hkju7
Mesiniaga, 1 of 10
ARCH 366: ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
CASE STUDY
MENARA MESINIAGA
BILL CHAN
MICHAEL FUNG
KELLY LAM
VIVIEN LIU
Mesiniaga, 2 of 10
1_INTRODUCTION:
In 1998 the U.S. Green Building Council created the quantification system that would rate buildings and their ‘greenness,’ which would eventually accelerate the implementation, development, and popularity of green buildingsx in the most wasteful continent of North America; this is LEED. Last year in 2003, the U.S. saw its first environmentally conscious high-rise building that received Platinum LEED rating. But more than a decade ago, before any ‘certified’ buildings, before any certification system, there was a commercial skyscraper in Malaysia that took the initiative to reinvent a wasteful and often pompous building type. Instead of a hermetically sealed glass-box regulated by mechanical air-conditioning systems, it was atypically climate-conscious and incorporated architectural features that help to regulate the indoor environment without excess energy. The only leisure space in a typical office tower may be the cafeteria in the basement or the office pantry; this skyscraper has shaded outdoor terraces that go all the way up to its rooftop pool and gym.
Shaded outdoor terraces
Outdoor employee swimming pool
When the IBM headquarter Menara Mesiniaga, situated in Subang Jaya near
Kuala Lumpur, was erected in the summer of 1992iv, its architect Ken Yeang had the terms energy-saving, climate-consciousness and occupancy comfort realized in built form. IBM approached Ken Yeang’s firm, T.R. Hamzah and Yeang, and asked them to design a building which was a showcase for the firm’s high-tech corporate imagei. Yeang designed the building but added his ideas and principles of a “bioclimatic skyscraper” which gave IBM a progressive and environmentally responsible image that proved so valuable that it actually increased surrounding land valueii.
2_ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
ARCH 366: ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
CASE STUDY
MENARA MESINIAGA
BILL CHAN
MICHAEL FUNG
KELLY LAM
VIVIEN LIU
Mesiniaga, 2 of 10
1_INTRODUCTION:
In 1998 the U.S. Green Building Council created the quantification system that would rate buildings and their ‘greenness,’ which would eventually accelerate the implementation, development, and popularity of green buildingsx in the most wasteful continent of North America; this is LEED. Last year in 2003, the U.S. saw its first environmentally conscious high-rise building that received Platinum LEED rating. But more than a decade ago, before any ‘certified’ buildings, before any certification system, there was a commercial skyscraper in Malaysia that took the initiative to reinvent a wasteful and often pompous building type. Instead of a hermetically sealed glass-box regulated by mechanical air-conditioning systems, it was atypically climate-conscious and incorporated architectural features that help to regulate the indoor environment without excess energy. The only leisure space in a typical office tower may be the cafeteria in the basement or the office pantry; this skyscraper has shaded outdoor terraces that go all the way up to its rooftop pool and gym.
Shaded outdoor terraces
Outdoor employee swimming pool
When the IBM headquarter Menara Mesiniaga, situated in Subang Jaya near
Kuala Lumpur, was erected in the summer of 1992iv, its architect Ken Yeang had the terms energy-saving, climate-consciousness and occupancy comfort realized in built form. IBM approached Ken Yeang’s firm, T.R. Hamzah and Yeang, and asked them to design a building which was a showcase for the firm’s high-tech corporate imagei. Yeang designed the building but added his ideas and principles of a “bioclimatic skyscraper” which gave IBM a progressive and environmentally responsible image that proved so valuable that it actually increased surrounding land valueii.
2_ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
Bibliography: i) Balfour, Alan & Richards, Ivor, Bioclimatic Skyscrapers – Ken Yeang, Artemis London Ltd, 1994. iii) Powell, Robert, Rethinking the Skyscraper: The Complete Architecture of Ken Yeang, Whitney Library of Design, New York, 1999. iv) Yeang, Ken, Hamzah & Yeang: Bioclimatic Skyscrapers, Ellipsis London Limited, London, 1994. v) http://archnet.org/search/summary.tcl?search_id=120330, Archnet, 1995 vi) http://www.ellipsis.com/yeang/text.html, ellipsis london limited,1995 ix) SD, Space Design. 9401-9403 1994 Jan-Mar x) Cassidy, Wright, Flynn, Barista, White Paper on Sustainability, Building Design and Construction, Illinois, US, 2003