“This is not only a great engineering achievement,” Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob told CNN, “but it also further strengthens Malaysia’s position as a modern and developed country. These statements referred to the Merdeka PNB 118 tower, which will be the tallest building in Southeast Asia and the second tallest in the world after Dubai’s Burj Khalifa when completed later this year (2022). The project, funded by Permodalan Nasional Berhad, one of the country’s largest fund management companies, has brought together architecture and design firm Fender Katsalidis, with the local offices of RSP Architects and GDP, and landscape architect Sasaki Associates.
The tower is located on a historic site in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, known as Merdeka, where Malaysia’s independence was declared in 1957. With 118 storeys and at 678.9 m high, the tower will be for mixed-use, with 83 storeys for offices, 17 for a six-star Park Hyatt hotel and 5 storeys for residences, as well as a shopping mall, mosque, restaurants and other leisure facilities.
The Merdeka PNB 118 tower, built of glass and steel, relies on diamond-shaped facets for its design. These give rise to a pattern of triangles reminiscent of traditional Malay handicraft shapes. The exterior design language is carried through to the interior atrium of the podium, which comprises at one end a lower lobby for access to the hotel, and at the opposite end, an upper lobby for access to the offices and shopping centre. It has been noted that the building, with its spire, resembles the raised hand of Tunku Abdul Rahman when he proclaimed the country’s independence at Merdeka Stadium. The tower will also have the highest observation deck in Southeast Asia.
The environmental design and engineering firm Neapoli Group secured a “Platinum” rating for the sustainability and environmental friendliness of the Merdeka PNB 118 tower from three “Green Building” certification bodies: LEED, Green Building Index and GreenRE.
