Ampang Park Shopping Mall

Amp Ampan ang g Park Shopping Centre | Joanne Bernice Chua Y

Tze 0315905 | Loo Mei Chuen 0317379 | Teh Gie Eng 0316179 | Y

Yi Chuan 0317576 | Lim Jian Jun

0316867|

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ARCHITECTURE STYLE MATERIALS AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION  CONSTRUCTION  ELEMENTS AND COMPONENTS  COMPONENTS   CONCLUSION REFERENCE

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Figure 1.1 Bird eye view of Ampang Park Shopping Centre (Source: Robert J. Steiner, Steiner, 2006)

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INTRODUCTION 1.1 FAST FACTS 1. Malaysia’ Malaysia’ss rst and oldest shopping centres in Malaysia in 1973. 2. Designed by ABC Akitek's (currently known as DP Architect) Chan Sui Him and William S W Lim 3. Became a landmark to indicate the rst move from main street shopping to a self-con tained air-conditioned shopping mall.

Figure 1.2 Right side view view of Ampang Park Shopping Shopping Centre (Source: Wang Segget, 2011)

4 The rst complex with cinema, hosting car shows and fashion shows in that period. 5. Once a symbol of beginnings, of progress and prosperity of the growth of Malaysia’s architecture, economic and t echnology.

Figure 1.3 Location map of  Ampang Park Shopping Centre (Source: Google Map, 2014)

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1.2 HISTORY Ampang Park Shopping Centre (APSC) is recognised as one of Malaysia’s rst and oldest shopping centres located near Suria Su ria KLCC , in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. Designed by ABC Akitek's (currently known as DP Architect) Chan Sui Him and William S W Lim, it was developed by Low Keng Huat Brothers Realty Sdn Bhd with an area of 425,000 sq ft, using RM 10 million. APSC was the idea of the Low brothers following their successful project, the People's Park in 1968 which was the rst shopping complex in Singapore.

Figure 1.4 Floor plans of Ampang Park Shopping Centre Centre (Source: Ampang Park website, 2010)

Ofcially opened in March 1973, APSC became a landmark to indicate the rst move from main street shopping to a self-contained air-conditioned shop ping mall. It was the rst complex with cinema, hosting car shows and fashion shows in that periods.It was once a symbol of beginnings, of progress and prosperity of the growth of Malaysia’s

architecture, economic and technology. Today,Ampang Park Shoppin S hoppingg Centre Cent re is known for their extensive range in Ma lay fashion. Besides fashion, it also offers many other services and dining choices. APSC is conveniently located at the intersection of Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak, and are well serviced by the public transportation such as buses, taxis and Light Rail Transit (LRT) and within walking distance to the Petronas Twin Towers, Malaysia’s iconic building.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE 2.1 ARCHITECTURAL STYLE ANALYSIS Ampang park Shopping Centre is the rst modernized shopping mall wit h air-conditioning that was much in uenced by Le Corbusier’s ve points of new architecture. From the exterior of the building to its oor plans , the Le Corbusier style was clearly por trayed through its spatial organization, form and shape. In ad dition, the architect wisely adopted the development of Le Corbusier’s idea of “street in the air” which offers expedient places for people in the building to interact with each other .

Figure 2.1 .1 Idea of “street in the air” (Source: Google Image, 2014 )

Figure 2.1.2 Idea of “street in the air” in APSC  (Source: Yeow Yeow Yi Chuan, 2014)

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2.2 inTERIOR 2.3 EXTERIOR EXTERIOR

The middle walkway of the building was actu ally inspired by the combination of two concepts, the atrium from the western style and street market from the local style. The atrium was one of the special features derived from the ancient Roman dwellings, which was de signed to give the building a feeling of space and light. The concept not only allowed natural sunlight penetration but also provides a better air ventilation inside the building, making the shopping centre more environment friendly. The shop lots were arranged in a way that look like a local street, which eventually gives visitors a more comfortable shopping experience as people from that era were used to do all the shopping along the street.

The composition of vertical and horizontal el ements gives the building a streamline , mod ernize feeling. The boxy blank walls protrud ing out at selected portions and concourses are set in complementing the boxy wall pan els and left open to allow natural ventilation for passers by along Jalan Ampang to view the “busy-ness” of the shopping complex.

Figure 2.2.1 Centralised shops in APSC  (Source: Yeow Yi Chuan, 2014)

Figure 2.2.2 First oor of  APSC  (Source: Wang Segget, 2011)

Figure 2.2.3 Concourse of  APSC  (Source: Wang Segget, 2011)

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2.5 LE CORBUSIER 2.4 ART DECO Ampang Park Shopping Centre has featured elements from the Art Deco period. One of the features of Art Deco was found from its external wall, which is the Shanghai plaster. Shanghai plaster is an interesng, cheaper alal ternave to stone that has a special kind of rendering eect that gives the building a raw and natural feel. The vercal ns or chamfered windows on the external wall serve not only for climac soluons but also play an importimportant role in decorang the building. There is also quite a number of decorave expression with dierent geometrical shapes that can be seen around the building, such as the columns, wall ornamentaon and openings.

