Founded in 1951, the Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. Around 246,000 people take part in these German courses per year.
The Goethe-Institut fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German culture, society and politics. This includes the exchange of films, music, theatre, and literature. Goethe cultural societies, reading rooms, and examination and language centres have played a role in the cultural and educational policies of Germany for more than 60 years.
In search of new location for Goethe-Institut Center located Kuala Lumpur, the new financial district of Tun Razak Exchange was chosen as its new home. The center will be located on the 10th floor of the Menara IQ building, a 150.4m (493ft) tall skyscraper.
We were faced with several challenges. First and foremost, the new space was to be developed adhering to strict identity branding requirement. Because, the Goethe-Insitut is publicly funded initiative, all aspects of the Malaysian building codes as well as the German building code had to be met.
The final design resulted in a harmonic mix of open, bright and interactive spaces and classrooms for future students.