the greater story that is Malaysia. Entry is via a grand staircase reminiscent of many of the grand colonial buildings found throughout Malaysia, which rises dramatically to a rotunda encased in a giant Chinese lantern that begins the customer experience. From here, the Salon evokes the spice trade of centuries past, rich in a palette of saffron and turmeric, silk and velvet, embroidery and animal skins, a testament to the glorious chaos that one might have found in the coastal trading ports of historic Melaka. Off this room is the "Smoking Room", a tongue in cheek reference to Malaysia's colonial past, where again leathers and velvets adorn the panelled library of an old colonial interior, made entirely of a "preserved by fire" charcoaled timber known as Shou Sugi Ban. The Plantation Room serves as the main dining room and collects references of Malaysia’s agrarian past, where hand beaten brass lamps evoke the merenjis ceremony of Malay weddings, and woven macrame screens take clues from the charpoy beds found frequently in rural estates. At the far end is the Baba Nyonya Room, celebrating the uniquely Malaysian culture of the Peranakan where Chinese and Malay cultural traditions are combined in a riotous melange of colours, textures, and embroidery, opulent and rich, yet uniquely Malaysian. What is most interesting is how OpenHouse has tapped a unique zeitgeist in the recent cultural development of the country where after decades of development and modernisation - many forgotten and once loved cultural traditions are now being rediscovered, and a new sense of "What is the Malaysian identity?" is being actively discussed. This discussion formed the backbone of our exploration, which began, as do most things here, with food! Food has always been the great communicator in Malaysia society, and at OpenHouse food has created a new sense of pride in local cuisine, of rediscovering long lost recipes, produce foraged from the depth of the jungles, of techniques and traditions setting a very high bar for the interior to tell that same story of Malaysia’s rich and varied history while also telling a story of what the future might be. This celebrating of all things local, in an exciting and dynamic interior, was the most challenging aspect of our brief, and had to be something that Malaysian’s could feel was uniquely theirs yet at the same time, world class in every way.
Sky51 at EQ Kuala Lumpur
Fly free like a bird in EQ Hotel Kuala Lumpur’s newest Sky51 Sky Bar. Guests are able to experience a bird’s life up in the clouds with an ethereal intervention 250 metres up high. The concept of the rooftop bar takes you on an immersive experience into four phases of a bird lifecycle. The experience begins at the entrance of Sky51 Sky Bar, as guests arrive into a surreal stillness of an infinite space comprising infinity mirrors and reflective surfaces. The illusion of a boundless space emotes the idea of the limitless horizon — a bird spreads its wings as it slices through the clouds, gliding in equilibrium as it reaches the peak of its flight. The experiential space transitions into a glowing Maitre’D set against the lively bar deck. The scarlet red illumination depicts the city lights from a bird’s eye view, taking cues from a bird’s curiosity when peering into the city beneath. A few flutters to the right take you to the sky dining restaurant with elegant curvatures and soft materials to accentuate the nurturing nature of a bird tending to its young. On the left, a speakeasy entrance opens up into a bar lounge that takes on a dynamic shape of furious energy — portraying a ferocious hunt for survival. As one walks up the upper deck, marvel at the DJ booth that appears ‘afloat’ with a cantilevered table. At the corner of the outdoor bar, guests will stumble upon a space that’s peppered with pod seats, symbolising the nest — a sanctuary for where birds find refuge and safety. Here, guests are offered privacy as they experience tranquility amidst the lush green landscaping that dots the space.
YTL Headquarters
UNIFYING PRESENCE YTL is a large Malaysian conglomerate, whose 1000 key staff across 12 departments (each with its own culture and operations), are housed under 1 roof, for the first time. The brief was to provide a unifying presence on the shared floors, portraying a unified spatial identity for their staff to align with. We sought to create a series of choreographed spatial experiences which balance respecting YTL’s legacy of corporate professionalism, infused with a future-forward attitude that embraces change. At the Ground Floor, visitors are greeted by a vertically cavernous lobby which spans more than 25-meters in height (7 floors). The design challenge was how to enhance the majestic quality of the space, yet not dwarf the human scale and provide a welcoming entrance. As such, the lobby is a study in proportion, light control and a disciplined use of materials. The soaring space has been designed to capture the rays of light in the daytime, and glow like a lantern in the evening. We designed the marble-clad columns such that its rhythm is denser and more grounded at the bottom, yet getting lighter towards the top, giving the impression of ascending lightness, and inserted horizontal striations using bronze accents to provide visual relief rather than a continuous ascension to the top. A glittering art installation hovers like a cloud over a series of pavilion niches, which provide a sense of human scale in this vast space. Titled “Leaves”, this hanging art sculpture features similar bronze accents, and is fabricated by Studio Sawada. Visitors can indicate the destination floor number at the lift call button area before entering the lift lobby (incorporating a “destination-dispatching” elevator system), before entering a bronze-clad “portal” to arrive at the Lift Lobby, which is accented with the same bronze metal as the main lobby for a consistently disciplined material palette. Levels 8-10 provide a variety of meeting spaces for YTL staff and external visitors, anchored by a café counter as the “heart” of the communal area, serving up confectionaries and coffee. To introduce connectivity between Levels 8 and 9, we introduced a void and a feature spiral stair, designing an arresting and dynamic cage-like stair with vertical rods made of powder-coated bronze metal and leather handrails, sitting on a bed of black gravel. Ranging from casual café tables, semi-enclosed & enclosed rooms, to large multi-function conference rooms, the spaces are designed with a warm and sophisticated palette, with bronze powder coated metal, oak timber, grey granite, silver mink marble floors and tactile leather furniture. The café, banquette and booth seating are upholstered in German-based innovative fabric from Saum & Viebahn whose “magic” range features high quality fabrics built for high-usage and easy maintenance. The tables feature either striking black Nero Marquina marble or elegant white Calacatta marble. The enclosed meeting rooms feature handsome carpet flooring from the Net Effect Collection, elegant brown leather chairs and timber tables.
