REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub

Mentahmatter Design Sdn Bhd

LEAD ARCHITECTS
Shin Chang And Shin Tseng, Co-founders Of Rexkl

INTERIOR DESIGN
Penny Ng

M&E
Ck Ng

MAIN CONTRACTOR
Pyner Sdn Bhd

PROJECT TEAM
Yik Xin Lai, Wei Hong Tan, Timothy Khoo, Clifford Khoi, Aiman Hanan, Ming Jin Tan, Faris Alias , Siew Ming Lau, Farah Roslan, Farah Ismail

COLLABORATORS (CO FOUNDERS OF REXKL)
Kamil Merican, Ng Sek San, Yau Wai Leong, Yap Fu Fah, Joseph Foo, Khoo Boo Siew

DIGITAL ART, LIGHT AND ACOUSTIC
Eugene Yeo And Sebastian Jurkowski From Contrast Studio Sdn Bhd

AREA
60000 Ft²

YEAR
2019

LOCATION
Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

CATEGORY
Community, Adaptive Reuse

Text description provided by architect.

The original REXKL cinema was a dilapidated building that had much historical significance but was reduced to a slow death by non-usability and repeated historical fires.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

Forgotten & illegally used as a travellers' hostel, the old cinema had much cultural recognition with the local community, with the site being located near Petaling Street, a popular yet seedy part of downtown Kuala Lumpur.

Despite the environment pockets of the local community, families and their long-standing cultural activities sustained throughout the years and the old REXKL cinema with its proximity to the various neighbourhoods had the potential to be a driving force of renewed attraction to the vicinity.

With declining neighbourhood connections and a lack of public gathering spaces in the area, it was evident that safer community 'anchors' were required – spaces to connect & draw interest to the locality and, in turn, transform the area into a better, safer neighbourhood.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

The revival of REXKL as a new community-driven cultural and creative hub provided a turning point to Petaling Street.

The initiative aimed to preserve the legacy of this iconic building, envisioning that the transformation of the 6000 square meter cinema into a versatile community venue would revitalise the existing urban landscape & its immediate surroundings, supporting the local communities and businesses.

Renovation works began pre-pandemic, with the prolonged situation causing construction to be completed in multiple stages; the building's poor state further exacerbated the process, requiring careful curation & restoration.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

There were also setbacks from the local community as many had different perceptions and were sceptical of REXKL's potential to bring renewed interest to the area.

This perception changed as the neighbourhood saw a surge of new visitors from the runoff attendees of REXKL events.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

Emphasizing adaptability, the internal layout was to include both permanent and flexible spaces, and the current iteration includes an event hall for performances & exhibitions, a 1000 m2 bookstore, and areas for workshops, retail, and F&B.

The architectural approach was to adaptively reuse the existing formation of the building, bridging the existing site context with new functions to enable more connections & humanised spaces.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

On an urban scale, the side alleyways leading up to REXKL were improved to be more welcoming & pedestrian-friendly, containing pockets of gathering spaces throughout, leading to better neighbourhood connectivity and, in turn, flourishing the urban network.

Original architectural details, including the original façade and tiled surfaces, were retained, and the cinema layout and staircase were readapted without expanding the building's footprint.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

REXKL offers platforms for innovation & expression of both traditional & contemporary trades.

Acting as incubators, these platforms are testing grounds for new local entrepreneurs, resulting in an alternating landscape of smaller interior schemes that are configured to echo the respective business needs as seen in the lower levels of the Food Hall and Retail spaces.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography

This curated composition extends itself to the upper levels, with the entire 8000 ft2 cinema hall converted into spaces such as RXP, an immersive & interactive exhibition gallery that reimagines traditional cinematic experiences into art viewing & performances with new digital art form.

In addition to this, the VIP tiered seating area of the cinema was transformed into BookXcess, a community centred bookstore – using a singular material a modular system was devised and arranged into an array of patterns to create labyrinth-like spaces, evoking the sense of discovery which is much akin to when one explores the hidden corners & alleyways of a city.

REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography


REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
© David Yeow Photography


REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Ground Floor Plan
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
First Floor Plan
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Mezzanine
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Second Floor Plan
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Second Mezzanine Floor Plan
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Third Floor Plan


REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Isometric
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Isometric


REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Isometric


REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Isometric
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Section
REXKL Arts Space and Community Hub
Diagram