Design Vision
In 1903, the first batch of the pioneering migrants from China established the church in Sungai Sadit, down-stream from Sibu, Sarawak.
Though poverty stricken, faith was central to the farming community. A small school was built alongside the church.
Started as an attap shack, it was rebuilt as a modest timber building in 1941 and later, a semi concrete structure in 1976.
The latest version of the building structure was completed in 2022. It is almost entirely built in steel & brick with very little use of timber to avoid the hassle of rampant termite infestation.
Even though the size of the church building had increased at every ‘change’ occasion, all 4 versions of the church building stood on the same site, providing a unique historical story line of the church.
The salvageable timber windows, doors, frames and panels etc. that were collected over years were reassembled into a church like structure, to house these historical relics – a museum of some sort. This structure is located at a corner of the site and it is adjacent to the main church building.
Over the years, a 3-storey Kindergarten was added. It is located adjacent to the church.
Over the span of 120 years, changes were inevitable.
Dilapidation, spatial inadequacy and keeping up with modern worship trends had demanded a relook at the church building every 30-40 years or so.
The client now looks for a continuing legacy of faith.
A building that is rich embodiment of theological thinking and which befits the representation of a strong congregation of 400.
Design Concept
A verse in the Bible formulates the design concept
“Behold. The tabernacle is with men”
Revelation 21:3
Tabernacle is a tent like structure the Hebrew people erected in the wilderness during their exodus from Egypt.
To the people, the tabernacle symbolizes the presence of God.
The new church building is tent like in form but it has an elongated plan which resembles that of a ‘longhouse’– a vernacular built form common in Sarawak.
The layout is simple and pragmatic.
Arrival is at the forecourt leading to the worship sanctuary. A fellowship hall and an office are arranged in linear format and they are served by a covered walkway lengthwise.
The kindergarten classrooms and the toilet block on the other three (3) sides of a rectangular central courtyard creates a cloister like set up. All the rooms on the 3 sides are single room deep which enjoy good cross ventilation & natural lights.
Design Technology
For ease of construction and cost consideration, industrial portal frames were used.
Insulated roof topped with 0.48mm TCT Bluescope Steel Unilok profile (Vermoe Elegance Olive) seamlessly fitted in without fuss.
Concealed rainwater gutter integrates with the ‘pergola’ like trellis climbing frame.
The long elevation fronting the drive way has a green trellis wall where the church comes together during the weekends to grow vining vegetables.
The edible green will provide a green shade to the only exposed elevation reducing heat gain for the sanctuary.
This green effect also reflects the farming community the building serves.
From Vision to Design Concept to Execution, the building reflects beauty through simplicity; nobility and is compellingly gracious.
Design Vision
Designed to nestle among the heavily landscaped estate to create an oasis for PETRONAS, the new Petronas Leadership Centre is a sprawling campus in Bangi. The campus is designed to encourage interaction, collaboration and enhance future learning experiences through innovative learning spaces.
The design objective is to distil the essence of experiential journey into a sanctuary as respite for the participants and maximum collaborative encounters across all employees, transporting the relaxed learning environment that retains the integrity of the corporate culture. This translates to a focus on creating a legacy that transcends imitation or pastiche. At the same time, there was an impetus to break away from traditional campus planning, to innovate to adapt the design to the locality whilst celebrating the root of the organization.
Design Concept
Knowledge is fluid, flowing and growing. Like water ripples, where a small action may reverberate into a bigger impact, the design form is derived from these inspirations which also subtly resonates with the PETRONAS’s oil and energy core business.
Technology
In anticipating future learning experience and to achieve spatial flexibility and adaptability, various technology was incorporated in the design.
Rotating LED immersive screen. This is technology was developed together with the LED supplier to achieve intended immersive experience.
Transparent OLED screen is one of the earliest introduced in Malaysia to allow display whilst maintaining transparency of the glass wall surface.
