At 103.4 sqm, the new Bulgari’s flagship outlet in Kuala Lumpur captures attention immediately with its avant garde facade designed by MVRDV.
According to the architectural firm, the new facade represented the brand’s heritage and identity, achieved via an experiment of traditional materials which include concrete and resin facade is permeated by gold light to create a marble-veined façade.
“For over a century, Bulgari has set the pace for Italian style with a forward-looking, creative spirit that draws inspiration from the timeless beauty of Roman art, while giving it a distinctive contemporary touch,” MVRDV says. ” The cornice of via Condotti is a set element used asymmetrically in different locations over the world, and its iconic marble façade now reinvented and reinterpreted by material experiments. In Kuala Lumpur, a façade which by day is striking but organic, whilst at night, a more dramatic effect is achieved.”
The architectural firm further explains that the innovative façade was developed from a research-process in collaboration with Technical University Delft, and Tensoforma, who worked on façade production. “Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) was cut according to pattern and filled within with resin then illuminated by amber LED Lights. A stainless steel sheet acts as a base for the resin, with panel joints hidden and integrated into the vein pattern. Either during the day or at night time, the Bulgari façade that achieves the desired translucent effect emanating a warm amber glow.”
Info and images via: https://www.mvrdv.nl/en/projects/bulgari-kuala-lumpur
Copyight: MVRDV 2018 – Winy Maas, Jacob Van Rijs and Nathalie De Vries
Photography: Daria Scagliola and Edit – Stijn Brakkee
