Singapore

In a dense city like Singapore, apartments that are privy to good views are highly treasured. As such, the gorgeous sea view that this apartment in East Coast offers is something that the homeowner loves. The interior design brief may have been simple – to create a resort-themed home to match the panoramic view – but there is nothing ordinary about this space. The completed space bears no traces of the typical Balinese or rustic look. With its crisp colours and contemporary furnishings, the apartment is a swanky seafront abode. On the ceiling in the living room is a “fresco” of sorts, consisting of wall coverings depicting dramatic tropical foliage. A palette of natural finishes gives this home a breezy feel. These... More

This residential dwelling boasts a sophisticated interior scheme with an edgy, industrial feel that creates an elegant, contemporary apartment. The otherwise monotonous dark tones are broken apart by the bold addition of contrasting furniture and decor pieces that pop against the moodier installations. Overall, the variety of shadows, textures and contrast really creates depth and makes the space pop. More

While different in personalities, the two brothers share a preference for a minimalist home with distinct elements. For the design of this 400m2 5-room resale apartment in Singapore, we proposed the use of the colour black as a thematic element given its toned-down masculine and modern qualities. The colour is strategically balanced with other contrasting blocks of colour such as blues and browns to break up the otherwise claustrophobic effect, creating spatial highlights against the overall neutral backdrop. Minimalist yet sensuous, the design also addresses the homeowners’ storage needs and aesthetic tastes without feeling too confined. For one of the brothers who is passionate about cooking, additional storage spaces were created t... More

Community Housing in Kallang Whampoa is a HDB Built To Order (HDB BTO) housing project located at Kallang Whampoa and consists of 3 blocks of 32-34 storey high-rise apartments, a multi-storey carpark (MSCP), and a purpose-built Active Aging Hub, which is the first of its kind in a housing estate in Singapore. This project features a rich matrix of well-integrated shared spaces filled with vibrancy and diversity that make a positive contribution to the experience of living in the heartlands. The project is sensitively designed to fit in with the urban fabric, maintaining a high degree of porosity and openness in spite of high density. This porosity is further enhanced with cycling paths that connect to the nearby Park Connector Network. Gree... More

Mintel Singapore recently moved office to the newly renovated UIC building at 5 Shenton Way. The prestigious Singapore address overlooks the harbor and has lots of natural daylight. The brief for the new office was to create a bright, open space that is fun, stimulates creativity, and encourages collaboration and teamwork. The solution called for clever space planning and materials to make the office functional but also flexible, so that working areas can be transformed to host client events. The layout is a reflection of how the company works, with zones for shared eating and meeting, as well as, quiet working areas to create a relaxed and comfortable environment. The different spaces are delineated by changes in flooring and hanging pen... More

AirMesh is the world first architectural structure made of 3D printed components in stainless steel, demonstrating innovative digital design and manufacturing technologies developed by AirLab at Singapore University of Technology and Design in Singapore. The ultra-lightweight pavilion, located at Gardens by the Bay, is both a gathering space and a light sculpture. The state-of-the-art design follows Eurocode regulations, and is the first 3D Printed structure that has been approved by the Singapore Building Construction Authority (BCA) for temporary occupation in Singapore.   The form of AirMesh is conceived as a polyhedron defined by four rectangular view frames oriented towards highlights in the surrounding landscape: the dragonfly... More

Looking up towards the Mont-Blanc from Thonex (Geneva, Switzerland) this isn’t just a project for a house, it is also the narration of a story.Since the very first sketches, the objective requirements of the client led the narration and the process through which the house was designed. Living at that time in Singapore, one of his main wishes was to bring a piece of his home town to Switzerland. With the name “The Twin-Lah” we wink at the colloquial Singaporean dialect Singlish; a mix of English, Malay, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese and Tamil. And through the projects color, its materiality and its typology, we evoke the traditional Singaporean shop-houses. The design of this residence establishes a dialogue with its surroundings, playing with... More

“The Alps Residencies” will be one of the most iconic precincts of the Tampines area in Singapore. Inspired by the traditional European “courtyard block”, it will reflect design excellence, participating in the further development of the area.The project is composed of two “L” shaped residencies, facing each other. Each from 15 to 8 storeys, steeped with green terraces. By playing with a strong iconic skyline, as a miniature of the Swiss Alps mountains, the buildings bring a “spatial opening” dynamic to the reservoir views, breaking the scale with tight and open areas within the whole precinct. This layout breaks with the usual thick parallel blocks offering only uniform “left over spaces”.The cars and bicycles will be parked on two storeys... More

Located in the north east of Singapore, “GreenRidges” is conceived as a slice of nature nestled within the urban fabric of Singapore. Part of the “LEAF WITHIN OUR CITY IN A GARDEN” of Tampines Town the project is covering an approximate site area of 70’000m2. The design concept for this 2’000 units public housing development was inspired by the Asia stone forest, giving the project a unique identity.   One of the key features of the design is the Greenery network and social spaces linking the upper Environmental Deck and the Green Canyon area at ground level.   The green canyon is part of the green tapestry connecting residents in the precinct to the future boulevard park. It is a lush green and well-shaded linear space running the leng... More

Occupying a strategic position in the residential zone, the seven towers of Farrer Court grow from sunken gardens into the sky – each one articulated as a sequence of petals, generating great diversity and offering stunning views from every apartment, before blending into sky in a series of staggered fingers More

At 11 storeys, Orchard Central is Singapore’s first high-rise shopping centre. Unlike the other projects featured in this chapter, Orchard Central is a new build. As such, it incorporates many of the characteristics developed in past Orchard Road projects while pushing their concepts to new extents. In the ongoing evolution of tropical mall architecture, Orchard Central’s new modes of site integration make great strides in the extroversion of retail space. The design of Orchard Central wraps and injects private commercial space with the public space of Orchard Road, activating all 11 storeys of the mall with street connectivity. The façade hosts an exploratory circulation system that places the visitor in unique relationships with the s... More

Singapore is well known for its multicultural spirit and universal appeal to travelers--and great shopping. Mustafa Center, a multilevel shopping center, offers an intense, 24-hour-a-day shopping experience, with its myriad of interesting shops that attract more than 15,000 customers of many nationalities every weekend. Mustafa Center offers everything from fine fabrics to electronic devices to jewels. Its restaurants, too, offer a wide selection of cuisine. Crowning it all is a Geometrica dome. Geometrica's glass and stainless steel structure serves as the eye-catching roof for the restaurant on the top floor of the shopping center, where diners can choose from among a host of offerings while they watch the ever-evolving city come aliv... More

A mere stone’s throw away from the Singapore River, Studio M Hotel is in the heart of entertainment districts like Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and Robertson Quay. Given its high visibility and the accompanying social vibrance of the site, the key idea was to design a trendy and memorable landmark worthy of gracing the historical river next to which it resides. The result is a building façade shaped like a boat sail, with the elevated deck being likened to a cruise deck. These features collectively paint an image of a ship moored by the riverside. Rooms were designed as live-work-play spaces that cater to the needs of urban travellers. Conceptualised as a “box within a box”, each 15m2 room is compact yet luxurious, with double volume space fo... More

The house sits on a slight incline and overlooks a pool in the front yard, following the feng shui belief of balancing the “mountain” and “water” elements. On the ground level, the living and dining areas form a vast and continuous space providing an unobstructed view of the pool and front lawn. Spacious bedrooms occupy the second level, and from courtyard, a spiral staircase ascends onto the terrace from which beautiful views of the surrounding greenery can be viewed. Generous use of space is what distinguishes this house from others, making it a welcome relief from Singapore’s high-density urban environment. More