Suite wins

Source : Straits Times – 26 Sep 2009

A library, a bridge and forest walk and two homes in Singapore have won international acclaim

The Bishan Public Library, Alexandra Arch and Forest Walk, HarbourView House and Newton Suites condominium have been acclaimed at this year’s International Architecture Awards.

The four local projects were among 97 designs worldwide this year to receive an award handed out by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, the European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and the Metropolitan Arts Press.

Inaugurated in 2005, the annual awards programme, which does not have categories, recognises and highlights the designs of new skyscrapers, corporate buildings and private homes, among others.

The United States tops the international honour roll with 13 awards, followed by China (eight), Japan and Britain (seven), and Germany (six).

Singapore is next on the list with four awards, tying with the Netherlands, Brazil, Italy and Canada.

Last year, the Republic had two winners: Assyafaah Mosque by Forum Architects and the Visitor Centre at HortPark by MKPL Architects.

Woha Designs’ 36-storey Newton Suites tower stands out from the other buildings in its vicinity, thanks to a 100m wall of vertical greenery on its facade.

Woha senior associate Chan Ee Mun, who worked on the project, says it is interesting that this year’s jury, comprising mostly Scandinavian architects, chose to recognise ‘a contextual high-rise apartment designed for the tropical climate’.

‘The acknowledgment for good design and ideas by peers foreign to our local living and environmental conditions is rewarding,’ he says.

Newton Suites is also a first runner-up at this year’s prestigious FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Awards 2009, given by The International Real Estate Federation.

Opened in 2006, Bishan Public Library by Look Architects has 16 ‘thinking pods’, or individual niches that serve as cosy spots for people to read or just sit, contemplate and enjoy the view.

It has also won other awards such as the local President’s Design Award in 2007 and Dubai’s Cityscape Architectural Review Awards in 2006.

The firm also won for the Alexandra Arch and Forest Walk, which was completed last year. The leaf-shaped bridge and the forest walk link Telok Blangah Hill Park to HortPark.

Look Architects’ principal Look Boon Gee says: ‘Winning the awards is a shot in the arm, giving us the energy and encouragement to continue striving for design excellence.’

Mrs Cheong Koon Hean, CEO of the Urban Redevelopment Authority which commissioned the bridge, says: ‘URA encourages good architecture and design, and we are very happy to see that more projects and architects in Singapore are receiving international recognition through awards such as the International Architecture Award.’

The HarbourView House at Sentosa Cove was designed by SCDA Architects’ principal architect Chan Soo Khian. The U-shaped bungalow has clear views of the main island. Its two-storey east wing houses the main living areas and the one-storey west wing has a home office and entertainment area.

He had won the International Architecture Award in 2007 for the Mint Toy Museum in Seah Street and for three overseas projects in New York, Guangzhou and Malacca in 2006.

This year’s entries came from more than 30 countries. Those who won include Munich’s BMW Museum by Germany’s Atelier Bruckner; Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre in Sydney by Australian firm Harry Seidler & Associates and Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid’s Chanel Contemporary Art Container in Hong Kong.

The winners will be showcased at an exhibition called New International Architecture to be held in Florence in November.