Archinect - News

Safdie Architects will expand Marina Bay Sands for 2029

2024-04-08T13:02:00-04:00

Safdie Architects has announced plans for a programmatic expansion of their previous Marina Bay Sands design in Singapore.

The scheme calls for the addition of a new luxury hotel tower with a sky roof, a 15,000-seat entertainment venue, and further spaces reserved for work, retail, and dining.

The project is being undertaken to provide a boost to Singapore’s tourism sector, which is considered lagging behind other destinations in the Asia-Pacific region in spite of strong post-pandemic numbers. (The resort has drawn more than 470 million visitors since its opening, according to a press release from its Las Vegas-based management group.)

Rendering of the new entertainment arena. Image courtesy Marina Bay Sands

"The all-suite hotel tower will set new standards of hospitality, the state-of-the-art arena will help attract the highest-caliber global entertainment events and artists, and the additional convention and exhibition space will extend the success of Singapore as a leading MICE d...

Safdie Architects completes integrated Surbana Jurong Campus in Singapore

2024-03-14T17:18:00-04:00

Safdie Architects has just announced the completion of their Surbana Jurong Campus project in Singapore. The 742,000-square-foot design for the Surbana Jurong corporation aims to establish a better work-life balance for employees while connecting to its natural rainforest setting.

The design brief calls for elevating ten pavilions of five and seven stories apiece along a linear arch to allow plantings to grow up from beneath and eventually envelop the offices, creating a "treehouse" effect for its users. Architects say this provides an alternative to "traditional, internally focused buildings." Charu Kokate, a Senior Partner at Safdie Architects, said the design "was guided most essentially by the people whose work and lives intersect there."

Photo by Timothy Hursley, courtesy of Safdie Architects

As such, the project features a selection of workplace wellness considerations meant to stimulate socialization, increase creativity, ...

OMA overhauls 1970s modernist building for Singapore cooking club and campus

2024-03-06T10:47:00-05:00

OMA has completed the AIR CIrcular Campus and Cooking Club in Dempsey Hill, Singapore. The scheme saw the overhaul of an existing modernist building and surrounding green space into what the team calls “a place for novel dining experiences, inviting broader thinking and discussions about food and the environment.”

Image credit: Kris Provoost

Designed in collaboration with entrepreneur Ronald Akili, and chefs Matt Orlando of Amass and Will Goldfarb of Room4Dessert, the scheme includes open kitchens, research space, and a cooking school for visitors.

Image credit: Kris Provoost

“It has been an inspiring journey to join Ronald, Will, and Matt on this platform to address the topic of sustainable hospitality from different perspectives,” said OMA managing partner David Gianotten about the project. “We are convinced that architecture and design can maximize impact through active engagement with different disciplines.”

Image credit: Kris ...

Filmmaker Kevin Siyuan releases final ‘A Wes Anderson-ish Singapore’ update

2023-08-11T18:15:00-04:00

The second and final update to architecturally-inspired filmmaker Kevin Siyuan’s documentation of Singapore has been released, offering his follow-up to a popular 2021 video that compared many of the city’s iconic landmarks to structures and interiors included in the cinema of fellow design lover Wes Anderson.

In the 19-plus minutes of ‘A Wes Anderson-ish Singapore Vol.2’, Siyuan weaves a narrative about the aesthetic qualities latent in the city and related to Anderson’s films. Siyuan said he was particularly inspired by the recently-released ‘Asteroid City’ and ever-popular ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’, adding that it offers an equally concise portrait of the various aspects of land use – a component that has helped Singapore earn a reputation as the greenest city in Asia.

As he tells it: “The year is 2023, as we embrace the new normal, have a breath of the refreshing Singapore Air, and welcome back to our island, the tropical getaway and the City in Nature. Change happens very quickly...

