Bennington Residences

Bennington Residences is part of SkyWorld Development Group’s 28-acre SkyArena master development in Setapak.

Set on a 2.7-acre plot, Bennington Residences features two 40-storey towers, with a seven-storey carpark podium and 580 flexible small office/home office units that integrate living spaces with workspaces. Eight storeys of low-rise apartments are contained within the podium parking levels, with a midlevel recreation deck tucked between the two blocks.

WIND AND LIGHT
The impressive entrance driveway to the lobby level, with its high ceiling, sculptures, ornamental pond and friendly children play areas, is designed with natural ventilation and spaciousness in mind, with the morning sun penetrating the lobby enclave.

Each tower block is positioned to take advantage of the site’s north-south orientation. The units are arranged along a 2.4-metre-wide double loaded corridor to ensure circulation efficiency, complete with internal voids within the corridor to heighten the cross natural ventilation within the apartment levels.

Both blocks feature full-height glazing with shaded external balconies, steel handrails and balustrades, allowing maximal daylight entry and views for each unit. Spaces containing wet amenities are contained to a smaller area with less-imposing volume within the interior of each unit, while provisions for air-conditioner ledges and integrated pipes are designed for minimal hacking. The units come with dedicated air-conditioning compartments for convenient installation and maintenance and to reduce the noise and heat from the compressors.

FACILITIES
Facilities and landscaping will be a prominent feature at Bennington Residences, with RM4.5 million set aside for this purpose. The lobby will have a rainforest theme, featuring an air-well created from the spiral ramp leading to the car park. On this level, there will also be a child care centre, a sundry shop or laundry and function rooms.

Level 8 is called the environmental deck (or e-deck). Spanning 30,000 square feet, it will boast the first-of-its-kind infinity loop swimming pool, built atop the spiral ramp. There will be outdoor exercise equipment, function rooms, a yoga deck, children’s pool and play area.

At the rooftop, there will be a 1-kilometre jogging track traversing the two towers, an open-air theatre space and areas for residents to interact, relax or enjoy the view. There is also the Triplex Sky Gymnasium, with 5,993 square feet of space spread over three levels.

GREEN EFFORTS
The building will be Green Building Index-compliant, with LED lights, inverter lifts, rainwater harvesting systems and an automated waste management system, where garbage is sucked to a central facility to be collected and trucked away—this speeds up the overall waste collection process, while reducing labour requirements, containing odours, improving security, and preventing fire hazards and vermin.

CHALLENGES
The original land has very soft ground. Due to this, the developer had to spend RM3 million and six months to improve the soil using prefabricated vertical drains to ensure the soil is consolidated before piling works can commence.

As certain parts of Setapak used to be a quiet suburb, the SkyArena development will bring more traffic flow and congestion to the existing roads. Hence, the developer will be contributing RM30 million towards the cost of upgrading and improving the road network system, which includes expanding the two-lane Jalan Ayer Jerneh to a four-lane carriageway, and a new 1-kilometre single-lane flyover connecting from Jalan Genting Kelang, to ease traffic flow and reduce bottlenecks.

PROJECT DATA
Project Name: Bennington Residences
Location: Setapak, Kuala Lumpur
Expected Completion: May 2019
Site Area: 10,886 square metres
Gross Floor Area: 68,465.6 square metres
Building Height: 29 storeys
Number of Units: 580
Owner/Developer: Bennington Development Sdn Bhd (subsidiary of SkyWorld Development Group)
Architecture Firm: GRA Architects Sdn Bhd
Principal Architect: Ar Boon Che Wee
Interior Design Firm: Profound Axis Sdn Bhd
Principal Designer: T. J. Ng
Civil & Structural Engineer: One Smart Engineering Sdn Bhd
Mechanical & Electrical Engineer: Perunding AC & Rakan Sdn Bhd
Quantity Surveyor: JUBM Sdn Bhd
Landscape Architect: Studio 33 Designs Sdn Bhd
Green Building Consultant: Greenscapes Sdn Bhd
Main Contractor: SIAB (M) Sdn Bhd
Images: SkyWorld Development Sdn Bhd