Bintang Collectionz Hotel
Bintang Collectionz is an interior design transformation project that breathes new life into a once-forgotten hotel by creatively reusing and reinterpreting its original furniture, fixtures, and finishes. The concept centres around the dialogue between the past and present—celebrating the history of the space while introducing modern design elements that create comfort, curiosity, and a sense of discovery for guests. The design pays homage to the building’s pre-colonial roots by preserving and showcasing its original facade behind a veil of transparent glass, dramatically backlit with vibrant lighting. This acts as a visual prelude—history displayed like a relic in a museum, respected but reframed through a modern lens. Each piece of old furniture is viewed as a chapter in the hotel's legacy. Rather than discarding worn items, we restored or reimagined as functional art. Selected furniture pieces (like worn-out chairs, broken mirrors, vintage headboards) are upcycled into art installations that are displayed throughout the hotel—hallways, lounges, lobbies—acting as both décor and narrative. This is not renovation—it’s resurrection. A place where history breathes, beauty lingers, and every corner tells a new story.
The International School of Kuala Lumpur
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA ISKL has been established in the city for over 50 years and has grown to become one of the leading schools in Malaysia. This new campus created the possibility to re-examine pedagogical priorities and to rethink the nature of its learning environment. The design needed to be rooted in its Malaysian context and appropriate to its climate. The design organizes the building into distinct elements. A curved connecting spine, aligned north /south, links teaching blocks and forms a threshold between the outer public realm of the City and the inner, private world of the school. Public elements of the campus are placed at the centre with the Auditorium, Recital Hall, Black Box Studio and Elementary School Theatre all grouped about a central open plaza. This is the heart, a place where ISKL can come together as one. The campus has been arranged to provide for the differing needs of each age group, character of spaces adjusts as learners progress through the school. The Early Years Centre nestles within a protective garden with classrooms grouped about its own Art, Music and Science spaces. The Elementary School is more outgoing with larger groupings, specialist spaces contained within the spine. The Middle School is arranged about a collaborative, cross curricular program, the High School more subject based and formal as students prepare to move out into the world beyond. The building blocks are the classroom clusters, designed according to shared principles but applied in various ways to suit the needs of different age groups. Classrooms, large enough to be arranged to suit a variety of ways of teaching, are grouped about a central commons. This is a space that can be used for individual and small group learning as well as larger gatherings and as a social space between lessons. Internal structure has been kept to a minimum to facilitate adaptability. Learning spaces are expected to change as the school’s pedagogical approach evolves. The maintenance of academic excellence remains the continuing goal. ISKL’s commitment to a new learning environment serves as a real exemplar of sustainable construction, operations and learning. It is intended as a resourceful campus that will invite student involvement and interaction and a base for meaningful conversations. The school is conceived as a progression from a protective nurturing environment to one in which the students are free to fly off into the world. A SUSTAINABLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT IN A TROPICAL SETTING Passive strategies drove the form of the building, designed to use 60% less energy than other schools in similar hot, humid climates. Teaching blocks are arranged east-west allowing high levels of daylight. Light shelves help drive daylight deep into the space and reduce artificial lighting loads. The design draws on two aspects of traditional Malaysian architecture to improve thermal comfort: screens and shelter. An open undercroft provides sheltered dining and social spaces. Naturally ventilated walkways lead to each teaching wing, a series of courts cut into the spine capturing breezes. Chilled water cools floor slabs at night, taking advantage of off- peak tariffs. Transitional commons spaces benefit from cool air that escapes from classroom doors. These spaces, slightly warmer than classrooms, temper the impact of moving directly from the hot outdoors to a cooled internal environment. Low velocity fans encourage air movement and improve thermal comfort without necessarily reducing temperature. ISKL if the first international school in Malaysia to receive Malaysia's Green Building Index (GBI) Platinum Rating.
