Plaza Equatorial is a 53-storey mixed-use development located in Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle. GDP was appointed to redesign the original 18-storey hotel on Jalan Sultan Ismail, with a redeveloped plot ratio of 60% office use and 40% hotel use. The building consists of two sections: a podium that houses the hotel’s facilities, and a tower divided into 23 floors of open-plan offices and 21 floors of hotel rooms.

The redesign draws inspiration from the 1973 original, which featured a jewel-like motif embossed in its concrete cladding. This motif is reinterpreted in the glass and metal facade, creating a distinct pattern that honours the connection between the Equatorial’s past and present.

To bridge the visual flow between the tower and the podium, the podium is conceived as a jewel set into the tower. The tower’s footprint guided the spatial planning within the podium, shaping the layout of the hotel’s functional spaces. The tower is articulated to give the impression of the hotel and office sections as distinct entities, while still maintaining their connection. Externally, the facade’s pattern offers a blurred reading of the horizontal stacking of programmes, with solid panels designed from the inside out according to the functional layout of the hotel rooms.