philoshopy

Since HKAS was founded in 1977, Malaysia's construction industry has witnessed dramatic changes. The city of Kuala Lumpur has transformed from a low rise cluster of shophouses with a few institutional buildings, punctuated by Bangkok Bank and the AIA, into a city with countless buildings of every description and the world's tallest twin towers.

The early post-colonial period was characterised by strong nationalism and a desire to express this architecturally. HKA deliberately developed designs that reconciled contemporary space and function with a modern aesthetic quality in relation to the forms and images of the past. This approach became a viable alternative to the popular International Style.

Recently, the introduction of 'intelligent' features to temper climate and conserve energy has superseded the search for continuity in building forms and for a Malaysian identity in architecture. HKA's recent designs still draw from traditional ideas but are evolving towards organic form and detail that can exploit construction systems for new solutions.

Each project is a unique exercise in problem solving, dependent on multiple factors like site, purpose, budget and timing. Each solution is unique because the matrix of problems differs every time. Creative solutions that are socially responsible and possess aesthetic merit are major objectives, and lateral problem-solving is the key to rationalising the choices.

Petronas university

The opportunity to design and develop a new university at a time when the promise of great technological development has finally been realised is truly an exceptional one. Over the last decade Malaysia has been able to take advantage of many developments in all areas of technology and has spearheaded many progressive projects for which it will need trained graduates with initiative, imagination and training that is strongly biased towards environmental sustainability. The university that provides them with this education will truly be exceptional. The buildings reflect this new age. Environmentally responsive and responsible in the use of materials and application of technology, the architecture makes a statement that urges students and faculty to follow the path of progress with sustainability.

The design for the core of the university has a strong environmental bias. The formality of the AxisQuad between the main buildings is broken by the meandering waterways and indigenous planting that combines natural elements with the built environment. The Engineering building follows more organic ideals, sitting in the landscape as if it were indeed a natural element, but making strong statements about form, function, detail and the importance of an architectural response that is progressive and responsible. It will be the engineers who must learn to temper pure functionalism with aesthetic concerns and sustainability in order to create the environment of the new world.

The Great Hall and Library Multimedia Centre define the other end of the AxisQuad. The pursuit of information and intelligence must function as a pair with the executive role of the engineers. The building stands separated but integrated, and its greater formality is tempered by the organic arc plan that is continued within the space to complete a circular garden, enclosing an informal and apparently natural performance space. The laboratories along the sides of the AxisQuad are ranged as the modules where education and training will be refined to tackle the technological, environmental and ethical problems of the world.

Telekom hq

The development of ‘intelligent architecture’ requires a more technological approach than poured concrete and is particularly relevant to this client. The design was still influenced by Malaysian forms, in this case an organic element: the ‘pucuk rebung’, or bamboo shoot. Latiff Mohidin’s sketch in his ‘Pago Pago’ series embodies the barely contained energy of plant growth and provided architectural and sculptural insight.

The planning drew from the plate design of Malayan Banking where intersecting plates overlapped to create the core, defining a sculptural form tapering towards the apex. Net floor areas range from the maximum 3,600 square meters on the ground floor, accommodating the client’s public showrooms, up to the much smaller chairman‘s suite on the 54th floor.

The form of the tower is modulated by the curves of elevation and plan suggesting a spiral while retaining a strong east-west axis to minimise solar penetration. ‘Sky gardens’ alternate from side to side on every third floor. These landscaped platforms provide structural ties between the core and wings as well as a climatic barrier, shading the eastern and western elevations. Just as important are the outdoor recreational spaces that effectively break the building into vertically stacked neighbourhoods of three floors sharing a garden, replacing the busy ground floor as the only retreat from the working environment.

The mechanical design of the building capitalized on the latest technology and epitomizes ‘intelligent architecture’ in terms of energy efficiency and information technology. The detailing of cladding, window design and sun shading reflects this technological bias, but combined with the curved form, the hard edges of high tech are considerably softened.

Putrajaya conversation centre

The convention centre is planned on a circular format to make the most of the volume of the existing hill. The landscaping is terraced, formal to the boulevard axis and less formal to the sides and back. The less formal areas are forested with indigenous flora.

The form of the roof is a unique combination of enclosed protection and flight. From the front, its eaves, or wings, are lifted at the side creating broad overhangs over the raking walls. From the side elevations, the effect is quite different: the roof is anchored at front and back, creating a curved arc

that encloses the entire building under a protective sweep. As if ready to take flight, the broad roof spans arc out over the public circulation areas at the periphery, and come together at the centre in angled pleats as a fitting apex of the boulevard axis.

The structure of the roof is like a folded origami puzzle, designed to protect from the sun and to channel rainwater effectively. Simultaneously, the form is distinctive and contemporary. The raked angles of the glass walls contrast and highlight the slope of the site, as the roof contrasts and highlights the crest of the hill. The winged circular roof form interleaves curves and arced planes to create an intriguing curvilinear culmination to the circular plan and the curve of the hill.