Fennel
The Fennel is a residential development comprising of four 43-storey towers sitting upon a 5 storey landscape parking lot podium. It is located amidst the suburban sprawl of Sentul, 5km north of Kuala Lumpur City Centre of Malaysia. It is developed by YTL LAND under the leadership of Dato Yeoh Seok Kian – Mastermind, Risk-taker and Visionary. The Fennel is the 2nd iteration of a meandering free-form apartment called the Capers at the adjoining property. They are a collection of mix-used land-parcels developed within the larger Sentul Masterplan. Together with the Capers, the vision was to create a new designed urban environment to stimulate urban revival and to provide about 1000 units of mid-cost housing in Sentul. Conceived as part of larger masterplan of buildings, bridges, parks gardens and railroad corridors, the Fennel is the high rise counterpoint (in form and in usage) to a series of adjacent low-rise office and commercial blocks. The Fennel rises up with a strong sculptural and rational gesture. Units cantilever out 500mm at each floor to sculpt the slanted profile tower, to the point when the “building knows when to turn back” as gravity looms and common sense prevails. Landscape bridges/sky terraces anchor when the tower expands at its widest. These sky terraces let air, light into the naturally ventilated entrances corridors to the units, moreover it frames views out within its cavernous space. Orchestrating views towards Batu caves (the region’s tourist attraction of limestone cave temples) to the north and the Pertronas Twin Towers (until recently the world’s tallest buildings) to the south. The sky terrace support a combination of greenery, water feature, function rooms and gyms. These amenities extend down to the podium roof which houses childcare centres, playgrounds and two 50m long swimming pools. Both tower and podium secure a vital role as microcosm of a larger mature urban context. The 50m pool stretches across the main arrival court. Serving as grand porte-cochere around a V-shape column that supports the pool. Materials like aluminium panelling and steel edge-detailing are deployed as a leitmotif to express a fresh aesthetic to the prevailing multicolour and plaster and paint Sentul experience. Details of metallic fins and edges are also incorporated to preserve proportions and geometry of the design.
Sentul Pavilion
The Pavilion is located in a privately maintained park in Sentul West, Kuala Lumper. It is composed of a sloping glass/steel box and at its very core, a 18m high atrium facing the park. It serves as a venue for event spaces for the community. The Client’s vision is the rejuvenation of it by constructing a 35-acre park to serve the growing residential community springing up in the area. All in the spirit of urban renewal, while preserving the heritage and homage to the past with the preservation and reuse of existing buildings sprinkled throughout the district. Already completed is a Performing arts centre, Library, SoHo office and restaurants. The Pavilion was a continuation of these buildings as part of an overall masterplan in the park. It is a simple form, with no advertisements or embellishments. Aspiring to become a “shy” aberration of a building. Through its transparency and reflectivity, it aims to celebrate others and its surrounding. It is distinct in character but strives to have strong connection to the land, allowing itself to disappear. By taking a minimalist approach to the design ethos, this encourages nature to take the forefront and shine through. Allowing it to be a haven for the community to come together in a space where the focus and attention is upon the environment rather than the edifice itself. The floor plan is a simple 25x25m square. A 45x5m rectilinear block slides in-between to delineate 2 separate zones. This sequences a suggestive procession from an intimate space into an expansive main hall. The block anchors the form and provides the supportive rooms such as a kitchen, green rooms and storage. At the far end, bathrooms facilitate with an outdoor sink area nestled in an internal garden. A round moon gate opens the space and composes views of a sculptural bonsai within. Glass sits over the aluminium trellis roof and performs a dance of light and shadow through the day. The main gesture is the sloping roof towards to the greenery. Starting at a height of 5m, it lifts up to a 18m high atrium with views towards the sky and green. The atrium created, with its visual transparency and volumetric impact, captures the essence of the drama. The space within is intended as Mies Van Rohe put it, “an ideal zone of tranquillity”. The distillation of a beautiful space. The lack of a fixed accommodation allows users to have a free plan, giving flexibility and various configurations for different events to take place within. The Pavilion promotes much needed business and trade to the newly gentrified area. It takes conventions, commonly held in urban settings, to the gardens, and promotes commerce through tradeshows and exhibitions.
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Open in Atlas MapFrequently Asked Questions
How long does the Kuala Lumpur architecture walking tour take?+
The self-guided walking tour covers approximately 1.4 km with 5 stops. Allow approximately 2 hours including 20 minutes of viewing time per building.
Is the Kuala Lumpur architecture tour free?+
Yes, this is a completely free self-guided walking tour. You can view the route on the interactive map, export it to Google Maps for navigation, and explore at your own pace.
Do I need to book the Kuala Lumpur architecture tour in advance?+
No booking is required — this is a self-guided tour that you can start at any time. All buildings can be viewed from the outside. For guided tours with expert commentary, we recommend checking GetYourGuide for local architecture tours.
What is the best time to do the Kuala Lumpur architecture walking tour?+
Morning light (before 11am) is ideal for photography of building facades. Weekdays tend to be less crowded around commercial buildings. Allow a full morning or afternoon for the complete tour.