SPARK and Arup create a retrofitted mall and education hub in the heart of Singapore's Selegie Arts District

2023-08-02T15:49:00-04:00

International architectural and design consultancy SPARK, alongside ARUP, has brought an eye-catching, youth-focused mall and education hub to the heart of Singapore’s Selegie Arts District. Situated between the adjacent School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) and several long-standing shopping malls, this vibrant refurbished space serves as a new beacon for the surrounding area.

Entrance. Image: KhooGuoJie

Called GRiD, the project centered on the purpose of increasing asset value through social interaction, increased accessibility, and the celebration of self and community. The building was deliberately designed to stand out, with its neon-clad façade and supersized graphics. GRiD reimagines the corner that it sits after replacing what the architects described as an “unproductive 4-storey void.”

Atrium view. Image: KhooGuoJie

The new structure has a Tetris-like arrangement of stacked retail and dining volumes and terraces. The voided spaces encourage direct connections to the basement le...

Toyo Ito completes work on the largest mass timber building in Asia

2023-05-23T18:00:00-04:00

Toyo Ito has shared photo and video updates at the conclusion of his firm’s monumental academic building project, titled "Gaia," for the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.

The completed mass timber design is now reportedly the largest of its kind in Asia, topping out at six stories and a total of 468,000 square feet. It is the new home of NTU’s Business School and comes equipped with a 190-seat auditorium, 12 large lecture halls, seminar rooms, laboratories, graduate student and faculty offices, and multiple classroom spaces.

Image courtesy NTU Singapore.

Bricks held over from the former NTU Innovation Centre were also repurposed as a decorative wall inside the new structure. The design recently garnered the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore’s Green Mark Platinum (Zero Energy) building award for its impressive sustainable performance metrics, which led to over 2,500 fewer tonnes of carbon dioxide being used per year.

Ima...

Zaha Hadid Architects reveals new Science Centre project in Singapore

2022-12-05T17:34:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has shared project details for its new Science Centre in Singapore.

According to a press announcement released today, the design includes five interconnected rectangular volumes defined by large "monocle" windows that offer views of neighboring Jurong Lake Gardens. Features include a network of discovery trails and an enhanced Children’s Gallery that offers twice as much room as the space provided in its predecessor.

Rendering: Negativ, image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

An "Eco-Lab" and "Eco-Garden" will serve as part of the museum’s educational offerings, while programmable rooftop spaces, an observatory, and a Digital Fabrication Lab all provide students with the opportunity to learn about topics like vertical farming.

Rendering: Negativ, image courtesy Zaha Hadid Architects

ZHA says it hopes to attain a BCA Green Mark Platinum rating for the project with the help of atelier ten and Architects 61...

SOM reveals design for Singapore’s tallest building

2022-11-08T13:16:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has unveiled the design for 8 Shenton Way, set to be the tallest building in Singapore. Designed in collaboration with local firm DCA Architects, the 1,000-foot-tall, 63-story mixed-use tower is described as an “indoor-outdoor vertical community with public spaces, offices, retail, a hotel, and luxury residences.”

Image © SOM and Bezier

The building’s predominately glazed façade is clad with a blend of terracotta and bamboo, while the building form is fragmented by setbacks holding roof terraces and curving bay windows on most floors. Seven terraces are included in the scheme, with one serving a hotel and three serving residential floors.

Image © SOM and Bezier

Inside, the tower’s “live, work, and play” offering includes offices, retail, a hotel, and luxury residential units. At ground level, the project addresses the street through retail units and a public performance and events space, while on the second floor, an open-air green space accommodates r...

Meet the ‘audacious, joyful’ RIOS collective: Your Next Employer?

2022-11-04T13:06:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to Atlanta-based Houser Walker, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week to meet the international design collective RIOS.

Founded by Mark Rios in 1985, the collective has evolved from its architectural and landscape architecture routes to occupy offices across LA, Austin, Boulder, and Portland, as well as international offices in London and Singapore. Among the studio’s ongoing work is a $600 million Hollywood media studio project which we reported on last month.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the collective is currently hiring for several positions in their Los Angeles office. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning more about life at an architecture studio, we spoke with the RIOS team for a behind-the-scenes look at the firm.