Figure 2.3 Le facade of APSC (Source: Yeow Yi Chuan, 2014)

Pilos. The load of the structure is supsupported by the grid reinforced concrete columns to replace the supporng wall. The lied structure looks more welcoming , as no supporng walls enclose the buildbuild ing. This principle works perfectly ne on the shopping mall as it’s a commercial center that should be gathering the people.

Figure 2.4 .2 Columns used in APSC (Source: Yeow Yi Chuan, 2014)

Figure 2.3 Comparison of APSC and Villa Savoye Savoye (Source: Wang Segget, 2011; Jerey Howe, n,d)

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material analysis & Construction

 Fig 3.1 Ampang Park Shopping Centre in the1970s. Source: Guide to Kuala Lumpur Notable Buildings, 1976.

3.1 Characteristics of Building Construction

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he Ampang Ampang Park Shopping Centre has a heavy massing in the form of an inverted ziggurat, elevated on a rows of load bearing columns rising from the ground oor, oor, a signature signature of the Art Deco period in the 19 30s. The construction of this building very much follows methods applied in the West such as the extensive use of bricks to form the walls of the building, which is also seen in the Chr ysler Building in New York City. The Chr ysler Building, the tallest Art Deco Building to be construct ed at that period, was constructed with 3,826,000 bricks that were manually laid, to form the non-loadbearing walls of the skyscraper.

The construction of this building also features the 5 architectural concept of Le Corbusier, despite despite the later’s rejection of the Art Deco movement. His concept of Pilotis is applied throughout this building as well as a free plan.

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3.2 Walls alls

D

ue to its step leveling facade on both interior and exteriors, materials such as reinforced bricks, reinforced concrete and concrete columns are used in this building to allow layers of mass construction to be built from the ground. Reinforced concrete, a material which became widely used since being introduced to Malaysia in the 1930s, was used to form the walls of the building, as the rebars inside the concrete wall have high compressive strength. Shanghai plaster was used on the exterior to mimic the matt sutfaces of exotic ma sonry as found in the west. Shanghai plaster, a good, cheap, external grade material which could be applied easi ly, by skilled craftsmen to achieve the matt appearance of stone, is used as the nishing for the columns.

being given a paint nishing. The usage of clay bricks is evident in the rooftop’s walls. However comparing to the progress in the West, Western countries have already started to adopt precast concrete as well as insitu concrete which have higher compressive strength.

Clay bricks were also used as one of the components to construct the walls for the shopping centre. Laid in Flemish bonds, the brick walls were then cladded with concrete before

Fig 3.2.3 Flemish Bonds sketch Source: Google Images.

Fig 3.2.1Exterior walls. Photograph by Ivanka Teh.

Fig 3.2.2Clay Bricks in Flemish Bonds. Photography by Ivanka Teh

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3.3 Staircase

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nother feature to mention is the staircase design of the building. The design of the staircases connecting to each level is designed specically according to the design language of the building leveling.The bridging of the staircase from level to level creates an archi tectural visual of ziggurat steps in its construction. As the building is split into two, with a high volume walk way in the middle of the building, the staircase promotes circulation around the building with access to different levels.

mass production of construction materials such as metal and con crete during the 1930s, when innovation is heavily driven by mechani cal industries. By the 1970s, elevator shafts have already made their way into the construction industry in the west and are implemented widely. A lift was only added for Ampang Park Shopping Centre much later on.

 The staircase is constructed using reinforced concrete slabs. To form a ight of stairs, about 12 slabs that forms the steps, are cemented onto one long concrete slab running across the 10 slabs. The slabs are then supported by a metal structure that forms the skeletal frame of the staircase. This construction method is possible due to the advent of  Fig 3.3.3 Floorplan Circulation Diagram by Loo Mei Chuen.

Fig 3.3.1Staircase for Circulation Photograph by Ivanka Teh.

 Fig 3.3.2 Construction details of staircase Photograph by Ivanka Teh.

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3.4 Ceiling and Roof

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t the ceiling of the top level is constructed with wafe slab ceiling, with the use of prefabricated hollow sheet-metal domes to create a grid pattern of voids in a solid oor slab, saving material without reducing the slab’s strength, at the same time relieving the structural stress load onto the building.

The roof of APSC is made of struc tural joist sheated by aluminium foil in the interior.The aluminum foil is

light and it is able to block 95 percent of the heat radiated. This reduces the load bearing of the roof on the columns and is able t o maintain the cool temperature in the building.

 Fig 3.4.2 Aluminium Foil roong   Photograph by Ivanka Teh.

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 Fig 3.5.2 Elongated ribbon win windows dows at rear elevation  Photograph by Ivanka Teh.

