I am left somewhat without words when I behold the awesome scale of the proposed project Penang Global City Center, designed by Asymptote Architecture. I mean this stuff is what all us Star Trek + Wars fans have been waiting for- dreaming of. Just imagine riding in the fast rail. You’ve set off for the day and as you shoot high above the ground, over the approaching plane, the impressive edifice looms closer and closer, filling more and more of your view until suddenly- you shoot past the walls into another world.
The complex is comprised of 2.5 towers and a massive plinth which contain high-end residential, luxury hotels, the Penang Performing Arts Center (PenPAC), a high-end retail and entertainment complex, an observatory, a world-class convention center and the extensive public space created atop the plinth. The towers twist in opposing directions up from the pedestal and are predominantly glazed in the form of facets which seem to be membranes stretched from a sort of organic framework.