Sensors which include light control motion sensor for efficient use of electricity, leak detection sensor to minimize water wastage due to leakage and CO2 sensor for optimum indoor air quality for user comfort.
Automated Operable Walls to achieve flexibility in teaching room configuration to meet learning programmes and usage.
Innovation
The innovative solutions incorporated in the design includes:
Circular multi-purpose hall with surrounding LED walls that create immersive experience to the participants. This will provide a more impactful knowledge transfer. The LED on the wall also can be rotated to face outside of the hall and can be viewed from outside if needed.
Innovative layout where learning blocks and residential blocks are combined to encourage connection thus encouraging sharing
Incorporating deep wells that draw low temperature underground water that cools the area surrounding the building.
Sustainability
Some of the sustainable Design solutions adopted which include:
Site planning. Approaching it from microclimatic strategy, the campus master plan use lake and landscape elements to lower the surrounding ambient temperature.
Building orientation where the long facades face north and south directions.
Natural Ventilation optimisation. Only 60% of the total area in the building is naturally ventilated which significantly reduced energy usage in the building. Curved forms encourage a wind tunnel effect that naturally cools the buildings. The building skin is designed to induce and promote natural ventilation without compromising on the rain penetration.
Natural Light optimisation. While building envelopes also shade the facades from extreme sunlight while allowing natural light into the space.
Rainwater is harvested and grey water is recycled for water conservation. Excellent indoor environmental quality is achieved through extensive visual and physical connections with nature.
Recycling initiatives, including aerobic digester composting from garden and organic Fertilizer is produced and reuse for landscaping upkeeping.
The building has achieved GBI platinum rating and targeting US LEED platinum certification soon.
Community & Humanity
The building is set away from the road so that users can experience sense of arrival and prestige as they approach. Internally, there is no barrier to movement. The spine circulation space serves as a unifying element that bonds the users.
Bukit Raja Convention Hall, located in Bandar Bukit Raja, Klang, is designed with the concept of 'Convention in the Garden.' Spanning 43,000 square feet, it features a banquet hall that can accommodate up to 1,000 people, a cafeteria, a VIP room, as well as auditorium and seminar room facilities.
The building's facade design draws inspiration from the patterns and motifs found on the seal of the fourth Dato Ungku Kelang, known as Dato Ungku Naga Mengulur, who ruled around the year 1700. Dato Ungku Kelang was a powerful leader along the Klang River.
Another motif incorporated into the design is the nine-petalled cape flower, which has been associated with the Selangor sultanate and is the official state flower. This motif is widely used in royal attire and regalia, including that of the Sultan of Selangor.
Nestled at the cornerstone of a traffic circus within Penang Science Park North in Simpang Ampat, is Ghee Hiang Manufacturing Co. Sdn. Bhd.’s newest industrial facility. Ghee Hiang, a heritage brand and cultural icon spanning almost 170 years, started off producing traditional pastries before becoming synonymous with teel-seed oil; a gift normally bestowed on mothers who are in confinement. Its logo, a waving infant inside a red circle, is instantly identifiable. Ghee Hiang gained success through many years of careful expansion and growth and as such, the theme for this facility was to reflect the ideology of natural growth.
This ideology is prominent on a site scale, as the 2 to 3-storey facility sits humbly, fittingly, yet distinctively within its industrial context. Both roofscape and streetscape portray a universal architectural language, with the extensive use of Zincalume® steel (AZ150). The facade is a unified collage of texture and color, complemented by building elements that matches the steel. A captivating design statement is displayed by two halos made of steel, painted in red and inter-connected by a curvaceous roof at the front building. Inspired by the kernel of the teel-seed, these halos symbolize longevity and infinity, and are instantly recognizable from the streetscape.