Harlow at Sunset Las Palmas Studios by RIOS. Image credit: Hunter Kerhart

How did RIOS get started?

RIOS was founded in Los Angeles in 1985 by Mark Rios. For...

View images of BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati's newly completed biophilic high-rise, CapitaSpring, in Singapore

2022-09-28T08:00:00-04:00

BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati, in collaboration with local firm RSP Architects Planners & Engineers, have announced the completion of their new CapitaSpring skyscraper in Singapore’s Central Business District.

After the project broke ground in February of 2018, the completed biophilic tower stands tall at 51-stories. The high-rise includes interior sky garden spaces, a rooftop park, Citadines serviced residences, multiple restaurants, premium office spaces, and a hawker center (food court center) that nods to Singapore’s iconic food culture. The project was commissioned by local developer CapitaLand in an effort to "set a new benchmark for the office of the future" in advance of the ultragreen city's 2030 Sustainability Master Plan.

Image: Finbarr Fallon

"As someone with Singaporean heritage, I have been honored and humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of architecture in Singapore as a distinct blending between the contemporary and the tropical," shared ...

Moshe Safdie on making the iconic spaces that have defined his career

2022-09-27T09:00:00-04:00

On the heels of Safdie’s massive donation to his alma mater McGill University, the 84-year-old architect sat down with CNN in Singapore to dissect his career and discuss his new memoir If Walls Could Speak out next week from Grove Atlantic.

The creator of the iconic Marina Bay Sands (which is about to begin work on a $1.35 billion expansion he says will not include an extension of its famous skybridge) touched briefly on impressive recent designs around Asia, including the Jewel Changi Airport, Habitat Qinhuangdao, and Raffles City Chongqing before veering off into an assessment of the region’s labor markets. He then reasserted the idealism that helped define his career and lamented the contemporary faddish use of biophilia — an element critical to the philosophies that are inherent in his garden-lined residential designs.

“There's a cynicism about so many architects...

KPF and Heatherwick reveal design for Changi Airport Terminal 5 in Singapore

2022-09-06T11:51:00-04:00

KPF and Heatherwick Studio have offered an update on the design of Changi Airport’s Terminal 5 in Singapore. Described by the designers as a “bold re-imagination of the airport paradigm,” the new terminal will increase the airport’s capacity by 50 million annual passengers.

KPF and Heatherwick were awarded the bid to design the terminal back in 2018, part of a larger project to deliver 100 additional aircraft stands, a three-runway system, and new cargo complexes. The airport was also the focus of international attention in 2019 with the unveiling of Moshe Safdie’s “Jewel Changi” addition, featuring the world’s largest indoor waterfall.

The design of Terminal 5 adopts an “airport as a city” concept, where each component is seen as an opportunity to create a neighborhood with its own character. The team also bills the terminal as an “engaging new district” of benefit to travelers and locals, echoing Safdie’s move to combine natural and built elements within the airport.

Aerial credi...

How Singapore’s architects are responding to low wages and fees

2022-07-04T13:30:00-04:00

As Archinect has explored through numerous feature articles, the U.S. architecture profession faces deep ongoing challenges surrounding salaries, fee levels, and work-life balances. In a sign that such conditions are not confined to the U.S., recent years have seen architectural worker movements emerge elsewhere, including the formation of unions and worker-led activist groups in the United Kingdom.

In Singapore, where only 7% of young architecture graduates say they are likely to stay in the profession in the long term, the state’s architecture body is taking action to avoid an “alarming” brain drain.

Like the United States, Singapore’s competition laws prevent architects, or architectural institutions like the Singapore Institute of Architects, from establishing fee scales. As we outlined in our recent feature on unionization in architecture, such restrictions are a primary factor in supressing fees and wages in the profession.

Archinect Feature: Unionization in Architecture: Rev...

