Eco Sky

EcoWorld Development Group Bhd’s RM1 billion Eco Sky integrated development, situated on 9.6 acres in Taman Wahyu, Kuala Lumpur, comprises serviced apartments, 140 shop offices and a commercial pod, along with a 2.7-acre park.

BETWEEEN CLOUDS AND LAKES
As its name suggests, Eco Sky’s architecture ties the clouds in the sky with the nearby lake on earth, with each of the towers capped with greenery. The development is designed for Green Building Index (GBI), GreenMark and LEEDS certification levels. The three residential towers—with a total of 975 serviced apartments units—are predominantly located to the west of the site, directly accessible from the quieter surrounding residential neighbourhood, while the retail/commercial areas are oriented to the east to maximise exposure to Jalan Kuching.

There is also a 2.7-acre Green reserve area that has been turned into a park, called Laman @ Eco Sky, which opened in August 2015. This is a corporate social responsibility initiative by EcoWorld and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall. The park is designed for active and passive recreational activities and can be enjoyed by surrounding communities.

EcoWorld has committed RM1.3 million to upgrade the park’s garden walkway, parcourse stations, garden benches, lightings and signages, and will be maintaining the park for the next three years, with an option of extending it for another two.

COMMERCIAL PRECINCT
An iconic masterpiece at the main entrance of Eco Sky, the Sky Pod is a four-storey centrepiece, offering unique and exciting retail experiences. The expansive commercial pod, with a total area of 14,241 square feet, offers larger built-up areas for house specialty and destination retail outlets. The Sky Pod is connected to the rest of the Eco Sky commercial precinct, comprising four blocks of retail and office lots. The Sky Pod opens to a central landscaped open plaza and deck, known as The Deck, where visitors can enjoy al fresco dining and events while surrounded by water features and lush greenery. The commercial zone is designed to facilitate pedestrian traffic, with well-planned wayfinding and navigation cues. Sheltered walkways and pedestrian connections are created to the surrounding neighbourhood and amenities. There is a RM450,000 covered link bridge connecting Eco Sky’s commercial precinct to the Taman Wahyu train station 400 metres away.

Designed for convenience and accessibility, the drop-off area is placed directly in front of the Sky Pod, with direct access from internal roads as well as Jalan Ipoh. Eco Sky has 432 car parking bays located in the basement and lower ground.

CHALLENGES
As the development is located within a very tight urban site and surrounded by residential neighbourhoods, care had to be taken to ensure safety and minimise physical disturbances during the construction period. Existing hawkers and squatters on the land had to be relocated by building a replacement site.

Due to the gently sloping terrain, the public walkways were designed as part of the landscape, with sheltered public areas along the circulation routes connecting to the surrounding shop lots. The vehicular road access on the southern section of the site was redesigned to accommodate an existing raintree.