Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has revealed its design for 8 Shenton Way—a mixed-use tower that will stand 63 stories and 305 meters (1,000 feet) high, becoming Singapore’s tallest skyscraper. The design team also plans to make the building one of Asia’s most sustainable skyscrapers.
Inspired by the tropical climate and its bamboo forests, the design creates an indoor-outdoor vertical community with public spaces, offices, retail, a hotel, and luxury residences. The building facade includes natural materials—such as bamboo on the walls of the gardens located every five or six floors—with bay windows on almost every floor. The residences are situated on the tower’s highest levels, providing occupants with panoramic views of Singapore and the sea.
The design team chose materials to minimize both embodied and operational carbon—from the zero-waste manufacture of terracotta to the use of engineered bamboo. The facade will be made of energy-efficient glazing, and the concrete structure will include recyclable aggregates. Reusing part of the existing foundation and onsite infrastructure also will reduce material use and embodied carbon during construction.
The street level will include a public performance and events space with retail, seating, and bike racks. Landscaping will extend from the street into the tower, creating a green corridor for pedestrians. On the second floor, an open-air green space with restaurants will be surrounded by plants selected to attract birds and butterflies. In all, the design features more than 10,000 square meters (more than 107,639 square feet) of elevated, public green space—larger than the site’s footprint.
8 Shenton Way is scheduled for completion in 2028.
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: Perennial Holdings Private Limited and its consortium of investors
Design architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Architect of record: DCA Architects
Related Stories
| Mar 13, 2014
Austria's tallest tower shimmers with striking 'folded façade' [slideshow]
The 58-story DC Tower 1 is the first of two high-rises designed by Dominique Perrault Architecture for Vienna's skyline.
| Mar 12, 2014
London grows up: 236 tall buildings to be added to skyline in coming decade, says think tank
The vast majority of high-rise projects in the works are residential towers, which could help tackle the city's housing crisis, according to a new report by New London Architecture.
| Mar 4, 2014
Kettler to begin construction on Bethesda high-rise apartment complex
The 101-unit high-rise, called Element 28, is designed to achieve a LEED Silver certification.
| Feb 25, 2014
NYC's Hudson Spire would be nation's tallest tower if built
Design architect MJM + A has released an updated design scheme for the planned 1,800-foot-tall, superthin skyscraper.
| Feb 20, 2014
5 myths about cross laminated timber
A CLT expert clears up several common misconceptions and myths surrounding the use of wood as a building material.
| Feb 17, 2014
Developer plans to 'crowdfund' extended stay hotel in Manhattan
Want to own a piece of Manhattan hotel real estate? Developer Rodrigo Nino is inviting individual investors to put up $100,000 each for his latest project, 17 John.
| Feb 14, 2014
Must see: Developer stacks shipping containers atop grain silos to create student housing tower
Mill Junction will house up to 370 students and is supported by 50-year-old grain silos.
| Feb 13, 2014
Related Companies, LargaVista partner to develop mixed-use tower in SoHo
The site is located at the gateway to the booming SoHo retail market, where Class A office space is scarce yet highly in demand.
| Feb 5, 2014
7 towers that define the 'skinny skyscraper' boom [slideshow]
Recent advancements in structural design, combined with the loosening of density and zoning requirements, has opened the door for the so-called "superslim skyscraper."
| Feb 3, 2014
Gehry wins bid to design Berlin's tallest tower [slideshow]
The architect's "rotating cubes" scheme for the 300-unit residential tower beat out design submissions by eight other prominent firms, including Adjaye Associates and David Chipperfield Architects.