Vision City Kuala Lumpur by Sparch Architects

The original Vision City was intended for completion more than a decade ago but when financial problems halted the construction work it left the site with a massive piece of bare concrete structure. The current owner acquired the development rights with the intention of dressing up the existing mass, located four monorail stops from Kuala Lumpur’s main shopping district, into a new icon for the neighbourhood and the city.

Sparch’s vision for the development goes beyond the brief of interior fit out and facade cladding as that would merely amount to a conversion of use of the pre-defined spaces. To truly transform the current spaces within the block and also its relationship to the street, Sparch cracked open the monolith, hollowing out the central portion to create a hybrid space - a voluminous garden naturally ventilated but sheltered from the elements - that is an extension of the urban fabric.With the originally planned hermetic air-conditioned box now drawing the streetscape into its carved out volume, Vision City deviates from the mold of the ubiquitous modern mall, engaging more directly its immediate surroundings, physically as well as visually, to realize the urban rejuvenation that its developers and urban planners are envisioning for the neighborhood.The strategy of bringing the outside in and up has practical values beyond creating new spatial and sequential experiences, it provides for more facade frontage and exposure to retail units. The through-slot that breaks the original facade monotony allows differential treatments to either side of it.
With the creation of the elevated Garden, Sparch aims to achieve at least 30% additional savings in air-conditioning load over the development’s original design. Critical to the scheme is the climatic comfort conditions on the Garden level and the central platforms suspended within that volume. Besides ensuring the printed filigree canopy keeps out monsoon rains and direct tropical sunlight, other environmental challenges include maximization of natural wind flow by sculpting the central void and reduction of humidity levels via strategic mechanical means.Ground Level PlanCourtyard Level Plan
Level Five Plan

Total area: 30,000 square meters
Mall area: 100,000 square meters

Projected Construction Start: End of 2009

Client: Quill Retail Malls Sdn Bhd
Architects: Sparch (formerly SMC Alsop’s Asia offices)
Design Director: Stephen Pimbley
Project Team:
Ho Hsiu Yen
Chong Sing Keat
Lim Wen Hui
Alvin Fong
Michael Gibert
Tan Kim Lee
Darmaganda
Project Manager:
CapitaLand Commercial Project Management
Local Architect: Michael Ong
Quantity Surveyor: Davis Langdon Seah Sdn Bhd
M&E Engineer: Li-Zainal Sdn Bhd
C&S Engineer: RSP Engineers Sdn Bhd