Designed For Longevity

A sterling reputation isn’t made overnight. Business Today talks to a business leader shouldering a family legacy in its 134th year while balancing the need to remain focused, yet innovative and relevant

- Amanda Suriya Ariffin

In a quiet, simple two-storey building set just a little off a two-lane road in an area of the KL metropolis that used to rattle and hum as a rubber- and tin-mining area generations ago, design ideas are born and discarded. Design is manifest in its nooks and crannies.

From the Sandra Knuyt canvas boldly proclaiming its presence in the bright, glass-walled seating area hidden behind a door, to the Hans J Wegner furniture, original 70s artichoke lamps and not least of all, the catch-your-breath neckstraining two-storey high iteration of KL’s iconic twin towers composed entirely of seven thousand pewter cans that commands attention, or perhaps, stands guard.

Design thrums in the DNA of this hybrid office factory complex housing Royal Selangor, its artisans and its stewards, and the marriage of inspiration and hot, molten liquid bent to the will of designers is quite the sensory pleasure.

One floor below, onlookers unfamiliar with the family of noble metals become more acquainted with the carefully-cut fine gems on display. The space denoting high-end jewellery entity Selberan bubbles with conversation and laughter, while the Comyns area sits quietly, soft-lit and dignified.

Set in eleven acres in Setapak, the Royal Selangor Visitor Centre is unassuming from the outside; frangipani trees line the spacious driveways; buses swing round to the entrance and disgorge hordes of tourists, who are greeted by attentive, navy-shirted guides who ask you if you’d prefer an English- or Mandarin-speaking guide.

Once inside, the inner atrium is a welcome respite of cool, and a visual feast.

A ten-foot long alligator (sculpture) points its snout towards possibly the most valuable part of the centre: the museum of original handcrafted items, including the treasured melon tea pot, from the time of the founder of Royal Selangor, Yong Koon.