October 22, 2014

Memo From Singapore: New Builds

On one hand, the mentality of maximizing the potential of Singapore’s limited available space has created a very densely built environment where iconic landmarks visually compete against each other at almost every turn. On the other, this mentality has also transformed Singapore into an architectural hotbed of ideas generated by local and international architecture and design firms—and iconic manufacturers like Moroso, who recently opened a 22,000-square-foot showroom at XTRA Park Mall.

The unique design climate of Singapore has enabled many imaginative projects like The Sandcrawler by Andrew Bromberg of Aedas. The regional headquarters for Lucasfilm Singapore, The Walt Disney Company and ESPN Asia Pacific is a tasteful tribute to the Star Wars franchise packed with references to the iconic movies. Meanwhile, local firm DP Architects, collaborating closely with Arup and AECOM, has completed the Singapore Sports Hub, a sports, leisure and lifestyle destination that features the new National Stadium with the largest dome enclosure in the world.

Alongside the mega projects, Singapore’s top-down initiatives for sustainable development have fuelled green building design and construction across commercial and residential sectors. Projects like WOHA’s ParkRoyal on Pickering—Interior Design‘s 2013 Best of Year Award winner for Hotel Common Space—showcasing vertically sprawling green walls and gardens, and RSP Architects’ CapitaGreen Tower, featuring a naturally cooling system and greenery on every floor, are prime examples of some of the latest sustainable developments in the country.

On a residential scale, buildings like The Interlace by OMA and RSP Architects have been garnering much attention due to the architects’ innovative reimagining of urban living, integrating roof gardens, green terraces and communal spaces into thirty-one apartment blocks. The recently completed Goodwood Residence by WOHA provides inspiring courtyards and whimsical treehouse-like chalets as gathering spaces for the inhabitants.

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