1999 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur City Center/PETRONAS TOWERS
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
CLIENT Kuala Lumpur City / STATUS Completed 1999 / SIZE 97 acres / DESIGN TEAM Balmori Associates
The Kuala Lumpur Retail /Entertainment Complex and Atrium is part of the 97-acre Kuala Lumpur City Centre development, centrally located at the heart of the ‘Golden Triangle’ of the city. Approximately half of the 97-acre site is devoted to public areas of park and garden, surrounded by 18 million square feet of commercial, retail, hotel, and recreational and residential development.
The central space, Petronas Plaza, is dedicated to a public garden, walled to protect it from encircling traffic. Formal lines of trees and fountains, organized around a series of linear elements aligning on the main axis of the Twin Towers, create an enclave for the public away from commercial development.
Interwoven geometric patterns animate the linear bands of paving inset with poetry; a variety of plant textures, colors and heights reinforce the space’s axial organization. The fountain elements are repeated at the base of the towers, linking the plaza’s two main areas. The fountains’ activities vary; the water, at times dripping, splashing or gushing, becomes a ballet of color and sound at night while providing during the day an active play environment for children and cool resting place in this hot climate.