A Green Edge for Etiqa’s New Malaysia Headquarters

In urban cities, a spot of green goes a long way in enhancing the lives of its inhabitants. Green facades, in particular, are aesthetic features that will make a significant difference in a rapidly urbanising city filled with buildings and skyscrapers. One such building in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has incorporated a lush green façade into its building design, making it stand out amongst the grey undertones of its surroundings.

Located in the affluent Bangsar residential suburb, the 38-storey Menara Etiqa Building developed by Etiqa Life Insurance Berhad (insurance arm of Maybank) serves as a modern and sustainable working space for today’s working crowd. To reap the benefits of green building, the Menara Etiqa is built towards achieving dual green building accreditation – Green Building Index (GBI) Gold rating and GreenRE Platinum rating, with plenty of green features in its design, ranging from using efficient energy sources to the aforementioned green façade. Veritas Architects adopted environmentally-responsible design practices including the use of cost-effective green materials to address concerns of building developers that were concerned with the additional cost required for green features in a building.

The striking green façade – covering approximately 1000 square metres – stands out as the prominent visual identity of the building, designed to promote biophilia in the urban landscape. To create a mounting base for the VersiWall® GP (VGP) 2060 trays, Aluminium panels measuring 3m by 1.3m each were used. These panels allow each tray to be serviceable from behind via access from the multi-storey car park, greatly increasing the ease of maintenance when required.

To accommodate the building’s unique design and cover all edges of the building façade, VGP panels were installed on the corners at an angle, creating an enveloping look when fully planted.

34 species of plants were used on the 1200 VGP trays, curated for their suitability and longevity on external green walls. Irrigation for the plants was established via piping that feeds into each individual tray. To maximise efficiency and longevity, irrigation pipes were sectioned into zones, feeding water and fertiliser directly into each individual tray. Each VGP tray is installed with a baffle plate and reservoir to distribute irrigation and store excess water, sustaining healthy plant growth throughout the year-round tropical climate.

Read more about the application here…

Developer/Owner: Etiqa Life Insurance Berhad 

Architect: Veritas Architects 

Project Management Consultant: Turner Construction

Main Contractor: Grand Dynamic Builders Sdn Bhd

Green Wall Implementer: Eurodeck Sdn Bhd