During the 1970s and 1980s in Malaysia, politicians and architects made a conscious effort to search for and express a national identity in architecture. They looked to the country's cultural heritage and local climate for inspiration. The Kuala Lumpur City Hall building exemplifies this, with its repetition of Islamic geometric patterns in the facade that provide shade while expressing Malaysian identity.

1. PuiSan.Lim
2015
Thesearchofidentityin
ModernMalaysianArchitecture

2. Intheyearof1978to1990,politiciansandarchitectsof
Malaysiawerepayingaconsciouseffortinsearchingfora
nationalidentityfromarchitecture.Duringthisperiod,the
bloomingofbuildingshasreacheditspeakinKuala
Lumpur.Manynewurbanbuildingsattempttoexpress
Malaysianidentityinarchitecturebylookingatthecultural
heritageandconsiderationoflocalclimate.
-M.F.Moonzajer
“Mycultureismyidentityandpersonality.
Itgivesmespiritual,intellectualandemo-
tionaldistinctionfrom others,andIam
proudofit.”

3. 001KualaLumpurCityHall

4. Lookingforthenaturalarchitecturalidentity
inaconcernof“spiritoftheplace”,Kuala
LumpurCityHallisafineexample ofthe
high-risebuildingsinthelate1970’s,which
builtwithlocalclimateconsiderations.Its
windowsaresetbehindanouterwallof
sun-shading panels bearing the pointed
formofthetformofthetraditionalIslamicogivearch.
TowardsNationalIdentity
Architect:JKR
KualaLumpurCityHall

5. KualaLumpurCityHall

6. RepetitionofIslamicogivearchesandverticallinesseemlinesscreatesunityonthebuildingfacade.
KualaLumpurCityHall

8. Oneofthemostrecognizablehigh-risebuildingin
theheartofKualaLumpur.Theoverallaestheticsof
thecomplexisunifiedbyelegantgeometricgrilles
inIslamicpatternthatfunctionasasun-shading
device.
AsearchforNationalIdentityby
IslamicReferences
Yearofcompletion:1984
Architects:MAAandBEPAkitek
DayabumiComplex

9. Pointedarchesthatimpartarecognizable
Islamicexpression.
DayabumiComplex

10. DayabumiComplex

12. 003TabungHajiBuilding

13. Themostdaringattemptindevelopinganin-
dependentMalaysianIslamichigh-riseidentity
byitswaistedandcylindricalbuildingform.The
5pillarsofthebuildingalludestothe5pillarsof
faithinIslam.
Anelegantvocabularyusedin
IslamicSymbolism
Architect:HijjasKasturiAssociates
Yearofcompletion:1984
TabungHajiBuilding

14. Asmallsuraubuildinginfrontofthetower,
whichbuiltalongthestreetside.
Theentrance.
TabungHajiBuilding

15. TabungHajiBuilding

16. High-risebuildingsaroundTabungHajibuilding.
TabungHajiBuilding

17. 004MaybankTower

18. Astriking,wedge-shapedtowerwithstrongverti-
callines.Theexteriorisdesignedtobeanalogous
totheKris,atraditionalMalaydagger.
TheenormousMalayDagger
Yearofcompletion:1989
Architect:HijjasKasturiAssociates
MaybankTower

19. MaybankTower
“Succession of angles literally
movesfromthescaleofthepedes-
triantothatofthe‘skyscraper’in
onecomfortablegesture,recalling
Malaybuildingforms”
byHijjasKasturiAssociates

20. Malaysian|Identity