Introduction

Istana Budaya or also known as Palace of Cultural, is Malaysia's premier venue for all types of theater, including musical theater, operetta, classical concerts, and opera f rom local and international shows. It is located in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, next to the National Art Gallery. It was founded in september 1999. It was built at cost of RM210 million with the aim to raise the standards of performing arts, theatre production, also a place of developing excellence in theatre and higher sense of artistic appreciation.

Picture By Wojtek Gurak

Construction began in 1995 and was completed four years later, with an area of 21,000 m² Istana Budaya built as part of a 54,400 m² cultural complex. The resort is set in beautiful gardens with a swimming pool, six-hole golf course, lake, indoor badminton courts and tennis courts. For security reasons there is a sentry for members of the Royal Malay Regiment and the main entrance, and two Buckingham Palace sentries on either side of the arch, with members of the cavalry uniform' gala. Background

The Phantom of the Opera at Istana Budaya

prestige Hong Kong

One of the latest theatre performance being held at the Istana Budaya. This is of the top team that being performing at the prestige stage around the world. With the technology and the functional equipment they could manage to deliver a top performance.

Establishment Objectives

The purpose of establishing the Istana Budaya is part of its function as a national theater standard. The architect's goal to organize high-quality production or great performance is his main goal. In this regard, the Istana Budaya pursues five objectives of the State Stage in carrying out its activities, namely;

Picture by everaoh

History

The history of Istana Budaya started in 1964 when a proposal to form the National Culture Center was submitted by then Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Cultural and Social Welfare.

Istana Budaya was mooted during National Cultural Congress in 1971 as a Malaysisn art discourse.

Its establishment was advanced by the establishment of National Cultural Group (KNB) in 1972 under jurisdiction of Ministry of Cultural, Youth and Sport. in 1973, KNB moved f rom Jalan Ampang to National Culture Complex at Jalan Tun Ismail that focuses its activities professionally in traditional dance and music.

Moon kite structure at the front of Istana Budaya

istana budaya

Influences

Malaysian architecture especially vernacular architecture includes many styles f rom different groups and cultures, such as: Muslim, Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and European colonial past. Different Malaysian architecture across Malaysia, the north seems to have an influence on Thai households, while those of those. The South is influenced by Indonesia (especially Java).

Wood is one of the most common and important materials in the history of Malaysian architecture. From village houses to palaces, the use of wood is very important. Besides wood, also Malaysian architecture combines bamboo and leaves.

Istana budaya is a malaysian cultural building. That's not only serve as a place for art performance , cultural centre exhibition but even the building apply the Malay culture aspect. From the stairs til the decoration of the building for example the ornaments is influences f rom the Malay vernacular architecture, with a bit of spice made the building modern in a modern developing country. Istana Budaya is a good example of architecture that meets the standard of one of the unique building that brings up the cultural of malaysian community.

Spaces Relationship

Spaces

A fusion of various aspects of Malay culture has inspired the Istana Budaya's distinctive architectural style.

The building layout of Istana Budaya follows a typical Malay house pattern, divided into three major sections:

- The Lobby and foyer as ‘Serambi’ or veranda area. This space consists of a smaller area of the whole building, The lobby has a lower floor level than rumah ibu. It is connected to 2 halls namely, the stall and the great circle.

- The Auditorium as ‘Rumah Ibu’. This is the core space of the building, it consists of the largest area.

- The Main Stage as ‘Rumah Dapur’ or kitchen area. It is situated in the back of the building. This part consists of the stage and the rehearsal area.

Hierarchy in sections

Serambi- Lobby and foyer area | nexusled

Lobby area ‘Serambi’

BACK SECTION

Circulation & Movement

There are few circulation pattern can be determined in the floor planning of Istana Budaya. The basic circulation consist of the horizontal and vertical movement through space that facilitate the flow f rom entrance to the respective spaces.

Going deeper, the circulation in Istana Budaya are divided into three movement which are f rom the visitors, audience and the staffs. Firstly, the visitors are only allowed to visits the f ront section of the building that consist of lobby, galleries and exterior part.

Secondly, the audience that paying for the fees are allowed to enter the main section of the building which are the Panggung Sari Auditorium and Lambang Sari Auditorium.

Thirdly, the staffs mostly allowed to move f reely in the building including the back section that consist of costume galley, changing rooms, practice hall, artis lounges, meeting rooms, offices, the back entrance and more.

Coconut trees around Istana Budaya | James Williams 2010

Shading Components

It is obvious how the structure provides great shelter away f rom the intense sunlight due to the general layout of the large roofs and wide overhangs above. Coconut tree and plantation are planted surround the building and are used to shade the pedestrian walkways. Furthermore, the vegetation around the structure enhance the cooling effects.

Istana Budaya Technology

SOUNDPROOFING

The chairs in Panggung Sari consists of 1421 seats which is made up of premier high density plywood with painted surface on the backrest and seat. While the cushion is made up of polyurethane high flexibility foam. This polyurethane foam used for the seats exhibits excellent shock absorption, high dynamic load capacity and excellent vibration dampening.

Picture by lisze

The flooring of Panggung Sari is made up of woollen carpet consisting of 80% wool, 20% nylon. The carpet plays a vital role such that sound reflected f rom ceilings and walls are absorbed, preventing any echo. While the stage is made up of detachable wood. Due to its hardness and strength, it is able to reflect and channel sounds in various directions, thus amplifying performance sounds.

Picture by lisze

Conclusion

Istana Budaya is a national theatre which located at northeast of Malaysia. It was built in the year of 1995 and completed in September 1997. In terms of form and shape, the distinctive architectural style of Istana Budaya is inspired by a fusion of diverse aspects of Malay culture.

Furthermore, it is a remarkable postmodern landmark that represents a fusion of vernacular revivalism and modernist expressionism architecture styles. It has adopted traditional Malay vernacular architecture, which symbolises our national identity, yet has been modernised and progressed to become a good postmodernist building in the architecture scene. Aside f rom that, the use of industrial materials such as glass is also one of the characteristic of being a building modernism.

Istana Budaya has raised the standards of performing arts in Malaysia. It not only developed artistic excellence in theatre for our country but it has also popularise state-of-the-art, high quality theatre productions. This results in our country developing a supreme sense of artistic appreciation. Istana Budaya provides a home for Malaysia's performers to shine such as the National Symphony Orchestra and choir.