Paramit: Elevating Design through Structure

Paramit is a multi-award-winning 12,163sqm manufacturing plant and office that pushes the envelope of energy efficiency and biophilic design in Penang. Commissioned by a California-based medical and life sciences electronics company, Malaysian firm Design Unit Architects conceived the project’s 5-acre site as a forest that surrounds and grows over the factory thus maximising occupant contact with nature. All office levels have direct access to roof gardens and natural daylight, complemented by a lush central courtyard that acts as a focal point of informal activities and break out between the office and manufacturing blocks.

Ramboll’s specialist input on civil and structural engineering on the project included resolving the office’s trademark feature: a skewed box with an 11-metre cantilever from the nearest column. The gravity-defying boardroom presented a significant structural challenge both in terms of self-support as well as maintaining the object’s inherent slenderness. By employing precision modelling and detailing, a highly refined reinforced concrete box was realised that delivered the architectural intent without sacrificing performance or cost.

Together with the architects and environmental consultant, Ramboll’s contribution to the factory’s nature-based design has helped elevate the project to both local and regional success as a green industrial icon. It has since 2017 won several awards, most notably the 2020 Commercial Award of the World Green Building Council Leadership in Sustainable Design and Performance Asia-Pacific.