Langit’s top 11 were carefully shortlisted by a panel of five juries. They include PAM Malaysia president Datuk Ar Ezumi Harzani Ismail, jury chair Ar Ivy Jong, VERITAS Design Group Vice President Ar Llian Tay, Arkitek JFN principal Mike Boon and HSL-NP representative Yu Ji.
KUCHING: La Promenade Mall is hosting a public display of shortlisted Langit entries — the nationwide architecture competition to find the next best high-rise for Kuching city.
According to the Malaysian Architecture Institute (PAM) Sarawak Chapter, it received 85 submissions out of 112 registrations in total. Almost two-thirds of entries were from outside Sarawak, including by architecture firms in Kuala Lumpur and Sabah.
The jury has shortlisted 11 entries. All are on public display at the new mall. Construction specialist, Hock Seng Lee (HSL) in collaboration with Next Phase (NP), has also included six additional entries to be part of the display. “The competition gives architects and the developer the opportunity to create the next best commercial high-rise in Malaysia. There has never ever been such a design competition before in east Malaysia. The project sponsors, HSL-NP, will get a great design for this strategic piece of land.
“More importantly. the people of Kuching will get a great building with some of the best design considerations put in. This is a big advancement for both architecture and real estate development,” said PAM Sarawak chairman Chai Si Yong, who is the competition convener.
The shortlisted entries range from 11 to 39 stories tall. They include retail showcases, innovative home-offices and truly world-class serviced condominiums.
“A key jury criteria is civic consideration. Designs with good public spaces were appreciated. A number of the shortlisted are mixed-use high-rises with good public, retail and commercial residential components,” Chai said. Other considerations include sustainable design, lessons learnt from Covid-19 and the economic feasibility of the designs.
HSL held this competition because the Group wants to reaffirm its status as a professional-led construction firm, which intends to build Kuching’s next icon. The site is a challenging and small 0.78acre at Jalan Tabuan, opposite the Inland Revenue Tax Academy.
It is near Kuching’s central business district areas, a stone-throw from Reservoir Park, the city hall and some of Sarawak’s best performing schools. It is also within a kilometer to The Spring Shopping Mall and Sarawak Club.
The project is named Langit because, in Bahasa Sarawak, ‘Lang’ means door, while in Malay, ‘Langit’ is the sky. The public display is held at the ground floor of the mall with Safe Operating Procedure in place. The mall is using advanced temperature cameras, with guards whom are friendly but firm on SOP compliance.
Entry to the exhibition is free. Each of the shortlisted entries has four detailed A1 sized panels.
Langit’s results announcement and prize presentation (cash prizes for the competition total RM200,000) is scheduled for late June.
The public display of Langit’s shortlist is at La Promenade Mall. Entry is free and open to all.
For more info, langitkch.com, hsl.com.my or search #langitkch and @hslcn on social media.