The construction of this 4 acre facility was fueled by the increasing global demand for Ghee Hiang’s teel-seed oil. The facility is separated into 2 parts; the first, a 3 storey building, enclosed by a roof curvature made of Zincalume® steel with Activate™ Technology (AM150), that is open to the elements yet shielded by functional customized Zincalume® louvers, mirroring the canopy layer of the forests. A production area and office space occupy the first two levels, with a recreation and event space on the top floor. Three gigantic steel columns symbolizing the Sesamum indicum tree form the support for the curved roof. At the rear, two single storey buildings divided by a corridor for forklifts, are warehouses for raw materials and finished goods from production line. The second part of the facility is where the finished goods are packed, stored before being shipped out to customers worldwide.
As the facility is for production of food, building materials specified and used have to comply with GMP requirements to ensure safety and quality of the end product, as well as for ease of maintenance. The steel roof of the warehouse is left bare to ensure that the raw material can dry out, aided with natural ventilation via 3 angled bays of fixed louvers, custom-made in Zincalume® steel.
The entire facility is finished with Zincalume® wall cladding together with exposed bare concrete and facing brick that demonstrate the honest approach of the manufacturing process. The patterned facing brick contrasts pleasantly with the selected cladding and different tones and shadows are noticed at various times of the day. With time, a natural patina will coat the surface of the brick facade.
Rainwater is drained through carefully sculptured stainless steel gutters and rainwater down-pipes. The form of the logistic buildings is elementary thereby ensuring the texture, finishes and colour of the materials are given the opportunity to shine. Expanded galvanized wire, normally used as fencing, is shaped to act as a barrier at the balconies.
As a footnote, the entire facility was constructed and completed during the Covid-19 times, when there were strict restrictions on logistics of raw material and skilled labor was scarce. As the form of the buildings is unpretentious, extra effort was undertaken to ensure the cladding, louvers and extrusions were all precisely dovetailed during installation. The completion of this facility demonstrates the design’s team aspiration towards excellence and innovation.
Preserving Agricultural Identity
The journey to the site began as an arduous adventure on foot, starting at the edge of a small tropical town. In a bewildered quest to locate the site boundary within a hinterland, the architect trekked through acres of abandoned oil palm plantations and one of the few remaining grasslands for a local dairy farm. The exact location of the site remained unidentified on the first day, as the crew felt disoriented amidst large, undulating hills within an agricultural landscape slated for urban housing development.
While studying the site, an unusual landscape pattern emerged. The prevailing palm oil trees formed a border around an area later identified as a cluster of rubber trees preserved during the land-clearing works. After extensive discussions, the client was convinced by the architect of the importance of preserving the rubber trees. This decision significantly influenced the subsequent design process.
Journey of Approaching
The design prioritized creating a human experience before conceptualizing the actual building. This is a journey of discovering a forgotten place. The path to the gallery begins at one end of the preserved rubber forest, inviting visitors to find their way through the trees on a winding, elevated metal platform. The building's striking red facade is always faintly visible behind the forest, yet its full form remains elusive. Entering the forest path feels like venturing into a dark cave, while the gallery within the building appears as a vast white cave.
A Functional Hill
How can a building shape its form through logical spatial sequences and varying scales of spaces? The building, with its black roof silhouette, is designed in the shape of a hill, commemorating the original agricultural landscape. Across different functional areas, the scale of space changes dramatically. Ceilings rise and fall, and walls fold in and out, framing fragmented views of the outside at various angles. A zig-zag corridor leads to an internal courtyard garden, serving as the central point of the office space, mirroring the experience of searching for a destination in a forest.
As one leaves the site southward, the building is fully revealed with the forest behind it. Its form evokes the compressed, undulating hills that slope towards the ground, disregarding any sense of scale. This design allows visitors to connect their internal experience to the natural surroundings.
Sustainability
The building is designed to achieve low energy consumption. The envelope is fully covered in a double skin facade, with an external layer of sun-shading mesh and an internal layer of 200mm thick block wall. The roof is an insulated metal deck. Windows are oriented to avoid excessive sunlight while framing views of the landscape and forest. Some landscape materials are directly sourced and recycled from the site, enhancing the building's sustainability.
