Kuala Lumpur Architecture
Kuala Lumpur Architecture is a blend of old colonial, Asian, Islamic, Hindu and Chinese influences.
Kuala Lumpur Architecture - The old & the new
Being a young city, most of Kuala Lumpur's colonial buildings were built around the end of 19th and early 20th century.
These buildings have Mughal, Moorish, Tudor, Neo-Gothic or Grecian-Spanish style of architecture. Most of the styling have been modified to suit the local climate, which is hot and humid.
After independence or merdeka, many buildings were built with Islamic designs. These buildings also incorporate traditional Malay items such as the head dress and the keris.
From 1990's, many Late and Post Modernist style of architecture began to emerge around Kuala Lumpur. Buildings such as the Petronas Towers have all glass and steel exteriors.
Petronas Towers, together with The Gardens, Pavilion, Four Seasons Place and Lot C at KLCC, have transformed the city's skyline from old and traditional to modern and futuristic.
Categorizing Kuala Lumpur Architecture
Neo Moorish or Mughal
These buildings were built at the turn of the century by the British.
You can see most of these buildings around Merdeka Square. There are some around the Kuala Lumpur China Town area. Some of these buildings are
- Sultan Abdul Samad Building
- the old Kuala Lumpur Textile Museum
- National History Museum
- Masjid Jamek
- the old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station
- the KTM Administration Office.
Tudor & Victorian Style Architecture
Victorian and Tudor style buildings were redesigned to acclimatize with the tropical environment, which is hot and humid. Examples of these include
- the Royal Selangor Club (1910)
- the Selangor Chinese Club (1929).
This architectural style features large exposed wooden beams in half-timbered walls. Typical model for some of the earliest social club buildings in Malaysia.
Neo-Gothic Kuala Lumpur Architecture
Neo-Gothic Kuala Lumpur Architecture exists in religious building built by the colonial powers such as the
- St Marys Cathedral
- St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
- Church of the Holy Rosary and
- St. John's Church. Now converted into the Bukit Nanas Community Center.
The Carcosa, built in 1897 for Sir Frank Swettenham, also feature this style of architecture.
It was also popular for schools built during the colonial days to feature the Victorian architecture. Some of the more famous schools built in this fashion are
- Victoria Institution
- Methodist Boys' School and
- Convent Bukit Nanas.
Other buildings with this neo-Gothic kind of architecture include the
- Central Market or Pasar Seni
- National Art Gallery
- Malaysia Tourism Center
- Industrial Court Building
- PAM Center (Malaysian Institute of Architects) and
- Coliseum Theater.
Grecian-Spanish
Before the 2nd World War, many shophouses were built around the old city center. They feature 2 storey buildings with functional shops on the ground floor and separate residential spaces upstairs.
These shophouses are designed after the Straits Chinese and European traditions.
There are still a few of these buildings today. You can find them around the
- Old Market Square or Medan Pasar area
- Kuala Lumpur China Town
- Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman
- Jalan Doraisamy
- Bukit Bintang and
- Tengkat Tong Shin.
The most famous of this Grecian-Spanish style building is probably the St. John's Institution in Bukit Nanas. It has an imposing red and white brick facade.
The Telecom Museum, built in 1928 also has this design.
Traditional Malay Architecture
These buildings were constructed around the 1980s and 1990s. Many of these buildings were designed by local architect, Hijjas Kasturi. Today they form part of Kuala Lumpur landmarks. His more famous designs include the
- LUTH (Pilgrims Fund Board) building which is derived from the form of a Malay drum and looks like the figure of a shapely woman;
- Menara Telekom or Menara TM resembles a slanted cut of a bamboo shoot. It looks like a rocket launch pad from far;
- Maybank Tower is inspired by the sheath of the keris, the Malay wavy dagger;
- Istana Budaya is based on a minangkabau head dress;
- The National Library takes the form of the Malay Head Dress or "tengkolok".
Islamic Architecture
Some of the buildings which are based on Islamic architecture with geometric motifs are
- the Dayabumi Complex
- Islamic Center
- Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
- National Planetarium
- Masjid Wilayah and
- Masjid Negara.
Religious places will have more Arabic calligraphy drawn on the columns and other places on the structure.
Late Modernism & Post Modern
Many new and tall buildings with Late Modernism and Postmodern Kuala Lumpur Architecture fill the KL skyline.
The Petronas Towers, when seen from above, resembles Islamic geometric motifs. When looking from street level, the glass shell of the building gives a post-modern look on the Islamic motif.
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre next to the Petronas Towers follows the same theme. It has the shape of an eagle when viewed from above. The all glass shell of the building also gives a more post-modern look.
The Future of Kuala Lumpur Architecture
As a dynamic and vibrant city, many construction projects that are currently being built that will change the Kuala Lumpur's skyline in the near future.
Some of the construction project are
The Pavilion
The Gardens
Oval Suites
Four Seasons Center and
Lot C of KLCC.
Some of these developments are shrouded in controversy, especially when it involves buildings which are considered national heritage. An example is the Bok House on Jalan Ampang which has been demolished in 2006 to make way for a 60 storey office tower.
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