Damansara City Mall
About This Project
In context with the original geography of Bukit Damansara or Damansara Heights as it is fondly known by locals, this area was a hilly tropical rainforest that started as a residential scheme for government servants. Over the years, the enclave begin to emerge as an alternative to the congested Golden Triangle in Kuala Lumpur boasting colleges, multinational corporations and restaurants amongst others.
The original roots of Mother Nature were the inspiration for the interior design of the Damansara City Mall. The design concept aims to draw back memories for the older generation, or to educate the younger generations, of what this terrain used to be and how the name came about.
The idea is to create an abstract landscape that consists of the stream and the forest, moving upwards towards the peak of the hill and onwards to the sky. Starting from the lower ground floor, one might experience being underwater with pixelated water ripple artwork on walls and “bubbles” as ceiling feature created with convex mirror. The flooring is kept dark with 2 different textures and sizes to emulate pebbles’ textures.
Moving on to the ground floor, the forest takes place, with pixelated artwork on walls. The forest is depicted with graphics of tree silhouettes and the ceiling is largely inspired by our rainforest’s canopies. This “canopy” is created with the use of irregular-shaped timber strips panels fashioning illusion of layers of the forest’s canopy. Concierge counters comes in irregular shapes, parading as random rocks one might find while exploring in the forest.
Progressing upwards to the first and second floor, one might find themselves almost standing on top of the world with “views” of hillscapes and the sky, the image of which is depicted with the usage of pixelated graphics. Taking advantage of the building’s architectural feature that allows these 2 spaces to be naturally ventilated, a green wall is introduced to soften the otherwise hard surfaces used throughout these two levels. The patterns on the green wall were carefully sculpted to illustrate an abstract hillside image, further demonstrated with the usage of a variety of plants and natural stones. At the escalator on the entrance from external ground level into level one, a sculptural light feature hangs from the triple-volume space, channelling a surreal pixelated glowing cloud appearance to capture the patrons’ imaginations.