Begin with what is already there
A new chapter for PETRONAS Energy Gallery began with the materials already on site. Elements from the previous installation were dismantled, assessed and reimagined for the renewed exhibition. Retaining their usefulness became part of the design process: each recovered component was considered for its next role in the visitor journey.
Made possible through collaboration
DMZ collaborated with Precious Plastic Malaysia on the gallery’s recycled plastic material story. Based in Senawang, Negeri Sembilan, the initiative brings together plastic recycling, product making and public education, transforming discarded plastic into useful objects and sheets. The collaboration brought this practical knowledge into an exhibition environment, where the material itself could help tell a story of transformation.
Shredded plastic fragments reveal the colours and textures available for a new material. Image supplied with the Precious Plastic Malaysia collaboration materials.
From discarded caps to a new surface
HDPE caps from gas cylinders were transformed into recycled panels and furniture for the gallery’s theatre. The material studies trace the change from recognisable caps to shredded fragments, colour selections and formed panels. Flecks of colour remain visible across the pale surfaces, giving the recycled plastic its distinctive character. Shaped panel pieces and a rounded furniture detail show how that material language carries through into fabrication.
Gas-cylinder caps and their shredded fragments sit beside the recycled panel, making the material’s transformation visible.
Colour-separated fragments provide a palette for developing the speckled finishes.
Cut panel pieces carry the flecked pattern through the material and into the fabrication process.
A rounded recycled plastic surface meets a curved timber-faced base, bringing the material study to furniture scale.
A ceiling that shapes light and sound
Above the gallery, recycled PET acoustic panels made using recovered drink-bottle plastic form a flowing, wave-shaped ceiling. The layered arrangement works with the lighting to create a soft, diffused glow, revealing the rhythm of the curves. The sound-absorbing panels help control reverberation and improve acoustic comfort within the exhibition. Light, sound and recycled material come together in one architectural feature, supporting the project’s sustainability effort through an everyday part of the visitor experience.
Layered acoustic panels form the gallery’s undulating ceiling. Soft light falls across the curved profiles, while the recycled PET material supports sound absorption.
Several histories, one exhibition
Reuse continues throughout the gallery. Existing stainless-steel guide rails became showcase bases, and rubber floor tiles were cleaned for reuse in the oil-platform zone. Reclaimed timber contributes to village-inspired structures, while repurposed sports flooring appears in the turtle sanctuary setting. Recycled plastic panels, OSB and reclaimed metal form the fishing-boat platform, connecting the exhibition’s settings with materials given a further use.
A second life visitors can experience
Sustainability becomes tangible when it shapes how a place looks, feels and works. At PETRONAS Energy Gallery, it is present in the colour of a recycled surface, the renewed purpose of an existing component and the light and acoustic comfort beneath a sculpted ceiling. Together, these decisions make material reuse part of the gallery’s story.
Project descriptions and images supplied by DMZ. Collaborator background is drawn from Precious Plastic Malaysia’s published profile and workshop programme.