By preserving the rubber trees and integrating the agricultural landscape into the design, the project honors the site's history while providing a unique architectural experience. This approach not only conserves the natural environment but also creates a meaningful connection between the past and the present.
Situated within the growing township of Vervocity, Bandar Indahputra, is a new concept retail mall aptly named The Commune. The eponymous retail centre seeks to serve its burgeoning township as well as its more established neighbouring precincts by redefining typical conventions of a retail centre. It does this by combining and providing attractive communal amenities, such as a multipurpose hall that caters for both sporting and social events, alongside retail units.
In exploring the expressive possibilties for the façade’s design language, the designers were approached to interpret what this new convention would entail in built form. The designers sought to call upon tactility and simplicity in their final design scheme.
The designer brought to life the unique concept for The Commune by creating a sinewy and undulating envelope for its exterior. The objective here was to go against the usual design language and grain of shopping malls with their harsh commercial lighting and rigid exteriors. In its place, the designers looked to developing and creating a more tactile and welcoming surface reading of The Commune.
To do so, the designers perceptively employed the use of Lysaght® Spandek Optima™ in their design scheme. Interrupted only by a complementary timber slat counterpart that runs along a solitary corner of the building, the edifice’s upper floors are deftly concealed by their selection of ribbed steel panelling. While the Spandek Optima™ is manufactured in single corrugated sheets, the product was instead skilfully manipulated and assembled on-site by the contractor following the designers’ specifications to create an impeccably continuous and singularly flowing curving surface. Further accentuating the wavy external cladding is the designers’ unconventional choice of colour: Sahara Iris (from the Bluescope COLORBOND® Petal Series). The colour’s tawny earthy blush works to further soften the building’s mass, blending in with not only the tmber slats that completes the façade’s evocative undulation but also, the use of bricks on the ground floor below.
These key design themes of simplicity and tactility are echoed in the interior of the building. The waves of the façade are signalled in the decorative ceiling panels that have been carefully placed throughout the mall. These appear to weave in and around the building’s bare concrete framework. Used in tandem with slender curves of tube-lighting, the Lysaght® EASYCLAD® panels were chosen for their durability and aesthetics. The timber-finish steel panels hang suspended from the otherwise exposed raw concrete ceiling, creating a warm contrasting accent against the unadorned concrete backdrop. The series of fluid, looping panels draw the eye upwards and onwards, both encouraging movement and visual interest throughout the retail centre while blurring the distinction between its indoor and outdoor spaces (such as its communal courtyard and play areas on the first floor).
In their design efforts for The Commune, the designers kept in mind the client’s vision: to create a vibrant and welcoming lifestyle and retail hub for its thriving community. The team has strived to achieve this in the final design scheme of The Commune’s warm and graceful façade and interiors through the inventive and creative use of select Lysaght® products.
Talula Hill is perched on a hilltop near Gunung Lambak in Kluang, Johor. The 10 acre site was originally an oil palm estate that is to be converted into a vegetable farm and fruit orchard. The intention is to develop a place for organic farming and sustainable living — a model for a future green livelihood. The proprietor’s plan is to have a reception building giving access to a cluster of cabins. The cabins will include a multipurpose hall for small gatherings. Steel frame buildings or prefabricated buildings are proposed for ease of construction. The cabins are stacked together on the slope with voids between the cabins. The buildings are raised on stilts and cantilever from the hillside in keeping with the concept of architecture that ‘touches the ground lightly’.
The planning began with multiple attempts to position the cabins to suit the existing terrain and access while ensuring efficient surface drainage that would feed a man-made pond. As one enters the farmstay, one arrives at a welcome centre that houses a registration counter and a small reading area. The building’s entrance has breathtaking views of the surroundings. Timber and stone are the materials of choice for a rustic overall appearance.
