Secular Buildings in Contemporary Asia

A set of twin skyscrapers with Islamic motifs sits in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A monumental lotus flower lies in a pond in Wujin, China. In the bustling city of Taipei, Taiwan, a steel and glass "pagoda" stands tall. These buildings are not inherently religious in nature. They act as public parks and commercial spaces. While not prayer rooms or areas for worship, they are areas for people to gather.

Previous sections looked at the intervention of modern architectural techniques in religious spaces with untraditional mosques and temples of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. They gave a baseline understanding of the place of religion throughout Asia, both historically and in the present. This section focuses on the opposite. The intervention of religious motifs and architectural features into the secular environment. The next section showcases the architectural precedence set by cultural histories in modern/contemporary architecture.