2011 Winners

Hanging Garden in CBD – A Fusion of “Archi-Nature” at 158 Cecil Street Singapore

An existing 14-storey addition and alteration (“A&A”) project within the CBD, the task was to provide an attractive façade and create a lively and inviting Atrium space overlooked by most office floors.

The Architect transformed the space into a “hanging garden” by seamlessly integrating all surfaces, camouflaging existing structural elements and designed a unique “Layered- Façade” system for natural ventilation and smoke to disperse. Resulting in a seamless integration of architecture, façade design with a “hanging garden” that is highly transparent and visible at night. Extending spatial connectivity, “Green-Columns” are strategically placed to “visually penetrate” the glass floors to link the 7-storey “hanging garden” to road and pavement levels below.

A total of 350m2 (13,000 potted plants) in the “Green-Walls/Columns” was achieved which is 135% of the Atrium floor plate area with another 70 m2 hanging plants in horizontal planter beds. Ease of access for maintenance is incorporated into the design to all plants and the Layered Glass Façade.

The Helios Residences

The Helios residential project is located in one of Singapore's most densely developed residential areas, a precinct including towers and compactly positioned terrace houses, all within close walking distance of the linear retail and entertainment heart of the city, Orchard Road.

The roughly "Y" - shaped site has a 12 metre topographical variation with the primary vehicular access at the uppermost point at Cairnhill Circle. Three closely interlinked towers "zig-zag" into the "Y"-shape, and the first occupied floor is one level above Cairnhill Circle, leaving the site to step down with terraces, gardens, and courts, with car parking structures below these various amenities. At the inner vehicular entrance court various architectural elements cantilever over the space to create a place of intense visual interest.

myVillage

myVillage was conceptualized with the 'garden' as a homecoming gesture in mind for this modest shopping centre. Envisaged to be a gardenesque shopping paradise, myVillage will be a shopping mall that is going to bring a breath of fresh air to our urban jungle. Intention is to be everybody's courtyard where they can feel right at home.
 

The main architectural strategy in the mall is to include natural elements to evoke a feeling of warmth -- synonymous to one being totally comfortable at home. Here, landscape features and greenery played a major role in its creative process during the design stages. myVillage has a modern glass exterior, water cascade, auto-irrigated landscaped roof terrace (called myGarden) and a sunken garden. These will enable it to fit right into Serangoon Garden's laid-back vibe.

6 Battery Road - Vertical Garden

Six Battery Road is a landmark office building located in Singapore’s historically prominent banking and commercial hub, Raffles Place. One of the highlights is the iconic vertical garden with living plants at the main lobby. Named the ‘Rainforest Rhapsody’ is about 2,000 square feet is populated by a rich array of about 123 plant species, sourced locally and other parts of Asia. In the Rainforest Rhapsody, a combination of foliage and ornamental flowering plants form up into naturalistic contours. It mimics epiphytic plants growth pattern on tree branches in rainforests and saxicolous plants with their exceptional ability to grow on rocks.

Mapletree Business City

Mapletree Business Centre (MBC) is located just a stone’s throw from the HortPark, Telok Blangah Hill Park, Labrador Park and Keppel Golf Club which ignited a perfect opportunity to adopt a park-like concept for its design. Working towards that, a landscaped deck which spans the whole site further supported by elegant water features and landscaped open spaces were created. This allows for a symbiotic connection between the office tower and the business park with a lush green ambience. The green ambience further enables the development to respectfully blend itself with the surrounding and at the same time, serve as an extension of the national parks network.

The beautifully landscaped deck not only covers the carpark but it also spans the entire site facilitating a natural link to all the buildings. Spatial connectivity and relationship is established between various facilities throughout MBC as illustrated by the gym which boasts of a commanding view over the landscape deck, creating a social dynamism between companies and occupants of the development as well as allowing them to enjoy the greenery. A section of the landscape deck located near the amenities facility is carved into an eco-pond which provides a cool, calm and relaxed environment to facilitate a natural buffer from urban stressors brought about by expected crowds during peak times. MBC also plays its part in helping Singapore to conserve scarce water resources by implementing an extensive water recycling program. Rain water is collected from the roof tops, the vast green landscape and around the facility and the harvested rain water is then used for irrigation purpose.

Treelodge@Punggol

Faced with the challenge of how building development always take away greenery, we look towards the tropical eco-systems for clues. We were inspired by the symbiotic relationship of the tree truck with surrounding green and fungi. Tropical green is lifted from the ground, concealing carparks and services, to the high-rise residential blocks, creating layers of shaded micro-climate for outdoor communal spaces as well as allowing the residents to enjoy their own slice of green from their individual homes.

Universal Studios Singapore (Resorts World Sentosa)

The USS ride buildings are industrial "sheds", with extensive, slightly pitched roofs. The metal roofs have little loading capacity for the dead weight of soil, or live loads for worker access. These large roofs would contribute to the "heat island", making the surroundings hotter, if left as metal or concrete. Obvious from Hotels, Cable Car and Sky Tower, the roof would present an unsightly scene if left undone. So they have been covered with carpets of "green roof" soil and plants to reduce temperature and glare, improve views and insulate interiors.

The idea is to create naturalised "meadows" set out in random and "natural" swathes to create an informal pattern of robust, self regeneration plants that could be allowed to develop as their own eco-system and become almost self-sustaining.