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
High-rise Construction | Nov 23, 2015
London approves designs for a 62-story tower
Scheduled to start construction next year and open in 2019, the structure will be London’s second tallest, after the 95-story Shard.
High-rise Construction | Nov 17, 2015
CTBUH awards '2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide' to Bosco Verticale
Designed by Italian architect Stefano Boeri, the building design was applauded for its “extraordinary implementation of vegetation at such scale and height."
High-rise Construction | Nov 12, 2015
SHoP unveils Brooklyn supertall tower design
When completed, the 90-story tower will be the tallest building in the outer boroughs of New York City.
High-rise Construction | Oct 26, 2015
Recent skyscraper boom benefits New York construction industry
CTBUH reports that luxury residential construction, slenderness aspect ratios, and construction in "fringe" areas have all increased.
High-rise Construction | Oct 21, 2015
Three years after The Shard, Renzo Piano reveals plans for new London tower
The 65-story tower at 31 London Street will have 200 homes and more than 40,000 sf of public space. It could also bring some life to Paddington Station.
High-rise Construction | Oct 13, 2015
Azerbaijan Tower tops list of 10 tallest buildings in the works
Along with the central Asian nation, China, Malaysia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all have skyscraper projects that are under construction or in development.
High-rise Construction | Oct 8, 2015
The 75 tallest observation decks in the world
Chicago's Willis Tower cracks the top 20 as the Middle East and China dominate the rest of the list compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
High-rise Construction | Oct 5, 2015
Zaha Hadid designs cylindrical office building with world’s tallest atrium
The 200-meter-high open space will cut the building in two.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 1, 2015
Wiel Arets unveils twin, 558-foot mixed-use towers in Bahrain’s capital
The development, Bahrain Bay Tower, will consist of two residential towers connected “by a plinth of retail, office, parking, and public park space.”
Multifamily Housing | Sep 28, 2015
Vo Trong Nghia’s 'diamond lotus' will feature sky garden pathways linking high-rises
The 22-story housing complex in Ho Chi Minh City will have façades covered with plants and a rooftop garden that connects the structures.