Generous natural daylight will illuminate the auditorium through the raked glass walls at the north and south boulevard axis. The east and west elevations have less glass walls to protect the conference hall from extreme sunlight.

Biodata

Hijjas Kasturi,merupakan nama yang terkenal dalam seni bina.Beliau mampu memberi pengenalan satu standard kerja dalam kalangan pengamal seni bina di negara ini.Anak kelahiran Singapura,yang berasal dari Pahang ini cukup kuat semangat Melayunya kerana memilih pucuk rebung sebagai konsep dalam penghasilan bangunan Telekom Malaysia Berhad dan keris sebagai paksi untuk Menara Maybank manakala projek pusat konvensyen di Putrajaya pula menghalusi semangat pending perak,satu kelengkapan penting dalam tradisi berpakaian masyarakat Melayu.

Reka bentuk dilakukan

Antara bangunan di Kuala Lumpur yang mendapat sentuhan Hijjas Kasturi: Bangunan Tabung Haji, Menara Lion, Menara Maybank, Lot 10 Kuala Lumpur, Menara Telekom, Kelab Darul Ehsan, Menara Promet, Wisma MPPJ (Petaling Jaya), Hotel Nikko, Bangunan Tractors Malaysia Annexem (Subang Jaya), Suruhanjaya Sekurities, Bangunan Dato Zainal, Stadium Shah Alam (Shah Alam), Menara Apera-ULG, Stadium Dalaman Shah Alam (Shah Alam), Menara Amoda, Stadium Sarawak (Kuching), Pusat Sivik Kuching (Kuching), Menara Shahzan-Prudential, Dewan Bandaraya Kuching Selatan (Kuching)

Bangunan unik seperti Menara Maybank, Tabung Haji, Suruhanjaya Sekuriti, Hotel Nikko dan bangunan baru Telekom Malaysia Berhad berkonsepkan pucuk rebung, semuanya adalah hasil kerja Hijjas Kasturi. Banyak lagi bangunan sekitar Lembah Kelang dan Sarawak menerima sentuhan reka bentuk daripada Hijjas Kasturi Associates.

Reka bentuknya sungguh hebat dan mempersonakan.Atas sumbangannya, beliau telah menerima pelbagai anugerah. Antaranya ialah anugerah untuk Kuching Civic Centredaripada Association of Engineers, California, USA (1989), ASEAN Awards (1990), 12th Tokyo Cretion award dan 2001 PAM Gold Medal Award daripada pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia.

Alor setar communication center

This telecommunications tower is a landmark in the flat rice growing north. With its central urban location, the client agreed to permit public access and allowed the provision of a viewing platform and public amenities. The technical requirements of such a tower are specific, but the elements were sculpted to reflect a modern aesthetic while remaining sympathetic to traditional forms.

Despite the different massing, purpose and scale of this architectural form compared with traditional domestic buildings, there are many cultural elements that can provide design parallels and give familiarity to any modern structure. In this instance, the column, or ‘tiang seri’, is the strongest and most central structural element of the building, the platform, or ‘serambi’, is the in-between place, neither outside nor inside, that performs many functions between the privacy of the home and the public roadway. Both are integral in this structure.

Ar Hijjas Kasturi satu nama yang tidak asing di persada negara dalam bidang arkitek. Merupakan pengiat bidang senibina paling berprestij namun kejayaan beliau ini menuntut ketabahan dan kerja keras yang bukan sedikit. Membesar dalam keluarga yang susah yang ketika itu zaman penjajahan Jepun. Zaman persekolahannya beliau terpaksa berkerja waktu malam demi menampung yuran pengajian dalam bidang seni dan pembinaan di Rafles Institution. Beliau bermula dalam bidang senibina dengan mengambil kursus senibina di International Correspondence School dan . Kemudian melanjutkan pengajian di Adelaide University dan seterusnya ke Melbourne University, Australia. Sekembalinya ke Malaysia pada tahun 1967, beliau telah memiliki kemahiran tersendiri dan menerajui bidang arkitek negara. Dalam masa 2 tahun beliau telah memenangi pertandingan rekebentuk menara Maybank, bangunan Tabung Haji dan menara Telekom. Setiap rekabentuk bangunannya menerapkan ciri-ciri keislaman hingga ke hari ini. Semalam di UTM sempena majlis konvokesyen yang ke 45 beliau di anugerahkan Ijazah Kehormat Doktor Inovasi Senibina atas sumbangan beliau dalam dan luar negara. Apa yang membuatkan kita tertanya-tanya dalam diri, mengapa dan kenapakah insan-insan sebegini yang tidak mendapat gelaran datuk?