Honorable Mention
2014 Skyscraper Competition
Anthony Fieldman / RAFT Architects
United States
The Blossom Tower in Kuala
Lumpur has created an opportunity for Malaysia to lead the world in defining
the 21st Century tower – uniting social, commercial and environmental agendas
in a new symbol for Malaysian cultural ambitions.
Kuala Lumpur has several
icons, among them the KL Tower and Petronas Twin Towers; each employs a
well-known typology (a sky needle and twin gateway, respectively) that
contributes a strong and defining silhouette to the skyline that adds to
Malaysia’s assets. Yet, there is room for a third icon – one that builds on sustainable
leadership, using one of Nature’s perfect engines as its highly functioning
symbol. The Blossom Tower takes its form from Malaysia’s national flower, the
Hibiscus, for a number of reasons. Expanding in size over its height, the tower
announces its presence in the sky – not by poking it like its neighbors, but by
reaching up, outstretched, to embrace and harness power. Like the crown of a
flower, the top floor of the tower has 29% more area than its base, capturing
maximum solar energy and water for use in the tower’s systems.
Blossom Tower is designed
for people, profit and the planet, reflecting an emerging awareness that our
buildings must deliver value beyond simple economics – that they must speak to
the highest aspirations of society. In this context, Blossom Tower creates
social value for a complex and varied people by allocating 2.5% of the tower
toward public uses, including a sculpture park and outdoor performance spaces
at the tower base; a new Museum of People inside the tower devoted to the
guiding principles of the Rukun Negara; and a Sky Walk and cafe atop the crown;
the latter two connected by a 20-story tall Hall of Hibiscuses – a vertical,
living garden celebrating the National flower of Malaysia.
By inverting the form of
the common tapered tower and providing 29% more commercial lease area and
perimeter windows at the top, the Tower creates financial value for investors
and tenant businesses where views, daylight and visibility are best.
Additionally, the tower is designed around a ‘village’ concept, in which
multiple-key tenants are provided exclusive drop-offs, entrances and branded
sky-lobbies served by shuttle elevators, creating a feeling of multiple towers
in one.
Crowning the tower, the
innovative Blossom is an iconic and optimistic symbol that speaks to the
aspirations of the tower’s environmental leadership agenda by performing
several sustainable functions. Its petals spanning over a 75m radius, the
Blossom collects the sun’s energy over 100% of its surfaces via solar hot water
collection tubes. Paired with on-site desiccants, the petals capture enough
heat energy to dehumidify the entire tower’s air supply. Additional PV panels
are located on the east and west facades, where the yield is greater than 40
watts/sm. 10% additional shade is created by the undulation of the tower’s form
in addition to the shade from the structure’s broad reaches that protect
visitors to the Sky Walk (observation deck) and the tower roof itself, from the
greatest daily energy loads. Lastly, storm water is transferred to a cistern 20
stories below to irrigate on-site landscape, including the Hall of Hibiscuses.
The ethos outlined above
resonates well with Malaysia’s seminal social contract – the Rukun Negara –
which describes a society that embraces the unity, democracy and inclusivity of
its people; the equitable sharing of its economic and natural resources; and
the advancement of its progressive, modern leadership for society as a whole.