Singapore's Parkroyal on Pickering not only has tiers of greenery draped in its contours, but the ample open air space for the outdoor plazas and gardens at the base of the building make it look like the hotel is floating. The design allows the building to max out on space: The 15,000 sm of plantings, water features, waterfalls, terraces and green walls come out to 215% of the site's area.
This week, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) named the Parkroyal on Pickering the Urban Habitat Award winner for 2015. The award, which was founded in 2014, recognizes tall buildings' contributions to the urban realm.
The five-star hotel and four other finalists were chosen "for their exemplary designs that are intelligently influenced by both their environmental and cultural context, and which add to the social sustainability of both their immediate and wider settings," according to a CTBUH press release.
The winners and finalists will be celebrated at an awards ceremony at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago on November 12. The symposioum will have presentations from the owners and architects of each building.
The four other finalists were:
• Chatswood Transport Interchange (CTI) in Sydney, Australia
• d’Leedon in Singapore
• Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai, China
• Tour Carpe Diem in Paris, France
Related Stories
| Mar 26, 2013
Will Google Glass revolutionize the construction process?
An Australian architect is exploring the benefits of augmented reality in the design and construction process.
| Mar 24, 2013
World's tallest data center opens in New York
Sabey Data Center Properties last week celebrated the completion of the first phase of an adaptive reuse project that will transform the 32-story Verizon Building in Manhattan into a data center facility. When the project is completed, it will be the world's tallest data center.
| Mar 22, 2013
8 cool cultural projects in the works
A soaring opera center in Hong Kong and a multi-tower music center in Calgary are among the latest cultural projects.
| Mar 22, 2013
Earn $500 as a DOE proposal reviewer
The DOE'S Building Technologies Office this morning put out a call to the AEC industry for expert reviewers for its new energy-efficiency initiative for small commercial buildings, which make up more than 90% of the commercial building stock.
| Mar 21, 2013
Best Firms to Work For: Enermodal Engineering is green to the core
At Enermodal Engineering, there’s only one kind of building—a sustainable one.
| Mar 21, 2013
Are charter schools killing private schools?
A recent post on Atlantic Cities highlights research by the U.S. Census Bureau's Stephanie Ewert that shows a correlation between the growth of charter schools and the decline in private school enrollment.
| Mar 20, 2013
Folding glass walls revitalize student center
Single-glazed storefronts in the student center at California’s West Valley College were replaced with aluminum-framed, thermally broken windows from NanaWall in a bronze finish that emulates the look of the original building.
| Mar 20, 2013
Architecture Billings Index up again in February
The American Institute of Architects reported the February ABI score was 54.9, up slightly from a mark of 54.2 in January. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services.