SAMA Square: Reinventing Urban Connectivity in Setapak
Nestled in the vibrant heart of Setapak, SAMA Square emerges as a groundbreaking landmark, pioneering a new paradigm in community and Commercial development. This project epitomizes the spirit of unity and communal engagement, encapsulated in its name, "SAMA SQUARE," which translates to "togetherness." As a beacon of community and multi-generational interaction, SAMA Square invites the residents of Kampung Baru Air Panas and beyond to celebrate life in its myriad forms, from shopping and dining to leisure and activities, all accessible from its strategic location at Setapak.
Introduction: Unveiling the Heartbeat of Setapak
SAMA Square is thoughtfully segmented into three distinct zones: the Main Market Building, offering a plethora of dining and shopping experiences; the Open Street People Plaza, a dynamic space for pop-up events and gatherings; and the Retail Village, a curated collection of shops, eateries, and service outlets designed to cater to every need and desire.
Design Ethos: A Canvas of Urban Vitality
SAMA Square is a bold response to the challenges and opportunities of urban living in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. By adopting a 'club sandwich' approach to its design, the project maximizes the use of its ground plane, creating a layered experience of public plazas, markets, and retail spaces that not only enriches the urban fabric but also promotes sustainable and vibrant community interactions.
Celebrating Vibrancy of Life: The Heart of Community Engagement
The overarching planning concept of SAMA Square is to empower and engage the local community through an integrated design that fosters social interaction, supports active lifestyles, and encourages a dynamic interplay of public and private spaces. This vision comes to life in the People’s Plaza, a central hub that connects various elements of the project, creating a seamless flow between the food court, market, and retail village.
Masterplan: Weaving Community Threads Through Innovative Design
Through its comprehensive mix of amenities with colourful metal decking roof and facade for community markets, retail villages, and pocket gardens, SAMA Square is poised to become a pulsating heart of the community.
A Tapestry of Spaces: From People’s Plaza to Urban Retreats
The market at SAMA Square is a revolutionary space that transcends traditional market experiences. It is a hub of freshness and variety, housing fashion wear, coffee roasteries, and food courts alongside bakeries and patisseries. The market's design, with its translucent facades and strategic lighting, creates an ambiance that is both inviting and innovative, fostering a unique shopping and dining experience that extends into the evening hours.
A sustainable Market: A Beacon of Light and Life
"SAMA SQUARE" redefines the marketplace, setting new standards for cleanliness, organization, and accessibility. The modular stall design and linear organization streamline operations and enhance the shopping experience, connecting seamlessly with residential areas and providing easy access for all. The development is meticulously designed to optimize rainwater harvesting, passive ventilation and natural lighting, catering specifically to the tropical climate. This approach not only enhances comfort but also promotes sustainable design by significantly reducing energy consumption.
Conclusion: SAMA Square - Where Every Day is a Celebration of Community
SAMA Square stands as a monument to community, vibrancy, and innovation in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur. Through its thoughtful design, strategic planning, and commitment to inclusivity, SAMA Square not only meets the needs of its community but also inspires a new vision for urban living.
B-Quik: Revitalizing Car Maintenance with a Modern, Eye-Catching Design with Steel
B-Quik is a high-standard car maintenance service center brand. It’s well-regarded as a quick and convenient option, with its wellknown unique circular symbol and bright yellow box-shaped façade, visible from the road or surrounding neighborhood, The client’s brief is to upgrade the building’s external appearance to capture the concept of modernity and create more eye-catching spaces. The design team at Architects 49 (Phuket), then began to evaluate and develop the design based on B-Quik’s original identity, adjusting some features to create a new memorable picture of this vehicle repair center and B-Quik’s office branch on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok.
A maintenance center’s primary role is simple: it provides free space for automobiles waiting to be repaired in front of an area, allowing easy access to parking in rows. A modest reception area sits adjacent to the repair bay. On the second and upper floors of the yellow façade box, there is a spare parts storage area and a compartment for several tires. The architect selected to retain the flow by grouping all maintenance service stations.
