Virtue Of Living

Lucentia Residences shed mundane modernity for an uplifting architecture of character, colour and serene communal living in a visionary Kuala Lumpur enclave

- Nizar Musa

Poised at the intersection of Kuala Lumpur’s two busiest arteries, Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) is a state-of-the-art integrated development built on the grounds of a once-infamous prison site. Wholly transformed for the 21st century, today BBCC boasts premium offices, residences, hotel, mall, entertainment zone, rooftop gardens and transit hub – aimed at revitalising the Pudu neighbourhood. Reflecting that vision of renewal are its Lucentia Residences, two interconnected towers that etch into the Pudu skyline an expressive design informed by time, place and programme.

a dash of sophistication

The 47- and 35-storey towers are among the first high-rise buildings to be completed at BBCC. With a GFA shy of 60,400 sqm and optimised to house over 650 apartments – from studios and single-bedrooms to two-bedroom and dual-key units – the towers share an ostensibly rectangular footprint and overall massing. But their tiered and highly articulate design composition is anything but ubiquitous; front and rear façades seem almost a precision orchestration of recesses, balconies and glazed elements, accentuated by extruded fins and metallic surfaces of a brilliant terracotta patina.