Wes Anderson-inspired short film explores Singapore's diverse built environment

2021-10-26T18:07:00-04:00

A short film by architectural photographer and filmmaker Kevin Siyuan explores the built environment of Singapore through the unique style and lens of Wes Anderson.

Titled “A Wes Anderson-ish Singapore,” the film is a culmination of a year of exploration around the Asian city-state. Made with zero budget, the film focuses on the diverse architecture, urban planning, places, and people of a post-pandemic Singapore. Iconic structures, such as the Apple Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Changi Airport, and Golden Mile Complex, along with the country’s green spaces and street art are displayed in the peculiar cinematographic style and direction of Wes Anderson films.

As described by Siyuan in the video’s description: “The scenes were framed using mostly flattened symmetrical perspective with focus on architecture but contextualized and told with elements that are uniquely Singapore.”

Signature Wes Anderson films such as “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Life Aquatic by Steve Zissou,” “Moonri...

Foster + Partner's new Apple Marina Bay Sands takes social media by storm

2020-08-31T17:17:00-04:00

Singapore's third Apple store to date, located at the Marina Bay Sands, has caught the public's eyes and has already made its presence on Instagram.

The floating, spherical structure sits near the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, designed by Safdie Architects. Designed by long-time Apple collaborator Foster + Partners, the orb-shaped, colorfully lit store has already received fanfare on social media outlets.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Majid Hussain™ | Singapore(@sgmajidhussain) on Aug 30, 2020 at 3:36am PDT
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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kelvin Heng | 王俊杰 (@kelv.li...

Junkspace No More: Qatar's Plagiarism accusation highlights new status for airports

2019-11-09T09:00:00-05:00

A recent report in Bloomberg News detailing accusations that Safdie Architects' much-Instagrammed Jewel Changi Airport design had been lifted from a proposed expansion to Doha's Hamad International Airport highlights the changing status of airport design.

The accusation was quickly debunked, as Safdie's designs date back to 2013 prior to the Doha airport proposal, but the dust-up itself, as Bloomberg's Adam Minter points out, signals that "Airports, though, are no longer mere transit nodes. Over the past few decades, countries throughout Asia and the Middle East have come to see them as tools for advancing their ambitions and expressing their national self-conceptions. In short order, they’ve become audacious sources of soft power."

View of the Jewel Changi Airport, designed by Safdie Architects. Image © Changi Airport Group.

With the worldwide proliferation of iconic airport designs and the growing (and environmentally problematic) proliferation of air travel, airports have taken o...

Australia plans to power Singapore with their new $20bn solar farm

2019-07-17T20:30:00-04:00

The desert outside Tennant Creek, deep in the Northern Territory, is not the most obvious place to build and transmit Singapore’s future electricity supply. Though few in the southern states are yet to take notice, a group of Australian developers are betting that will change. If they are right, it could have far-reaching consequences for Australia’s energy industry and what the country sells to the world.

Singapore is already considered to be one of the "greenest cities" in Asia and perhaps soon the world. With plans to have at least 80% of its buildings green by 2030, steps to make this goal a reality are well underway. Although obstacles like lack of cooperation from developers and investment companies are prevalent, Singapore aims to increase its green initiatives and alternative energy usage thanks to solar power. Sun Cable is pitching to be the "world's largest solar farm," according to a recent article in The Guardian.

Environment editor Adam Morton writes, "If developed as planned, a 10-gigawatt-capacity array of panels will be spread across 15,000 hectares and be backed by battery storage to ensure it can supply power around the clock. Overhead transmission lines will send electricity to Darwin and plug into the NT grid. But the bulk would be exported via a high-voltage direct-current submarine cable snaking through the Indonesian archipelago to Singapore."

Developers from ...

Is Singapore really the greenest city in Asia?

