In the heart of Kuala Lumpur stands one of country's 'oldest-modern' buildings, the Dayabumi Complex. It is one of the city's key landmarks and proudly stands in testament to this religion of 10 million locals. It was an early example of the 'modern Islamic' style, which today can be found across Malaysia.it was built between 1982 and 1984, and when finished was the most expensive building in the country. This was controversial since Sr that time Malaysia was considered a developing economy.
Whilst a modern design and construction is present (as it must be for a building that big) it also blends in centuries-old Islamic design, motifs and arabesques.
35-storey Dayabumi’s gleaming white exterior is criss-crossed with a latticed grillwork of Moorish Islamic origin, and, as a whole, the architectural style is mixed Moorish and Byzantine artistic traditions, but with an undeniably Malay character.
Dayabumi may be, comparitively, the new kid “on the block” but its ornate exterior helps it fit in well with neighbouring buildings, for example the nearby Sultan Abdul Samad Building and the old railway station.
Inside Dayabumi today there’s an office towers block, a shopping arcade and the Kuala Lumpur General Post Office. It was previously the headquarters for Petronas before the Twin Towers were built. As of August 2018 it is no longer counted amongst the 30 tallest buildings on KL. It did so at the time of its construction. And best of al, it now contains its very own geocache.