CIMB Headquarters

Commerce Asset Holding Berhad (presently known as CIMB Group), newly proposed CIMB head-quarters is located along Jalan Raja Laut within the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s city centre. The new landmark office tower, Menara Bumiputra-Commerce (MBC) stands tall at 37-storey measuring approximately 180m high with a build-up area of approximately over 101,490 m². The office tower design concept was inspired by a unique tropical plant, Heliconia Caribaea.

Technical Description

The 37-storey office tower was designed using a steel composite system to expedite the construction program while to overcome the challenges faced by the contractor with the construction site constraint within a bustling metropolis. Structural steel I-Beam along with “Bondek” slab systems were adopted as the floor system and supported by tower columns that were constructed using structural steel built-up section encased with concrete.

The site is underlain by Kuala Lumpur karstic limestone along with Kenny Hill formation. A slight challenge came about in the design and construction phase of the bored pile foundation and perimeter basement wall system for the tower due to the presence of large cavity and uncertainty at the interface between Kenny Hill formation and Kuala Lumpur karstic limestone. Large numbers of soil investigation using boreholes were carried out throughout the entire site and to locate the interface of the Kenny Hill formation and the Kuala Lumpur karstic limestone. Every single pile point was examined in detail by performing rock probing in order to identify the rock strata, extent of cavities, steeply inclined bedrock, floaters etcetera.

Project Highlights, Achievement and Recognition:

• Challenges in design and construction of deep basement and foundation for high-rise building situated at a site interface between Kuala Lumpur karstic limestone and Kenny Hill formation.
• Top 100 tallest skyscraper in Malaysia according to The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), 2022.