2019-07-12T14:49:00-04:00

It's a small, dense, island nation where 100% of the population is urbanized. And yet, the city-state of Singapore is the greenest city in Asia, according to the Green City Index, and arguably has few competitors in the rest of the world. As Singapore's population and economy grew, so did its green cover: it was about 36% in the 1980s and it now stands at 47%, according to the Center for Liveable cities.

Becoming one of the "must-see" places in the world, Singapore has created a name for itself amongst travelers. Even Hollywood has already capitalized on the nation's likability and illustrious cityscape thanks to the top-grossing film, Crazy Rich Asians. However, beyond the food and Instagramable sites, what can other cities, urban planners, and architects learn from Singapore's urbanized infrastructure?

Singapore: Flower Dome and Cloud Forest in The Gardens by the Bay. Image © CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

In a CNN travel piece written by Meera Senthilingam, she explains, "while the word "green" can take on a variety of connotations, Singapore appears to encompass them all -- lush environments, renewable energy, and future sustainability." The Singapore Green Buildings Council (SGBC) does not take sustainability lightly. Although the city-state is budding with lush greenery, we must note the city's lack of natural resources. However, where it lacks in natural resources, it makes up for in env...

LAX ranked worst airport in the world; Safdie's new Singapore airport is best

2019-06-12T16:47:00-04:00

There are uglier airports and airports with fewer amenities; there are airports that are older and airports that are more rundown; there are airports with ruder staff and airports with cruder passengers. There are, without doubt, by almost all measures, worse airports in this world. Except by one measure—an exceedingly crucial measure. In fact, behind safety, it’s almost certainly the most important measure: getting in and getting out.

Fodor's Travel Guide has ranked Los Angeles International Airport as the worst airport in the world, due in large part to the "improbably stupid design of its catastrophic horseshoe motor-loop."

The airport's design is attributed to noted Los Angeles architect and urban planner William Pereira, who also designed Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, Tehran International Airport in Iran, and Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, among others. The latter site features the same horseshoe design as LAX, while the two other airports are designed along linear, single-loaded paths. Like LAX, however, Don Muang Airport is designed with a double-decker arrangement that separates arrivals and departures. Don't tell Fodor's!

Safdie Architect's Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore is among the best in the world, Image courtesy Wikimedia user Matteo Morando.

The best airport on Fodor's list? Safdie Architects' recently-completed Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore, of course. The 1.46 million-squa...

To tackle Honolulu's housing shortage, lawmakers take inspiration from Singapore

2019-05-01T13:12:00-04:00

Hawaii and Honolulu laws require most new developments to set aside a certain percentage of units as affordable rental housing, but it’s not enough. In five years, Honolulu will still need thousands of additional new units. That has elected officials looking for other solutions to the problem, and some think they’ve found one in Singapore.

The housing proposal put forward by Hawaii State Senator Stanley Chang is called Affordable Locally Owned Homes for All, or ALOHA, and looks to replicate the public housing program of Singapore which has a comparable median household income.

Marketplace's Ryan Finnerty reports that the "vast majority of Singaporeans live in flats built by the government — [...] between 80% and 85% of the island nation’s 5.6 million residents. Singapore residents can purchase a two-bedroom flat on the resale market for less than $300,000."

Thomas Heatherwick reveals EDEN, his newest residential project in Singapore

2019-04-19T14:44:00-04:00

Thomas Heatherwick's name has circulated through the media thanks to his affiliation with Hudson Yards and his unforgettable public centerpiece whose given name is yet to be confirmed. The infamous Vessel has received several responses and critiques. However, with Hudson Yard's recent opening a little over a month ago Heatherwick has been busy working on the unveiling of another project in Singapore.

(L) Image © Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images. (R) Thomas Heatherwick, Image © Swire Properties

Recently, the British designer's name has been primarily linked and eclipsed by Hudson Yard's "Vessel." However, in Singapore Heatherwick Studio showcases its newest residential project. The tower stands 20-stories tall within Singapore's Draycott Park in the Orchard Road Neighborhood. Named "Eden," the tower is said to be an application and case-study of "globalized architectural replication and environmentalism."

