“Architecture is the thoughtful making of space” – Louis I. Kahn.
The department of Architecture and Interior Architecture organized an educational trip to the city of Kuala Lumpur on the 16th to 20th of November 2023. It’s indeed a fruitful and wonderful experience, with a bunch of 14 students and 5 lecturers participated in the trip which provide the opportunity to explore and witness some historical architecture as well as aesthetic interior design.
The first destination was Tamarind Square, which is the reinvention of the traditional Malaysian shop-office, modern-day mall and the Asian village square located around the neighbourhoods in Cyberjaya. With the themed of industrial-meets-natural lifestyle hub, a unique retail and office development that’s set within a green oasis, it is a home to a plethora of aesthetic cafes, as well as photo-worthy spots and a 24-hour bookstore, that beautifully marries the best features of the past and the present – naturally draws the community together. Next, the students went on to visit to IKEA Cheras Mall. Students able to discover the latest home furnishing products, design trends and materials.
On the 2nd day, we paid a courtesy visit to UCSI, School of Architecture and Built Environment. The visitation was started off with a short introduction on their bachelor degree programmes presented by the Head of Programme (Architecture), Mr. James Lim and Ms. Cassy Lim, Head of Programme (Interior Architecture), followed by a Q&A session. Later, Asst. Prof. Dr. Allen Lau took us around the campus and visited their studios and workshop. In the afternoon, we visited ‘Concrete House’ designed by OTCQ Design Studio and were warmly greeted by an architect couple, Ar. Oscar Tan and Ar. Cheryl Quan. The initial idea exploration of the ‘Concrete House’ is a transformation of an old residential settlement location in Petaling Jaya neighbourhood. By taking the advantage of existing courtyard with additional skylight at roof top, the 120 feet long house able to penetrate ample of natural daylight and natural ventilation. Meanwhile, the lush greenery around the residential is designed intentionally to give shading to East-West facing elevations, keeping the house cool in our local tropical climate.
For the next few days, the students visited REXKL, a historic iconic cinema located in downtown KL which rejuvenated into a creative community hub. The venue reincarnated into a space for events, theatre, exhibitions, performances, library facilities, workshops, retail and F&B. Moving on our next destination, the Bamboo Hills, is a hip and modern dining destination with chill vibes and relaxing atmosphere. Students able to acquire the uniqueness of different design approaches in each restaurant inspired by the botanical, and discover the harmony of culture and tradition as well as capture the lush greenery within the surrounding context.
Apart from that, we also visited a few commercial shopping mall, such as Midvalley Megamall, Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall, The Gardens Mall, Lalaport Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), Genting Highland Premium Outlets and SkyAvenue, Genting Highlands. For instance, the LaLaport BBCC is a new Japanese-oriented lifestyle shopping mall to offer shoppers a fresh experience. The most impressive feature of the mall is the rooftop garden which provides a large open space and stunning view across the KL skyline. We ended our trip at Genting Highlands, where we explored the SkyAvenue Complex First World Hotel and the Skytropolis Indoor Theme Park.
It’s a wrap and an eye-opener for the students to learn and gain the most out from the educational trip. Stay tune for the next trip!
