Mike Lim: Kuala Lumpur Mall Design Offers Ideas for Singapore
Interior designer Mike Lim says shopping malls need to offer more than retail as Singapore’s market faces criticism for sameness. His latest project, Ombak KLCC in Kuala Lumpur, drew social media attention for its six-storey atrium, while Lim argues that flexible spaces and social experiences can help malls attract repeat visitors.
Interior designer Mike Lim says shopping malls in Singapore need to become social destinations as well as retail spaces, pointing to a Kuala Lumpur project that drew attention for its design. The debate matters to shoppers and retailers as Singapore’s retail scene faces criticism over increasingly similar malls.
“Our retail scene today is operating in a sea of sameness and increasing homogeneity,” Lim said. “Such spaces are not just for shopping – they have to include a social element, among other things. Designers and developers need to be conscious of this.”
His latest mall project, Ombak KLCC, is a six-storey retail podium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It attracted attention on social media after opening in August.
The building’s atrium has a curved form and a skylight, with floors that recede as the structure rises. Its design takes inspiration from the terraces of tea plantations in Cameron Highlands.
Lim has spent 25 years working on interiors for malls, offices and civic and community institutions. He has worked under DP Architects since 2007 and took the lead of its interior division, DP Design, in 2012.
His projects include The Dubai Mall and The Exchange TRX, as well as renovations at Wisma Atria, Heeren, 111 Somerset and Paragon in Singapore.
Lim said he had identified the effect of e-commerce on mall development as early as 2016. He argued that both individual shops and malls needed a distinct creative identity to encourage repeat visits, including in competition with digital retail.
“I predicted that both individual shop units and malls would have to establish a strong, differentiated creative identity in a competitive retail landscape, which includes the digital space, in order to retain footfall through repeated visits,” Lim said.
He said retailers could combine physical and digital experiences and use storytelling built around craftsmanship, history and art exhibitions. Collaborations with like-minded labels could also help make a store stand out.
Lim also proposed giving young talent the chance to take over a physical boutique, saying that doing so could distinguish a store beyond its products.
He said mall layouts should be flexible enough to host social events, pop-up retail, multimedia experiences and performances. He also described social commerce as one way retailers could appeal to targeted groups.
