Latex glove manufacturer Supermax has commissioned new headquarters in Malaysia designed by London architecture studio Szczepaniak Astridge as demand for their product surges due to coronavirus.
As makers of personal protective equipment (PPE), Supermax has seen a huge rise in orders for its products during the pandemic.
In March 2020 the Malaysian latex glove makers had 88.5 million gloves ? Supermax's entire stock ? bought by the British National Health Service (NHS). Supermax's share price has risen by 500 per cent this year and made its owner a billionaire.

Two factories are being built to keep up with this increased demand, along with the new headquarters in the town of Klang designed by Szczepaniak Astridge.
The headquarters will abut these new factories, surrounded to the west by fields of oil palms, the leaves and husks of which are used to power the factories' machines. Szczepaniak Astridge impressed the competition jury with their vision for greenery-filled offices behind a facade that will pay homage to the natural origins of the latex gloves.
The office's gridded facade will feature slim vertical elements that echo the slim trunks of the rubber trees that are tapped for latex, creating an intricate pattern of markings echoed in the office's design.

"We designed the facade carefully to mitigate from direct solar gain and glare whilst allowing air movement through to provide a thermally comfortable external amenity space in this humid climate," said S...