Eden stands in the historic Orchard Road neighborhood. Image © Swire Propertie...

The Jewel of Singapore, the newest addition to the Changi Airport dazzles visitors and locals alike

2019-04-12T16:27:00-04:00

Singapore is already known for its mesmerizing structures. However, the country wanted to make sure Singapore isn't only a great place to visit, but stopover! With international travel increasing over the years airports are becoming more than just lines and terminals. Many airports are becoming hubs for shopping, cuisine, and must-see attractions. Airport execs are now exploring new ways for airports to be "experienced, turning them into new "lifestyle hubs."

Jewel Changi Airport. Image courtesy of Changi Airport Group

Canopy Park Image courtesy of Changi Airport Group

One of the world's most multi-faceted airports, no pun intended, the Jewel Changi Airport has 280 new retail stores and restaurants which make up the ten-story facility. With the structure split five feet above and five feet below ground, the airport has become the most luxurious airport in the world. New attractions include the Canopy Park which is said to open...

Moshe Safdie's glass Jewel at Changi Airport to open on April 17

2019-03-29T20:24:00-04:00

The much-anticipated Jewel Changi Airport, with more than 280 shops and food and beverage outlets, will open its doors to the world on April 17....The highlights include a five-storey garden with 2,500 trees and 100,000 shrubs, with two walking trails. There is also a 40m-high Rain Vortex - the world's tallest indoor waterfall.

Singapore's Brutalist buildings struggle to be recognized as heritage worth keeping

2019-01-28T14:22:00-05:00

The city’s Brutalist buildings, in contrast, are widely considered eyesores by the general public. These buildings often have a shared ownership of common facilities. And because many owners think that selling their units collectively is a better financial bet than investing in a conservation or retrofitting plan, the buildings have largely fallen into disrepair because no one wants to pay for short-term upkeep.

Mikes Ives reports for the NYT on the not-so-bright future Singapore's aging stock of 1970s Brutalist buildings faces in a city whose global trademark famously is shiny and new.

The aging Pearl Bank Apartments was the tallest and densest residential high-rise in Singapore at the time of its completion in 1976. Image via Wikipedia.

WOHA's Kampung Admiralty is crowned World Architecture Festival Building of the Year for 2018

2018-11-30T19:31:00-05:00

Marking the end of the World Architecture Festival, the winner of the 2018 World Building of the Year was presented to Kampung Admiralty by WOHA Architects. Having also won the award for the Commercial Mixed - Completed Projects, the firm can now add this prestigious award to their repertoire of accolades.

World Building of the Year Winner: Kampung Admiralty in Singapore by WOHA Architects Image credit: Patrick Bingham-Hall, Darren Soh, Lim Weixiang

Known for their approach and passion in integrating social and environmental principles to their projects, Kampung Admiralty is a shining example of the firm's execution and methodology toward a high-density, high-amenity mini-city. Located in Northern Singapore, the building is comprised of community spaces, housing for the elderly, medical facilities, retail, restaurants, and cafes all shared within a single ventilated structure featuring a tropical rainforest roof.

World Building of the Year Winner: Kampung Admiralty in Singapore by ...

Take a tour of UNStudio's newly completed Singapore towers

2018-11-28T16:23:00-05:00

UNStudio recently completed two impressive high-rise developments in Singapore, bringing the Amsterdam-based firm's portfolio of completed buildings in the Asian city state up to four: the 36-story Ardmore Residence tower (2013), Singapore University of Technology and Design campus (2015), and now also the mixed-use V on Shenton and the residential Scotts Tower.

Check out the two new kids on the densely populated block and watch the video below for a Ben van Berkel-guided tour of all four projects.

V on Shenton

"In addition to the office and residential programmes, the dual tower building houses a number of fully integrated sky gardens which provide panoramic 360 degree views of Singapore and house a variety of amenities," explains the project description, "such as a fitness area, swimming pools and a children’s play area, with lush green vegetation providing fresher, cleaner air. These areas provide spaces for shared communal activities, or for the residents to entertain guests."

