The Sultan Abdul Samad Building

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is a historic and really important building which is located in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. As this prominent landmark is located in front of the Independence Square and the Royal Selangor Club, it has a long history which begins on 3 September 1894 when the official construction began, and it was completed in 1897.Built with the purpose of housing the British administration in Malaya, where it was only used to house several government departments, it was also known as the Government Offices Building. It was later in 1974 when it was renamed into Sultan Abdul Samad Building, after the reigning sultan of Selangor at the time when the construction began.Built on top of vegetable farmland, the design of this impressive work was carried out mainly by the British architect A. C. Norman, in addition to R. A. J. Bidwell and A. B. Hubback. Norman’s original vision was to represent something like a Classic Renaissance style building with pillared front, although the latter ones, incorporated more Moorish features, creating the final, visually stunning Neo-Mughal building that stands today.The front façade stretches 137 meters (450 feet) along Jalan Raja, and with that it is considered to be one of the largest buildings in the country.There is an immense 41 meters (135 feet) high clock tower, which shiny copper dome can be seen from a further distance, nonetheless, there are 2 other shorter circulation towers. These two towers too have an onion-shaped domes with copper coverings, but within them are the stairs that lead to the upper floor.