Architecture News Plus (ANP) – Architecture and Design Magazine

Starhill Gallery

This is a project by Spark and it is located at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Project's program: Facade reinvention of iconic shopping mall. There are ten images for Starhill Gallery.

: © Lin Ho

Project details

Project name: Starhill Gallery
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Program: Facade reinvention of iconic shopping mall
Area: Building Area: 2,000 m2
Year: Design: April 2009 to August 2010 • Construction: September 2010 to July 2011
Project by: Spark
Team: Principal Architect: Stephen Pimbley • Project Architect: Michael Gibert • Project Team: Darmaganda, Kim-Lee Tan, Sevena Lee, Wenhui Lim
Others: Local Architect: A. Mariadass Architect • Lighting Designer: Snfor Sdn Bhd • Structural Consultant: RFR Shanghai • Main Contractor: Syarikat Pembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn Bhd (SPYTL) • M&E: Syarikat Pembenaan Yeoh Tiong Lay Sdn Bhd (SPYTL)

Project images

Designer's statement

Starhill Gallery is perhaps Kuala Lumpur’s most iconic shopping mall, featuring an extraordinary array of luxury shops and fine dining restaurants. Spark's design proposal dealt with the reinvention of the existing façade of Starhill Gallery facing Bukit Bintang.

Spark's design has opened up the façade which provides a lot of visual interest via a continuous shop front that wraps the existing building in a crystalline skin of glass and stone panels. The new façade resembles the "wet drapery" of the ancient statues of Greece and Rome, and the beautifully crafted gowns on sale inside Starhill Gallery. The fractured variation of solidity and transparency transforms the street façade of the existing building entirely, giving it a new contemporary classic identity that stands out amongst the quick-fix, ubiquitous shopping mall façades of many of Starhill Gallery’s neighbours.

The lightweight steel, stone and glass façade is the first of its kind in Malaysia that embraces cutting-edge façade technology from the French engineer RFR, the team that delivered the Pyramid at the Paris Louvre.

The café at the entrance of Starhill Gallery was replaced with an iconic triple height shopping pavilion for the French luxury retailer LVMH and their cosmetics brand Sephora. Sephora is, in turn, connected to Starhill via a first floor bridge that pierces the new crystalline façade.

Spark, together with YTL, has deliberately crafted a complex building envelope that resonates with the importance of the building’s position and contribution to the streetscape of Kuala Lumpur. The synergy with high quality of the brands/products, as well as special visitor experience inside Starhill Gallery is undeniable. Starhill Gallery’s new crystalline façade and the Sephora pavilion have effectively established an iconic new identity for Starhill Gallery, affirming its position as the foremost destination for luxury shopping in Southeast Asia.