13th January 2015,
Empire Damansara’s vibrant expression of form and function allows it to establish its uniqueness as an iconic venue in Damansara Perdana.
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Its soaring structure is definitely an eye-catcher at Damansara Perdana. Perched in the heart of this township graced by hip and happening spots and city dwellings, Empire Damansara has established itself as a stylish icon, garnering excitement and attention ever since it opened in 2013.
Designed by the award-winning architecture firm, ONG&ONG, Empire Damansara is designed as a sustainable city, capitalising on its strategic island site’s street frontage as well as individual drop-off points. “The brief was to create a “mini” city which can be sustainable by itself with a good mix of old and new architecture. The design concept being where “yesterday” meets “tomorrow”,” says Ahmad Syazli Bin Mat Husin, Associate of ONG&ONG.
Empire Damansara’s five towers comprise a hotel, SOHO units and corporate offices – of which five are signature offices – as well as a heritage-themed village of F&B and retail units draw inspiration from the old New World warehouses. Recycled bricks imported specially from China form part of the village, which connect all the five towers in a central courtyard above the podium.
“The facade is made of expanded metal, which is cost-effective and gives the tower a contrast of industrial rawness against sleek curtain walls façade,” says Ahmad Syazli. “Also, we used Chinese bricks for the F&B/retail village. It was originally designed to feature conventional bricks. Luckily for us, the developer was also doing redevelopment for an old shophouse in China at the same time. We thought it would be a waste to just discard the old bricks; we were fortunate enough that the client was agreeable to the change and also willing to ship the old bricks to Malaysia.”
A theatre, as well as the club facilities and sky deck located on each tower, complete the leisure and entertainment element of the programme mix. The podium car park, which is recessed from the street, ensures pedestrian connectivity from all directions of the site.
“The success of the scheme depended on the integration of all components, especially on how the podium relates to the towers,” comments Ahmad Syazli. “There’s also the interconnectivity in terms of pedestrian flow between the various public spaces. Hence, the identity and the most outstanding feature of this project really boils down to the interplay of all these “old and new” elements.”
www.ong-ong.com; empiredamansara.com
