8 - Petronas University, Malaysia

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Seri Iskandar, new town of district capital of Perakh Tengah in Perak, one of Malaysia's 13 states and borders Thailand. Known as the silver state for its tin resources, was once a highly-regarded colony of the British Empire in the 1890s. The Petronas University of Technology opened its doors here, in 1997 after PETRONAS (Petroleum Nasional Berhad), the Malaysian Oil and Gas Company, was invited to set up a university of calibre. The dramatic five-pointed star-shaped arcades of the university dominate the 990 acre site and connect the different buildings, providing shade under the hot Malaysian sun. Dubbed the "UFO building" by the university students, the structure is an impressive large-scale fusion of shapes and materials. Each point has its own particularity: for example the first point is elliptical in shape made from glass whereas the second is square and blue in colour. The building, although large still respects the topography of the forested site. A small brook winds itself around the various wings of the university giving a relaxed and light atmosphere, despite the large imposing structure and daunting crowd movements. The new academy complex won Foster+Partners the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007 for its "meticulous detail, rigour and persistence" as well as its "instructive aesthetically satisfying architecture and novel technology". Co-architects: GDP Architects

Text: Rooksana Hossenally. Photo: Nigel Young for Foster+Partners

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