Hello, boss. You look dapper in your suit,” Serina Hijjas says as she greets her father Hijjas Kasturi, clad in a handsome red Boss jacket for the Tatler cover shoot in Mövenpick Hotel & Convention Centre KLIA, Sepang, a green landmark development on the firm’s portfolio. Her tone carries an equal mix of affection and respect for her 88-year-old father, the “big boss” at their architecture firm, Hijjas Architects + Planners.
Walking through the corridors of the hotel they designed, which opened in 2018, they tell me that it was constructed to facilitate visa and immigration processes for Hajj pilgrims about to embark on their journey to Mecca. Hijjas explains there’s no hotel designed quite like this, with large open spaces to accommodate the large crowds of pilgrims, a modern take on traditional Islamic architecture and energy-efficient features including solar panels, light sensors and recycled building materials.
Observing the father and daughter together, it’s clear
