MVRDV reinvents façade for Bulgari's Kuala Lumpur flagship store
Combining concrete, resin, and brass, the façade is permeated by gold light, creating "a marble-veined façade" to mark Bulgari's signature cornice at its Via Condotti store.
The new store is located in the heart of the buzzing Bukit Bintang district, and one of a number of offerings for luxury goods in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Shopping Mall.
Inspiration from Roman art
"For over a century, Bulgari has set the pace for Italian style with a forward-looking, creative spirit that draws inspiration from the timeless beauty of Roman art, while giving it a distinctive contemporary touch," said MVRDV in its project description.
The store is marked with an incredible depth and orange-coloured appearance, creating a sharp contrast in between other luxury stores along the street - by presenting itself as a 3D-printed envelope.
"With this new façade, we emphasise the historic essence of the renowned Italian brand to the world, looking not only to the past but to the future as well," said Jacob van Rijs, co-founder of MVRDV.
"Bulgari is a bold, glamorous, exuberant and undeniably Roman brand, so we interpreted these themes as key ingredients for an innovative façade."
MVRDV also developed a catalogue for Bulgari's international storefront façades, to apply a strategy that can be adopted for future stores, making them instantly recognisable and unique in any global location.
Glass fibre reinforced concrete
"The glass of the façade is framed in brass and has an amber colour that fades towards the top of the building. This new product consists of glass fibre reinforced concrete with veins filled with golden resin for both interior and exterior façades. Light permeates through the veins in the façades, making it resemble marble," added the studio.
After preliminary design, MVRDV worked closely with a number of partners, including a research team at TU Delft and Tensoforma, who worked on façade production.
"The cornice of Via Condotti is a set element used symmetrically in different locations over the world, and its iconic marble façade will be reinvented and reinterpreted by material experiments. In Kuala Lumpur, a concrete and resin façade is permeated with gold veins illuminated from the inside. By day, the store façade is organic whilst at night a more dramatic effect is reached."
Article originally published on World Architecture Community.