Some subtle essence of Las Vegas has made its way to Kuala Lumpur via the Sunway Pyramid. This project is a world within a world-- a family-friendly destination for recreation, shopping and adventure. It's a resort with a mega-mall attached; a water park with an Egyptian theme; an internalized environment well outside of the urban core. It has its own freeway exit. There are 2 or 3 hotels here, a water park, amusement park, a mega-mall, condominium tower, all internally interconnected and extending to the Sunway University Campus across the valley. Its prominence is geologic in scale.

The mega-mall itself encloses a large rectangular promenade, with a themed atrium at each vertex. The peripatetic wayfarer that braves this institution, making a circuit through all four vertices would have walked over 1000 feet. A complete examination of each of the mall's five floors would have our wayfarer bear witness to at least one mile of retail on each flank.

Pavilion is situated in the heart of downtown Kuala Lumpur. It may actually  have become its heart. All of the international designer houses are here, set like jewels within a promenade of marble and glass. The renowned below-grade food court offers an abundance of in-your-face... View full entry

This might be the project that inspired this blog. My first experiences of this mega-mall were as a passenger in a car. Solaris Mont Kiara is positioned along the arc of a freeway, on top of a hill. The sheer length of the development coupled with its prominence make it unmissable: driving by it... View full entry

The Gardens is a very recent entry into the increasingly upmarket development mix. It comprises the second half of Mid-Valley City, sharing an urban island with the Mid-Valley Mega Mall (http://archinect.com/blog/article/63563539/mid-valley-mega-mall). The two mega-malls are connected with an... View full entry

Much of the world recognizes these towers in profile, if not in name. While most people would call this the Petronas Towers, locals call it KLCC - the Kuala Lumpur City Center. The Kuala Lumpur City Center boasted the tallest skycrapers in the world for a short while, but their eclipse by taller... View full entry

I always have to work to get my images, but sometimes I have to push boundaries--those of propriety and of private property. Here is a brief story about how I didn't get my photo of Mid Valley Mega Mall. My goal in each of these posts is to produce a photo that captures these mega malls in a... View full entry

This mega-structure, built in 1987, was the first major mall in Kuala Lumpur. At that time, and for years after, it was simply called The Mall. The Sunway Putra Mall comprises a central atrium with undulating glass roof, 5 stories of retail above grade, 1 story of retail below grade, and another... View full entry

This mega-structure is one of the main centers of urban life in Kuala Lumpur. It is a popular, bustling urban destination. You can read about the extraordinary statistics of Berjaya Times Square at the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berjaya_Times_Square). The theme park that is... View full entry

This mega mall is located within a residential district called Ampang, and is within walking distance to a metro station. I wanted to begin my documentation project (http://archinect.com/blog/article/62286076/introduction) simply, and the metro station near this project is only one stop down the... View full entry

If you spend any time with friends or family in Kuala Lumpur, you will spend a lot of it in shopping malls, with much greater frequency than you might be accustomed.  I generally avoid shopping malls back home, and if I have an option for a local shop or downtown purveyor, I'll choose that... View full entry