A verdant tower of green in the heart of Singapore’s dense Central Business District (CBD), Oasia Hotel Downtown is a prototype of land use intensification for the urban tropics.
Unlike the sleek and sealed skyscrapers that evolved out of the temperate west, this tropical “living tower” offers an alternative image to the sleek technology of the genre.
In response to the brief for distinct Offices, Hotel & Club rooms, WOHA created a series of different strata, each with its own sky garden. These additional “ground” levels allow generous public areas for recreation and social interaction throughout the high-rise, despite the inner city high density location.
Closely overlooked by surrounding towers, the tower carves out its own internal spaces and dynamic views instead of relying on external vistas for visual interest.
Each sky garden is treated as an urban scale verandah, sheltered at high level by the preceding sky garden and open sided for formal and visual transparency.
The openness also allows breezes to pass through the building for good cross-ventilation. In this way, the public areas become functional, comfortable, tropical spaces with greenery, natural light and fresh air instead of enclosed, internalised air conditioned spaces.
Landscaping is used extensively as an architectural surface treatment and forms a major part of the development’s material palette both internally and externally.
Achieving an overall Green Plot Ratio of 1,100%, the tower is conceived as a haven for birds and animals, reintroducing biodiversity into the city. This quantum of green is an exciting number, as it effectively compensates for the lack of green in 10 surrounding buildings.
The tower’s red aluminum mesh cladding is designed as a backdrop that reveals itself in between 21 different species of creepers, with colourful flowers interspersed among green leaves, providing food for the birds and insects.
The creepers will form a mosaic with each type taking over its most suitable conditions of light, shade and wind. Instead of a flat roof, the skyscraper is crowned with a tropical bower; floral, diverse, soft and alive. Source by WOHA.
- Location: 100 Peck Seah St, Singapore
- Architects: WOHA
- Project Team: Wong Mun Summ, Richard Hassell, Phua Hong Wei, Bernard Lee, Kim Young Beom, Evelyn Ng, Christina Ong, Huang Yue, Larissa Tan, Chen Shunann, Iyan Mulyadi, Oscar Korintus, Victoria Meadows, Simopoulou Olympia Konstantinou, Donovan Soon, Ang Chow Hwee, Dennis Kwek
- Interior Design: Studio Patricia Urquiola
- Electrical: Kimta Electric Pte Ltd
- ACMV: Great Resources M&E Contractor Pte Ltd
- Fire Protection: Rico Engineering Works Pte Ltd
- Plumbing, Sanitary, Gas: Great Resources M&E Contractor Pte Ltd
- Lift: Kone Pte Ltd
- Pool & Water Features: Yi Wee Pools and Fountains Pte Ltd
- Aluminum & Glazing: Jinyue Aluminium Engineering (S) Pte Ltd
- Building Maintenance: EW Cox SE Asia Pte Ltd
- Auto Irrigation: Tropical Environment Pte Ltd
- Card Access System: Assa Abloy Hospitality Pte Ltd
- Softscape: Tropical Environment Pte Ltd
- Signage: Gleason Advertising Pte Ltd
- ID – Office Interior: New Pace Furnishing Pte Ltd
- ID – Office Common: New Pace Furnishing Pte Ltd
- ID – Hotel Guestrooms: New Pace Furnishing Pte Ltd
- ID – Hotel Common: Falcon Incorporation Pte Ltd
- Manufacturers: Falcon Incorporation, Hansgrohe, Hemsley Holding, Relex Illumination Pte Ltd, TMG Projects, Technolite
- Client: Far East SOHO Pte Ltd
- Area: 19416.0 m2
- Year: 2016
- Photographs: K. Kopter, Patrick Bingham-Hall, Courtesy of WOHA