V...

Moshe Safdie discusses the donut-shaped Jewel addition to the Changi Airport in Singapore

2018-05-31T15:47:00-04:00

A 250-meter-long bouncing net three stories above ground. A 50-meter-long suspended bridge with glass-panel flooring. Walking trails amongst a lush jungle of animal-shaped topiaries in a five-story terraced garden. A 40-meter-tall waterfall cascading from an opening in a vaulted glass roof canopy. An art sculpture made up of four giant, integrated slides. And that's just scratching the surface.

Safdie Architects's $1.27 billion Jewel Changi is the latest addition to Singapore's impressive Changi Airport. This donut-shaped structure will function as a central hub connecting three of the airport's current four terminals. Safdie's design features five stories of retail, gardens and restaurants, as well as a hotel with a five-story underground parking lot.

Safdie Architects's Jewel Changi addition to the Singapore Changi Airport. Image: Jewel Changi Airport Devt.

The domed structure consists of glass panel latticework framed in steel, producing a delicate covering over the space and allowing in plenty of light for the expansive gardens within.

Jewel Changi by Safdie Architects section view.

Jewel Changi also boasts a large mall within the gardens to attract both visitors and locals, further solidifying the airport as not only a function of travel but also a destination. T...

“No More Free Space?”: Singapore's 2018 Venice Biennale Pavilion explores designing welcoming public spaces in a dense cityscape

2018-05-07T15:56:00-04:00

Despite limited physical space in Singapore's dense urban landscape — with a population of 5.6 million squeezed into about 278 square-miles of land, the country's architects and urban planners are coming up with unique solutions to create delightful spaces that help enhance everyday life. So is there truly “No More Free Space?”; the Singapore Pavilion exhibition team for the 2018 Venice Biennale explores this very question.

Marking Singapore's sixth showcase at the Biennale, the Pavilion highlights 12 Singapore-based projects that draw inspiration from nature and “turn constraints into possibilities”. With these projects, the Singapore Pavilion team wants to share their country's design approaches with other cities that are dealing with similar challenges.

The c...

As Singapore grows from the sea, its heritage continues to shrink

2018-03-12T14:38:00-04:00

Short on space, the city-state has since its independence been reclaiming land to build the nation and to rewrite 'unhygienic' episodes of its history.

In his essay for Failed Architecture, William Jamieson, a PhD candidate in Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, takes a look at Singapore's monumental land reclamation efforts since 1965, the ecological, urban, and cultural implications, and the inevitable erasing of heritage.

"Singapore sees itself as chronically undersized," Jamieson writes. "It imagines itself as a larger country, and works backwards: materialising the necessary geographical puzzle pieces to suit the demands of the global economy as much as to satiate its own needs. Space is not merely flexible, but hypothetical."

BIG + Carlo Ratti Associati's 88 Market Street tower in Singapore breaks ground

2018-02-14T19:04:00-05:00

Located on 88 Market Street in Singapore's evolving Central Business District, a 280-meter-tall tower that BIG and Carlo Ratti Associati designed broke ground earlier this week. The team had the winning proposal in a competition organized by real estate company CapitaLand, the project client. The tower is currently slated for a 2021 completion, and will be one of Singapore's tallest buildings.

Image credit: BIG + VMW.

Image credit: BIG

Replacing a former parking complex built in the '80s, the 93,000 m2 tower will contain office and retail space, 299 residential units, and lush tropical greenery at the tower's base, core, and rooftop. Perhaps the tower's most distinctive feature is its exterior facade, which has vertical elements that are “pulled apart” to allow the greenery from inside to peek out, creating a “dynamic interplay of orthogonal lines and lush greenery”, BIG says.

Image credit: BIG

Image credit: BIG.

City Room. Image credit: BIG

Winding garden paths and covered passages will...