High-rise office building typology: a case study of Malaysian cities (PUTRAJAYA)

Abstract

Tall buildings or High-rise buildings typology, are now a very much debated issue among architects in Malaysia. Opinions on their contribution to the urban agenda is usually clearly divided; strongly for, or strongly against. This is especially true of Malaysian cities, where the trend of having very tall buildings like in Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown and Johor Bahru have not been followed by the newer cities such as Putrajaya, Petrajaya and Nusajaya. Tall buildings that have taken aspects of bio-climatic and optimisation of natural resources into consideration and works along good environmental protection strategies are seen as the ideal model of high-rise building. But is technical functionality the only thing that matters to high-rise buildings? How about its historic and geographic settings? Exciting edifices of steel and glass they may be, but what makes them right for Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya? What makes them specific to the time and place in which they are set, rather than just another part of the 'global' high-rise mono-culture which is sweeping the world and homogenizing 'local' cultures in its path? This research presents alternative visions for tall building design. Based on the new buildings in Putrajaya, and working together with IMS Architects, and in collaboration with Perbadanan Putrajaya, the research outlines differing design approaches developed, and charts similarities in these approaches. By relating this to recent tall buildings internationally, the research concludes by suggesting new paradigms for high rise design.