RB+B Architects, Fort Collins, has won an international architectural design competition in collaboration with J+H Boiffils of Paris, France, for a 21-acre, mixed-use development in Bukit Jelutong, Shah Alam, a growing city near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Both rendering courtesy of J+H Boiffils/RB+B Architects

The 2.7-million-sq-ft mixed-use project in Malaysia includes office, apartments and retail uses surrounding a central park area and pedestrian boulevard.

The 2.7-million-sq-ft project includes office, apartments and retail uses surrounding a central park area and pedestrian boulevard.

The team’s winning design concept extends a hand-fan metaphor to the culture, climate and ecology of Malaysia. A hand fan epitomizes the simplest way to create personal comfort in a tropical climate—it provides a gentle breeze and can create shade as well. These ideas inspire the design—from the largest scale to the smallest detail—to create shade and breeze in a sustainable, garden-filled community that suggests a Malaysian experience and lifestyle. Sustainable features include optimized building orientation, green roofs, water management systems and natural ventilation.

The design team, including local architect GDP, was selected ahead of four other finalists: the United Kingdom’s Benoy, Denmark’s BIG, Singapore’s DP Architects and Malaysia’s Hijjas Kasturi.

The developer, SDSD, is a joint venture between two of Malaysia’s largest development companies, Sime Darby Berhad and Sunrise Berhad. They anticipate project completion within seven years from the launch of construction of the first phase in the second quarter of this year.

While much of the design and construction industry in the United States and the Mountain West has slowed over the last two years, Asia’s economies remain strong. To help the firm maintain stability, RB+B has expanded its services to international markets, including Korea, Thailand and now Malaysia.

“Our experience with complex mixed-use architecture planning and sustainable design is helping us secure work and now win competitions internationally,” said Randy Shortridge, RB+B’s lead designer for the project.

Closer to home, the firm has completed urban projects like the Mawson Block in Old Town Fort Collins, the recently completed Midtown Arts Center, and is currently designing the Rialto Bridge, a companion project to the historic Rialto Theater in downtown Loveland.