d+a | Issue 119

43 T he Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB) Building sits a stone’s throw west of downtown Kuala Lumpur, buffered against the quotidian drone of Jalan Kuching traffic and trundling train carriages by a band of dense foliage. Those trees, coupled with elevation, have made this half-a-million-square-feet of GFA surprisingly easy to miss by commuters plying those routes. Keener eyes, however, will have little difficulty spotting the distinguishing features of this low-key/ high-value piece of city architecture. COLLECTIVE THINKING The training centre lies within a financial education enclave that includes notable buildings such as Sasana Kijang, and the recently completed Asia School of Business campus and its residences. The enclave, a secluded hill belted by green reserve, makes for an exceptional quasi-urban setting that GDP Architects, one of Malaysia’s premier practices, would embrace in their AICB scheme. 02. Encased in low-E double- glazed units, the building’s 13-storey tower introduces a trapezoidal silhouette unique to Kuala Lumpur’s metropolitan skyline. 01 02