We need places for various reasons, such as to live, work, eat, etc. Architects are responsible for designing these places by developing and transforming architectural concepts into reality. However, architecture is more than just designing beautiful structures; the buildings must also be functional, safe and capable to suit the needs of the people who use them – these formed part of Kun Lim Architect’s design principles when the architecture firm was approached by SkyWorld Development Group, in a joint venture with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), to craft the masterplan for SkyArena at Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.
Billed as “Kuala Lumpur’s first vertical community that puts wellness at the centre of everything we do”, SkyArena is a 28-acre integrated mixed development comprising high-rise residential towers, a boutique hotel, flexible SOHOs and retail outlets.The main component and centrepiece of the development is the SkyArena Sports Complex, covering 9.4 acres of land and is the city’s largest.
In a bid to realise the developer’s vision of a first-of-its-kind sports complex to promote a healthy lifestyle and social activities amongst the community, the architecture firm’s Design Principal, Mr Kun Lim focused on creating an iconic sports and recreational centre with the best facilities while keeping the community’s comfort in mind.The complex is packaged as a dynamic building with a lot of expression of movement – which is what sports is all about – yet the overall architectural expression of the building must be cohesive, so that “a building with various functions can be understood in totality”.Further, the design also optimises both indoor and outdoor thermal conditions at a comfortable level.
The SkyArena Sports Complex is designed as a four-storey building with a built-up area of 530,000sq ft, with naturally-ventilated atrium and housed over 20 state-of-the-art facilities that can be used for both local and national level competitions; these include an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a triple-volume rock climbing facility and a fitness centre as well as sports halls that can be converted for banquet use – hence, making full use of the space in the building.The architect took inspiration from site visits in Taipei particularly multi-level and multi-disciplinary sports complexes, as he believes that this type of building should be the cornerstone of the SkyArena neighbourhood community.
The sports complex also features an outdoor track and field, and a soccer field, along with a spectator stand and a VIP viewing area.An 80-room athletes’ hostel is attached on the south side of the sports complex, complete with independent access as well as a café, function and meeting rooms.
To accommodate the diverse functions with different spatial, functional and technical requirements under one roof, including feedback from multiple stakeholders and budget, the architect managed to achieve the ideal balance between form and function by focusing on the functional aspect of the design.Once the design fulfils all the functional requirements, form comes naturally; the overall form of SkyArena Sports Complex meets the architect’s expectations where the building is recognised as sporty, dynamic, cheerful and welcoming, yet it does not reduce the effectiveness or functional aspect of the complex.
Kun Lim Architect takes pride in its accomplishments in the making of SkyArena Sports Complex. The project has since received industrial recognition, winning four awards, including Best Public Architecture in Asia Pacific at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2018, and featured in numerous local and international architecture journals.
