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Bulgari Flagship Store, Kuala Lumpur

MVRDV

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Designer
MVRDV
Client
Bulgari
Floor area
103.40 ㎡
Completion
2018

The façade of Bulgari’s flagship store in Kuala Lumpur reimagines the luxury brand’s heritage, and experiments with traditional materials. The storefront is the first in a series of MVRDV façade designs for the luxury brand. This concrete and resin facade is permeated by gold light to create a marble-veined façade. MVRDV’s design draws inspiration from the luxury brand’s heritage. The cornice of Via Condotti is a set element used asymmetrically in the façade that will be repeated in different locations over the world—reinventing and reinterpreting Bulgari’s iconic marble façade. In Kuala Lumpur, a façade is achieved which by day is striking but organic, while at night, a more dramatic effect is achieved. This innovative façade developed from research conducted in collaboration with Technical University Delft and Tensoforma. The material created in this collaboration was a new product for the store. Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) was cut according to pattern and filled with resin, then illuminated by amber LED Lights. A stainless steel sheet acts as a base for the resin, with panel joints hidden and integrated into the vein pattern. Both during the day and at night, the Bulgari façade achieves the desired translucent effect, emanating a warm amber glow. The new catalogue for future Bulgari storefront façades can be adopted globally, making them instantly recognisable and unique in any context—an approach combining sophisticated detailing with high-quality materials.