'Bioclimatic tall building' provides it with sensible, energy-saving climatic controls. Two spirals of green'sky gardens' twist up the building and provide shade and visual contrast with the steel and aluminium surfaces. The placement of the core functions on the hottest (east) side of the tower and the extensive use of natural light, ventilation and greenery.
'Bioclimatic tall building' provides it with sensible, energy-saving climatic controls. Two spirals of green'sky gardens' twist up the building and provide shade and visual contrast with the steel and aluminium surfaces. The placement of the core functions on the hottest (east) side of the tower and the extensive use of natural light, ventilation and greenery.
'Bioclimatic tall building' provides it with sensible, energy-saving climatic controls. Two spirals of green'sky gardens' twist up the building and provide shade and visual contrast with the steel and aluminium surfaces. The placement of the core functions on the hottest (east) side of the tower and the extensive use of natural light, ventilation and greenery.
'Bioclimatic tall building' provides it with sensible, energy-saving climatic controls. Two spirals of green'sky gardens' twist up the building and provide shade and visual contrast with the steel and aluminium surfaces. The placement of the core functions on the hottest (east) side of the tower and the extensive use of natural light, ventilation and greenery.
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MENARA MESINIAGA
Kuara Lumpur, MALaysia'W This striking interpretation of the corporate ‘landmark’ skyscraper exploresa
new direction for an often pompous building type. Instead of a typically authori
rian and introverted statement of a mult
tational corporation, the IBM tower
is a robust,
formal and open expression of an emerging technology. The ar-
joclimatic tall build
chiteet calls this new type th and provides it with sen
sible, energy-saving climatic controls, Most notable ate the two spirals of green
“sky gardens’ that uwist up the building and provide shade and visual contast
‘withthe steel and aluminium surfaces. The reinforced concrete frame is further
punctuated by two types of sun-sereens and glass and steel curtain wall, whieh,
along with the sloping base and metal erown, make the essentially High Tech
image much more organie; one of the jurors termed the building ‘organitech’
Further ecological sensitivity incluces the placement of the core fametions on
the hartest (east) side of the tower and the extensive use of natural light, ventila-
tion and greenery
Kenneth Yeang's‘bioclimatic architecture’ recalls the climatie architecture
of the 1950s and Frank Lloyd Wright's skyscraper projects, in a move towards
now architecture for the 1990s, The result isan alternative tothe reigning mode
of corporate towers and a new synthesis for contemporary archicectute that is
responsive to the climate of a particular place and finds inspiration for a new
architectural language from forces that are ultimately cosmic,
95ARCHITECTURE BEYOND ARCHITECTURE
Menara Mesiniaga isthe headquar
ters building of an IBM franchise in
‘Subang Jaya near Kuala Lampur. 15
storeys tall with a floor area of 12,345
square metres, the tower was designed
by the architect Kenneth Yeang and his
firm, TR Hamzah and Yeang Sén
Bhd. The client commissioned Yeang
(o build a High Tech corporate
showease that would also provide a
suitable and comfortable atmosphere
for employees. A convenient corner site
with high visibility was selected, and
the building design was approved in
1989, Construction was completed in
\ August 1992.
1 Local architectural styles in Kuala
Lumpur are mixed: British colonial,
Chinese influences and various
Z. European and Malaysian style ae all
found in the city, but the overall look is
1 ; contemporary. The area immediately
around the Menara Mesiniaga is an
unplanned mix of residential quarters,
> A town houses, office buildings and a
‘ mosque, A large shopping centres
located nearby, as well asa large office
\ block and two hotels
\' “Menara Mesiniaga brings feution
the architect's decade-long esearch
\ into bioclimatie principles for the
design of tall buildings in tropical
I climates. I features strong spatial
‘organisation with a specific hierarchy
that consists of a raised ‘green’ base, a
spiralling body with horizontal,
terraced garden baleonies and external
3
FROM ABOVE: Twelteh-oar poot
axonometnc
96MENARA MESINAGA
”MENARA MESINIRGAARCHITECTURE 8€YOND ARCHITECTURE
louvres that shade the offices, and an
appermost floor that houses reerea
sional facilities, a swimming pool and
sunroof. The reinforced concrete and
steel-frame structure of the building is
‘completely expased; the tower is
cooled by both natural ventilation and
air conditioning. The distinctive
tubular composition that erowns the
tower will provide for te future
installation of solar panels o farther
reduce energy consumption. But,
despite its many achievements, Menara
Mesiniaga is not problem free, Due to
the high levels of humidity, some
leakage and rusting of materials can be
t rook
observed, especially on the 1
Yeang’s interest in experimenting
with ecologically and environmentally
sound tall awers — the bioclimatic
skyscraper ~is to reduce the costs of a
building by lowering its energy com
sumption and to develop benefits for
the users by emphasising ecological
values chat is, designing with the
climate in mind, Yeang believes that a
climatically responsive building is @
successful building, and both client and
users of Menara Mesiniaga attest o the
success of his approach.
The design features of the tower are
bold, and are not intended to blend
with
he immediate physical environ
ough its climatic adapt:
tion isa priority: The tower has also
become a lancimark, and has increased
the value of the land around it. S4-R
Completed 1992
Architect: TR Hamza and Tang Sén Bhd
(Clint: Mesiniaga Sr Bh
100
BELOW: Entrance atop off; main
lobby, office floor partitioning:
OPPOSITE. L TO R: East elevation
architect's studies for
landscaping’ into the
‘ky courtMesINIAGA
MENARA
Building a Strong Foundation: Pioneering Advances in Architecture and Civil Engineering for the Future (Foundations for the Future: Advances in architecture and civil engineering 2)