This post is a photo essay of the beauty that I found in Kuala Lumpur through its myriad construction projects, architectural experiments and abandoned projects.
Abandonment
The large abandoned construction site you'll see below is called Plaza Rakyat. This was supposed to be such a big deal for KL. They tore down some historic colonial structures for the project and build the site it's own light rail (LRT) station. Plaza Rakyat is The People's Plaza. It has been abandoned for more than 10 years. It's dead smack in the middle of the city. It's more than an eye sore. It's a symbol. The city purchased the property from the bankrupt developers but they still cannot seem to get the project off the ground. I could stare at it forever.
Construction
The buildings you see under construction have a lot in common. They have a concrete parking garage base and a mixed use tower on top. Usually, it is a mix of apartments and hotel rooms. There will always been some shopping element. There are cranes all over the city. These are active construction sites. Dusty, tried, Tamil-speaking Bangladeshi workers are strewn about outside of the construction sites taking naps on the sidewalks. I did not take pictures of them.
Experiments
KLIA is Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It's modern, new and impressive. In the middle of the terminal is a "rain forest".
There's another large black building that looks like a monolithic rectangular block that landed from another planet. That's actually an apartment building. Humans live in there. It looks horrifying. It's quite far from the city center, in the suburb of Ampang. I saw it when I was getting one of my delicious roast pork and rice dishes one afternoon.
Finally, you'll see some amazing art work being painted on the walls and streets. This is in the Arab Quarter. Some artists have been commissioned to take some alleyways and make them beautiful. I did capture the shot of the artists painting. I got a nice smile from one of them.
