How did you get involved with Kenny Heights?
RD: The executive director of City Properties, Jeff Yap, approached us. He had originally started working with us on another residential scheme in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. We’d also worked on a project in Tokyo that was similar to Kenny Heights in that it involved an enormous master plan split between a large bunch of architectural practices. In Parcel 3 we’re concentrating on three residential blocks above a huge retail unit.
JL: We consult with the other architects constantly in terms of boundaries. The buildings’ form will be a series of S-blocks, and we’re responsible for the exteriors and the interiors.

What kind of atmosphere are you looking to create?
JL: The feeling is tropical-minimal. The landscape and sun play a very important part, because the sun is so intense. So, in terms of both the building and the interiors, we’re looking at a concept of solidity through to transparency. That informed where particular interior spaces would go. The rear of the building is the solid area, where the bedrooms will be, and the wet zones (bathrooms and kitchens) are in the centre of the space, forming a semi-transparent, or translucent zone. The living areas, the transparent section looking out at the amazing views, will be located at the front. There will be adjustable screens and louvres throughout, to control the light levels, and complementary colour tones; the bedroom spaces will be darker and the living areas will be lighter. Every apartment will also have a pool, which is a major selling point. They’re basically lap pools, and will run the length of the apartments, forming a natural break between them. However, the idea is to take the apartment-dweller on a journey from solidity to transparency and back again. Clearly there will be a unity between the finishes, but we want each space to have a slightly different feeling.

Did your previous Asian projects inform your work on Kenny Heights?
RD: In some ways, although Malaysia is very different to Tokyo in the cultural sense. For example, you don’t need the formal entrances and the ceremonial flourishes that you have to include in Tokyo, even if you’re adopting a Western approach to the design. In Kuala Lumpur there are different considerations. At this level, the apartments have to have live-in maid’s quarters.
JL: You also have to allow for wet kitchens and dry kitchens. The maid prepares the food in the former, and the owner will put the finishing touches in the latter. There was a lot of debate about how large the respective kitchens should be.

Did the choice of materials suggest themselves?
JL: Pretty much. When we work internationally, we choose a set of materials that we think appropriate, and we source locally with contractors and consultants. Timber is the main material here; you don’t want too many hard surfaces because of the heat, and carpet wouldn’t have the right sort of feel for this kind of apartment. There’s decking throughout, with access to the pool from the front and back, giving a relaxed, inside-outside feel.
RD: Aside from Parcel 3, we’re also going to be working on Parcel 1, where they’ve got four towers going up. One of those is going to be a Conran branded-Residence tower, which is the first time we’ve had an officially-branded scheme internationally. It’s a 40-storey tower, and it will include apartments, a Sky Lounge, a clubhouse floor, restaurants and bars, and concierge services. It will be much more of a lifestyle building. What’s exciting here is the chance to create a genuine mixed-use scheme.

You mention this will be the first Conran-branded residence. Where do you see the difference between a Conran-designed interior, and a branded residence?
RD: When Conran & Partners are appointed to design a residential building, by definition our role is limited to its physical realisation. We create beautiful spaces in which people live, but not necessarily their style of life beyond that. With Conran Residences we have the opportunity to create a holistic experience, bringing together all of the expertise within the Conran Group, including our own restaurant and retail operations as well as design.

How careful are you about importing Western lifestyle ideas into a cosmopolitan, but still fundamentally Asian city?
RD: We’ve had a lot of past experience in Asia, and we’re acutely aware of not going in and saying this is how we do it. That would be really dumb. Before you put pen to paper, you have to go and do the fieldwork, talk and listen and look around and become informed. That’s absolutely key.

How does Kenny Heights relate to the rest of the city?
JL: I think Kuala Lumpur is a city of extremes; it’s incredibly humid, so you spend most of your time walking through air-conditioned shopping-malls. The city centre is also extraordinarily busy, with formidable traffic jams.
RD: But it’s a real mixed bag, which makes it a very rich experience.
JL: Meanwhile, Kenny Heights is designed to function like an urban oasis, a breathing space away from the hubbub. That’s the underlying ethos behind the way we’ve approached these apartments, and indeed the project in general.

Conran & Partners are the epitome of discreet British modernism, a company with a strong historical association with post-war modernism and the rise of bold, innovative and responsible consumer design. Created in 1999 by the merger of Habitat founder Sir Terence Conran’s studio with the office of Sebastian Conran, the company has grown a broad portfolio ranging from new houses, urban lofts and major modernist restoration projects to global master-planning, as well as a host of product designs, graphics and interiors. Commercial and hospitality design is a particular speciality, highlighting the signature Conran approach: a quiet modernism that incorporates environmental awareness with a true understanding of how to plan the ultimate domestic space.