B-Quik’s strong point emphasizes speedy service: the ability to wait to pick up the vehicle. The lobby was moved from downstairs to the second floor with an enlarged room to accommodate customers waiting for their cars. The shape of this new lobby is intended to be a capsule logo frame, piled in sizes to resemble the letter “B” that customers are familiar with. It also serves as the façade, which retains the brand’s trademark yellow color, crucial to its identity.
The structure of the maintenance building, including the main elements of the wall and roof, is constructed using metal sheet for lightness and durability, reflecting people’s perception of the brand. In addition, the architect adds characteristics by designing vertical sunshade panels for the waiting area and office. As a result, the customers may see the view of the outside road from a higher perspective. At the same time, they can see their cars in the repair bay from above. This vertical shading device is the exterior frame of the black capsule. When viewed from the outside, the interior produces a sense of dynamism in the eyes of those passing by. It also improves the new image to set it apart from competing brands.
To design the new B-Quik branch, the architects used COLORBOND® steel in Valiant Grey color, 0.51 mm. after painted thick from BlueScope on Trimdek 760 profile from Lysaght for the workshop façade on the side and back walls of this more than 500-square-meter building. The idea behind using dark-colored metal sheets as the background for the brilliant yellow lobby is to make this area stand out and give it a contemporary look. The installation procedure took place from the ground up to the roof, using a ZINCALUME® steel, 0.47 mm. total thick from BlueScope on Trimdek 760 profile from Lysaght. Regarding the benefits of employing metal sheets, the architects explain that this material has a length that enables them to build big walls without joints. This is a significant benefit, according to the architects, compared to many other materials that require joints to be handled at a distance of 2.4 meters. Metal sheet walls also have less leakage form joints problem.
Elevating Flight: Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport's Innovative and Expandable Terminal Design
The airport in Tanjungpinang, previously called the Kijang Airport, was renamed as Raja Haji Fisabilillah in 2008. The design is fot its new passenger terminal began in 2009, undertaken by WIRATMAN as another manifestation of their small airport typology that had been devised for areas with small capacity requirements. Currently it only serves domestic flight, but has served international routes in the past. The airport design allows flexibility towards this change and also for the possibility of reopening the international routes. Its program places emphasis on expandability, designed to grow symmetrically left and right with the central areas as its axis. This enables the buNdIng to expand in a manner that maintains a thin building mass, which is more fitting for natural lighting. The innovative solution of placing electrical and mechanical utilities on the roof are also used here, allowing the building to expand in a uninhibited manner. Within the terminal, check-in areas display artwork and graphic design that refer to cultural richness Tanjungpinang. Similarity, the baggage claim area are decorated with panels that inform arriving, passengers of the various sight and attractions to be found in the city, catching the eyes as a point of interest. Their arrangement complements the linear arrangement of the check-in counters and conveyor belts. Again, in this airport a simple back-to-back processing is used for baggage handling, in accordance with the principles of apt design: the simplicity is fitting for the small scale of the terminal, the readily available skills of its workers, as well as for ease of maintenance. Luggage is collected from behind the linear counters, to be manually sorted and loaded by workers onto the aircraft.
The roof area in the form of a small sinusoid wave is further developed into a larger sinusoid wave as a symbol of clouds. Clouds are interpreted as places that have height and can be reached by flight. Therefore, the shape of a large sinusoid wave is right to be used as the roof of the main passenger terminal building. By choosing the main wall around the building in the form of glass, it further strengthens the impression of a roof that floats lightly like a cloud.
The temperature of the roof sheet cuts down the heat radiation traveling downwards into the building making the interior of the building cooler.
Clean, the Roof Material that Resistance to Tropical Staining.
Durable, there is Durability against Weathering & UV Penetration.
Beauty, there have Excellent Color Performance.
During the 12 years of RHS Airport Terminal Operations since 2012, COLORBOND® Materials Have Proven to be resistant to environmental conditions with high salinity and have good material color consistency.