menara mesiniaga : in detail

YES! finally semester 01 year 2008 is over! today, I was going to write an exciting post on the malaysian architect, ken yeang- but then I realized I did not even fulfil my own promise of putting on my research of ken yeang’s prolific work, menara mesiniaga @ mesiniaga tower @ IBM tower. so, I’ve to postpone the exciting post for one more day. wait for it…!

so, yeah this was one year old research (heck, I meant it was done one year ago not for a period of a year)- and if you prefer the all-in-one presentation board, it’s all here. what is all this mesiniaga about? ‘mesiniaga’ literally means ‘business machine’ in malay and it owes its history back to IBM (international business machine), get it?

a little opening on this building. in my opinion, this is the BEST building I’ve ever visited in Malaysia, right, far more better than petronas towers. I mean mesiniaga tower looks way much better than petronas towers, but you know 88 storeys can’t be compared with 12 storeys building. anyway, menara mesiniaga is the signature building by ken yeang.

warning: huge pictures ahead

Menara Mesiniaga is the headquarters building of the IBMcorporation in Subang Jaya nearKuala Lumpur. It is 15 storeys tall building, which was designed by the architect Kenneth Yeang and his firm, TR Hamzah and Yeang Sdn Bhd.

This is one of the building where Kenneth Yeang recalls the bioclimatic architecture of the 1950s and Frank Lloyd Wright’s skyscraper projects, in a move towards a new architecture for the 1990s, the “Bioclimatic Skyscraper”. Kenneth Yeang incorporated his ideas in transitional spaces, skycourts, vertical landscaping, natural ventilated core and providing it with sensible, energy-saving climate controls.

Afterall, the design of Menara Mesiniaga won Kenneth Yeang the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1995.

The client as the marketing agent for IBM (Malaysia) wanted a showcase building that could improve its marketing sales and iconically symbolize their success in the high-technology products. Kenneth Yeang was commisioned to design this building for IBM in 1989.

Appropriate site analysis was completed in June 1989 and preliminary sketches were done by the architect in July 1989. Nevertheless, Mesiniaga also wanted the building to have the future option of increasing the usable floor area and the final design solution for this is to have “interstitial space” that also coped well with Kenneth Yeang’s intention of having “courtyards in the sky”. Basically, these interstitial spaces are cut-out from the facades as stepped atrium voids.

The first design proposal had an atrium and the core in the centre of the building. This design ad voids in the lower floors and upper floors and plants flowing upwards from the ground floor. The second proposal that was approved by the client in December 1989, removed the original atrium and relocated the core on the east periphery.

Construction started in December 1990 and the project was completed in August 1992. Menara Mesiniaga’s form is the result of architect’s decade-long research into bioclimatic principles for the design of tall buildings in tropical climates.

The most notable design of the building is the two spirals of green “sky gardens” that twist up the building and provide shade and visual contrast with the steel and aluminium surfaces. There is an order to green spiral which starts at the base and circulates up to the top of the building which makes the facade organic and random-looking, even though it is very specific.

Therefore, there are recessed terraced gardens or “skycourts” with plants on each level, introducing “vertical landscaping” into the building facade. Furthermore, these interstitial spaces also gave the future option of space expansion.

For Kenneth Yeang, incorporating bioclimatic elements into the building must not ignore the prime functionality of the building, but to enhance such purpose. As a commercial office, there were spatial requirements for marketing rooms, product demonstration rooms, auditorium, exhibition place, gymnasium and swimming pool.

Tall buildings are exposed to the full extent of heat, weather and temperatures. Artificial landscape was created to shelter
and insulate the lowest three levels, including the parking space from the morning sun.

Nevertheless, there are window openings on the artificial landscape, to provide natural lighting for the parking bays. And there are also inclined roofs ontop of the lobby for natural lighting, to reduce the energy consumption over artificial lighting.

To further insulate the upper floors, recessed and shaded windows were used on the east and the west, as a response to the overhead sun path. The facade includes louvers and shades to reduce solar gain on the east and the west.

On the other hand, curtain wall glazing was used on the north and south, as these sides have less need for insulation. Deep
garden insets allow curtain walls to be installed without shades on the north and south sides. Furthermore, large multistory transitional spaces serve as in-between zones and allow air flow.

Artificial lighting is reduced due to natural lighting but sun and shading effects in spaces are used to control the brightness
of sunlight penetrating into the interior spaces of the building.

The core of the building also located on the perifery east, which is the ‘hot’ side. Kenneth Yeang used this over the advantage of natural lighting for the toilets and elevator lobbies. Also, the core area is naturally ventilated, minimizing the use of air-conditioning. On the other hand, the location of the service core also helps to block out the morning sunlight going into the office spaces.

The roof is inhabitable, but as a part of Kenneth Yeang’s idea of connecting the building back to the land, the roof of Menara Mesiniaga holds a pool and a gymnasium. It acts as the social space of the building.

The distinctive composition that crowns the tower will provide for the future installation of solar panels to further reduce energy consumption. The sun screen structure is made of steel and holds aluminium panels and serves to shades the pool as well as the roof of the buildings. The rain water collection system is also on the roof.

Kenneth Yeang explains that plants is the utmost important element of bioclimatic architecture. Plantings should travel not just horizontally, but also vertically to generate oxygen and help cool the building down.

quotes?

“An ecological building should not be a weapon in a retreating battle. On the contrary, it can contribute positively to the
environment. A green area is a productive area. So the building can generate energy instead of consuming it.” ~ Kenneth Yeang

p.s. I lost the reference list, man, this stuff was one year ago. so if any works that I published here are yours, let me know so I can put in your honorable name.

some great PDFs for research, and credit to the authors;

• menara mesiniaga : lots of explanations
• menara mesiniaga : technical review with nice drawings
• menara mesiniaga : good building plans
• menara mesiniaga : photos
• menara mesiniaga : elevations
• menara mesiniaga : great source, not to miss

and a bunch of images at your disposal;

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