Brisbane-based Wilson Architects have won an international competition to design the new Miri City Hall in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Wilson Architects was one of three foreign practices invited to submit a proposal for the design competition staged by Marina ParkCity, a master-planned township spread across 550 acres.
The firm says the project brief called for the design of an iconic community structure that interconnects with the surrounding food villages, parkland and beach frontage of the South China Sea. The brief instructed a design that reflected the progressive 21st century Miri without disrupting the city's cultural links to the past.
The $AU 19.5million Miri City Hall project from Wilson Architects will sit on a 1.2ha allotment within the 550 acre Marina ParkCity. The firm says that their design, which overlayed topographic and contextual site features, climate-specific design strategies, cultural links and historical references, will provide a memorable civic heart to the Marina ParkCity precinct.
The new building will house all Miri City Council government functions including community interface, administration, council chambers, councillor offices and mayoral suite. It also includes large-scale public gathering spaces including an ocean-front auditorium, civic verandah and outdoor treed ampitheatre.
The design features an auditorium (above) and expansive lobby (below).
Marina Parkcity is set to be one of the largest master-planned townships and first-of-its-kind in Miri. It is phased for development over the next 15 years and upon completion is expected to accommodate a population of 35,000.
The developer of the Marina Parkcity Miri project is Pantai Bayu Indah Sdn Bhd.
All Images: Wilson Architects