3.5 Windows

S

teel and glass are another prom inent materials used in the art deco architecture. Constructed with thin fr aming, the glass panels on the façade are secured on the open ings created on the walls and aligned in linear with ns in between of them. The ns of the window are used to limit light penetration from direct sunlight and restrict visibilit y as well.

 Fig 3.5.2 Glass Panels used for showcase in shoplots.t   Photograph by Ivanka Teh.

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Elongated ribbon window at the back of the façade is as well con structed with glazing window glasses to reect heat from entering the building.

Moving to the interior of the buildings, glass panels with aluminum steels are extensively used to show case and the display the products of the shops.

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component analysis 4.2 decorative expression

4.1 strea treamline mlin e moder mode rne

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Due to inuence from the Art Deco style, funhe Ampang Park Shopping Centre manifests an essence of Streamline Moderne architec ture. From the exterior, there is a strong emphasis on t he vertical and horizontal elements. It is shown through the horizontality of the façade and the verticality of the columns be -

neath.The color palette used in the building were of subdue shades; base colors were typically light

damental geometrical shapes such as circles, squares and rectangles were used as minor or namentation for the building to achieve a monolithic appearance wit h applied decorative motifs.

earth tones or off-whites, such as beige and light yellow, while the trim colors were dark colors such as dark orange and green to contrast from the light base . In addition, walls had smooth surface nish made of stucco to enhance its sleek linear appearance.

Figure 4.1.1 External façade

Figure 4.1.2 Sketch illustrating the horizontality

(Source: PAM, Dec 1987)

and verticality of the facade Figure 4.2.1 , 4.2.2 Geometrical shaped elements inside building (Source: Teh Gie Eng & Loo Mei Chuen, 2014)

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4.3 windows and openings

4.4 Horizontal banding

The building comprised of a few types of windows, one of it being

Wide eaves which keep out the sun and rain were adapted as horizon -

the punctured openings, either square or small circles, to preserve its

tal banding devices that merge into the heavy horizontal articulation in

streamline appearance. Ribbon windows wraps around the corner of

the building. The banding devices were also used to form vents above

the building to provide further linear exaggeration and predate the

glazed window openings, hence the ne line between decorative form

glass wall found in future modern architecture. Vertical ns or cham -

and practical function..

fered windows were used for climatic solutions, in relation to the use of energy conservation devices.

Figure 4.3.3 Ribbon windows in the front facade of the building (Source: Loo Mei Chuen, 2014)

Figure 4.3.1 , 4.3.2 Round openings and chamfered windows

Figure 4.4.1 Horizontal banding cornering the building building

around the building (Source: Teh Gie Eng, 2014)

(Source: Loo Mei Chuen, 2014)

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4.5 threes The inuence was clearly seen in the building, as everything seems to come in t hrees; the staircase railing being the most obvious.

Figure 4.5.3 Railings of staircase (Source: Loo Mei Chuen, 2014) Figure 4.5.1 Decorative element within building (Source: Teh Gie Eng, 2014)

4.6 LOGO The use of logo on the building is a signicance of art deco.

Figure 4.5.2 Sketch illustrating elements coming in threes

Figure 4. 6.4 Logo of APSC (Sou rce:Yeow Yi Chuan, 2014)

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4.8 FLAT ROOF 4.7 TOWER-LIKE STAIRCASE The staircases in the building were of tower-like tower-like

The building had a at surfaced roof as to not distur b the horizontality of overall building besides giving a distinct modern look while the exterior walls were extended beyond the roof line to form a parapet that wraps

construction and were used to accentuate the

around the building.

corners of the building.

Figure 4.7.1 Sketch illustrating placement of main staircases

Figure 4.7.1 APSC (Source: PAM, 1987)

Figure 4.7.2 Tower-like staircase at corners of the building (Source: Yeow Yi Ch uan, 2014 )

Figure 4.8.1 , 4.8.2 Flat rooine of the building (Source: PAM, Dec 1987; Loo mei Chuen, 2014)

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CONCLUSION I

t is conclusive that the spatial arrangement, form and shape of Am pang Park Shopping Centre was able to portray Corbusier’s points of architecture and it was clear that Art Deco elements and features were incorporated into the building. The use of grid reinforced concrete columns which acts as support struc tures allowed a free facade, giving way to the emphasis on the horizon talily and verticality of the building.

Since the building was free from load bearing walls, the plan could be de signed in a way that expresses the idea of “street in the air”, offering a similar shopping along the street ex perience just as how people used to do during that era. With the use of subdued colors, it creates an essence of Streamline Moderne feel within the building. Emerged as one of the most successful shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur, the modern looking APSC is constructed with the advanced construction methods with reinforcement technology and mate rials for a 5 storey high shopping cen tre, highlighting the liner stretched-

Built with the inuence of modernism and art deco movement, APSC is no doubt an spectacular design in the 1970s , very much inuenced with the local context to accommodate the busy streets and also the weather condition in Malaysia.

Figure 5.1 Rear facade of APSC (Source: Ivanka Teh, 2014)

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