Last week a few of us were invited to little gathering at KEN BANGSAR, a classy condominium situated atop Bukit Bandaraya at Bangsar. Other than being promised that dinner would be taken care of, most of us didn’t have any idea what this was really about.

As it turns out, we were introduced to something that is relatively new in Malaysia when it comes to buildings – being green.

KEN Bangsar
KEN BANGSAR sits right atop Bukit Bandaraya

From the outside, KEN BANGSAR looks just like any other modern, beautifully designed condominium in KL. The 15-storey building is mostly made of concrete and glass, with a tastefully crafted swimming pool and some trees surrounding the building.

After the helpful security personnel guided us to the visitor’s parking, we gathered at the lobby and greeted by the very friendly Mr. Tan, executive director from KEN.

the gym and public bathroom at KEN Bangsar
the gym and public bathroom at KEN BANGSAR

We were then taken a tour of the building with Tan explaining many of the minute details and plannings that went into making KEN BANGSAR a green building.

The location of KEN BANGSAR provided a natural advantage when it comes to ventilation. The building is then designed to take advantage of this by using windows louvre and sliding windows (instead of tilt and turn windows). Combining this with special glasses that reduce thermal heat from the sun, the temperature is lowered several degree Celsius, and thus minimizes air conditioning usage.

fancy this unit? you can buy it

fancy this unit? you can buy it

The same windows and building design also ensures that almost every part of the condominium is lit by sunlight, thus reducing the need of artificial lights during the day.

And speaking of air conditioning, every unit has a centralized compressor with cooling pipes going to different rooms that is individually controlled. This too is done to minimize electricity usage.

we visited the penthouse, now I can get used to living like this
we visited the penthouse, now I can get used to living like this

During the construction, raw materials such as loose ends of marble slabs and wooden linings were kept and then used at lobby and common areas. This resulted in less wastage and as a bonus, a unique non-repeating pattern of some walls, pretty neat.

The result of having all these well thought green design is that the common area (including a swimming pool, air conditioned gym) of the entire KEN BANGSAR utilizes less than RM 2,000 electricity every month, according to Tan.

That was impressive.

Green Awards won by KEN

As a result of their green development initiatives, KEN has won numerous awards.

KEN BANGSAR
2009 BCA Greenmark Goldplus Award
2010 GBI Gold Award, Edge-Pam Green Excellence Award
2011 Futurarc Green Leadership Citation Award, PAM Silver Award For Excellence In Architecture, Fiabci-Malaysia Property Award: Sustainable Development

KEN RIMBA Legian
2010 BCA Greenmark Gold Award: Provisional, GBI Certified Award

KEN RIMBA Commercial Centre
2010 BCA Greenmark Certified Award: Provisional

KEN Holdings Berhad
2010 New Straits Times Sc Cheah Choice Awards: Best Green Developer
2011 Carbon Neutral Status

KEN Rimba at Shah Alam section 16
KEN RIMBA at Shah Alam section 16

For those who are interested in landed properties, KEN RIMBA is a development by KEN at Shah Alam section 16 (near UiTM & iCity) that incorporate many of the same green technologies into the design. Houses are mostly North-South facing to maximize sunlight penetration, there’s rain water harvesting built in, and even an indoor garden for every unit. Do check that out.

KEN RIMBA’s Legian homes will be handed over to buyers in the next month, while the new phase – Jimbaran, is now open for registration and will be launched soon.

Stop by their website at kenholdings.com.my and facebook page for more. You can also keep up with their ramblings on twitter by following SamCS10

My Introduction to Green Properties by KEN Holdings
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19 thoughts on “My Introduction to Green Properties by KEN Holdings

  • June 15, 2012 at 5:25 pm
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    I was looking at this – the units sold out pretty fast.

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    • June 17, 2012 at 7:26 pm
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      Mellissa: would have been a wise choice

      Reply
  • June 15, 2012 at 5:27 pm
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    hell i look like a gigantor and i wants a penthouse

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    • June 17, 2012 at 7:26 pm
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      kimberlycun: that was supposed to show your hair flowingggg

      Reply
  • June 15, 2012 at 7:11 pm
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    Nice one. May i know how much per sq ft and how many different type available for the Ken Bangsar? Can’t find those info in their official web site.

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    • June 17, 2012 at 7:27 pm
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      George: sub sale on propwall indicates close to 1000 psf :S

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    • June 17, 2012 at 7:27 pm
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      misslyblurkit: i know mine cannot yet. haha

      Reply
  • June 15, 2012 at 10:35 pm
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    KY, how much is a standard unit?

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    • June 17, 2012 at 7:27 pm
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      Kash: try sub sale lor, close to 1000 psf at the moment, they have varying sizes, but not many units left

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      • June 17, 2012 at 10:37 pm
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        Hahaha,Bangsar area for sure expensive! Wonder who is buying all these expensive properties, hope the bubble won’t burst like whats happening in Europe.

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        • June 18, 2012 at 3:01 pm
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          Kash: I hope the bubble burst :X

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          • June 18, 2012 at 3:49 pm
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            Hmmm, I hope so too but that will cause other problems as well.

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            • June 18, 2012 at 4:44 pm
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              Kash: ya, sometimes that is necessary

              Reply
  • June 16, 2012 at 9:57 am
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    This is a fresh way to do marketing for property, via bloggers! hehehe! I hope you get commission out of this 😀 jokes!!

    I went to visit Ken Bangsar once during a green tour organized by a developers association. the penthouse is really grand, especially love the swimming pool area!

    Reply
    • June 17, 2012 at 7:28 pm
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      Augustdiners: ya, better exposure. The penthouse is surely somewhere I wouldn’t mine staying at all. 😀

      Reply
  • June 16, 2012 at 10:36 pm
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    ok when you buy this, invitre me.

    Reply
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