PROJECTS > Institutional > Museum of Modern Art

The integrated development of the financial district in Kuala Lumpur, the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) is poised to be the leading financial hub of South East Asia. Other than serving as a commercial and financial hub, TRX is also an anticipated thriving hub for residential, leisure & recreation and cultural activities.

The cultural component of TRX includes the establishment of a new international modern art museum in Malaysia. To be called as the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the design proposal calls for an art gallery in the development that responds positively to its surrounding landscape, while establishing its own distinct identity as an art gallery.

To be positioned on the northern edge of the Park Quarter, at the corner in between primary roads of Jalan Barat, Jalan Utara and facing Jalan Imbi, the Cultural building plot will be a major gateway to the development of the northern sector.

The tenet of building functionality has since developed to include the artistic expressions of society. The conceptual design was derived from a selendang (scarf), a piece of cloth worn by the women of Malaysia and South East Asia. It promotes the idea of protection, but also serves as an artistic expression, as it weaves around and gently protects this entity of ‘art container’, while advocating the timeless grace of the selendang. This is further adapted into a clear cut concept and sophisticated facade flowing like a textile wrap around the building, with a cascade of the red colour element.