Bespoke Design
The Exchange TRX
Client
Lendlease and TRX City Sdn Bhd
Location
Malaysia
Category
Mall
Kuala Lumpur proudly introduces a new addition to its urban landscape: TRX City Park. Spanning 10 acres on a rooftop, this park is more than just an ordinary green space; it stands as an internationally acclaimed sanctuary, offering a uniquely Malaysian atmosphere and character.
01
Design & Inspiration
The playscape introduces nature play to the urban contemporary setting by incorporating Malaysian landscape features and habitats. It creates a distinctive urban-nature play experience, filling the void of childhood escapade and adventure in city life. This concept seeks to reconnect children with nature in an innovative way, fostering a deeper appreciation for the environment within the urban context. Play City - reflects the bustling urban city of Kuala Lumpur forming playful distinctive platforms and heights. Central Water Play - celebrates the confluence of rivers with water play elements. Play Cave - limestone outcrops are depicted,
creating play and exploration, moreover merged with a waterfall. Western Water Feature - signifies passive interaction conformable to tributaries found in Malaysia. The master concept and landscape design of this feature have been brilliantly developed by the renowned teams landscape architecture firm at Pentago and Oculus, ensuring an innovative and seamless integration with the surrounding landscape.
Inspiration
The Playscape integrates elements of Malaysian landscapes and habitats into the urban environment, introducing a unique nature play experience. It aims to remedy the absence of childhood escapade and adventure in city life, innovatively reconnecting children with nature. This concept strives to cultivate a heightened appreciation for the environment within the urban profile.
Proposed play elements
TRX City Park with natural environment enables all children to develop physically, socially and emotionally. All the four play areas provide the just-right level of challenge, addresses all levels of ability, and goes beyond minimum accessibility to create play experiences that meet a variety of needs and interests. The inclusive play can be explore through Five Senses where children of all abilities can interact with each other and do what all kids want to do: Play.
Design mood
As children step into the play curl, they discover themselves nestled amidst the trees. Here, they can freely explore the transparent environment, basking in the enchanting wonders of nature. Despite their immersive play experience, the children remain visible from the outside, ensuring their safety.
02
Fabrication
Prioritizing safety is of utmost importance. We engage independent safety auditors during the engineering phase to meticulously review and validate all safety measures, guaranteeing a thorough assessment by a third-party inspector prior to commencing factory production
The process
01
Fabrication
Prototype constructions are meticulously crafted to verify the meeting of termination and quality standards. This precautionary step is essential before embarking on large-scale production and on-site installation to guarantee a successful outcome.
02
Inspection
Safety inspections were conducted during installation to ensure the product quality were met.
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Installation
On-site dry fitting was conducted to confirm the precise alignment and fit of components and details, ensuring seamless integration and functionality.
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Finished product
Linking the four play zones is a river pavement, stretching from the central water play and continuing through the areas with abstract urban block forms that gradually fade into the natural landscape. Each play zone corresponds to a distinct Malaysian landscape type and habitat. The playscape, featuring nature-inspired play areas, leverages both natural and urban elements to generate diverse play values, offering a broad range of unique experiences.
TRX City Park
The primary design principle of the park embodies features of the Malaysian landscape, allowing visitors to engage with different landscape types influenced by variations in topography. These include forest edges, limestone outcrops, an urban village, hillside ravines, streams on hillsides leading to coastal lowlands, and landscapes shaped by ethnobotanic planting practices.
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Featured play areas
Play City
Play City provides park visitors with a unique experience, offering intriguing routes to crawl around, underneath, or through the structure. The walls are adorned with diverse materials—reflective, soft, shiny, transparent, and refractive—to enhance sensory experiences. The design includes a balcony accessible through climbing hammocks, and numerous hidden nooks and crannies that challenge children's spatial awareness and exploration skills. These distinctive spaces promote exciting communication among children as they collaborate to navigate and explore the structure.
Play Cave
Nestled within Malaysia's breathtaking limestone mountains lies a rich tapestry of caves, and the Play Cave ingeniously captures the essence of these natural wonders. Meticulously recreating the cave's environment and formation, this immersive attraction offers an exhilarating and otherworldly experience. Ideal for teenagers and young adults, Play Cave allows visitors to traverse winding paths, marvel at stalactite-inspired structures, and immerse themselves in the captivating allure of Malaysia's unique geological heritage. It's an adventure that combines education with excitement, creating lasting memories.
Central Waterplay
Early civilizations flourished along rivers, which played a pivotal role in their development. Kuala Lumpur, meaning 'muddy confluence' in Malay, prospered at the intersection of the Klang and Gombak rivers, shaping its historical significance. The Central Waterplay area, representing this confluence, integrates abstracted urban street blocks in its design. Vibrant colors inspired by Kuala Lumpur's laterite earth blend urban and natural landscapes, providing children with an immersive, inclusive sensory play experience that resonates with the city's dynamic history and growth.
Western Water Feature
The descending steps, adorned with locally procured stones and boulders, guide the flowing water in a cascading manner, captivating visitors as they transition from active play to more relaxed interactions. The design aims to offer a classic play experience within a natural setting, celebrating visitors through the 450mm drops of the cascading Western Water Feature.