Singapore Architecture

Global Finance's ranking of the world's best cities to live in, during 2022 has just been released. Centered on 8 different parameters that calculate and compare the quality of life of people living in urban areas such as economy, culture, population, environment, etc., this year’s edition also took into consideration Covid-19 deaths per thousand for each country, to reflect the new reality we live in. With data from the Global City Power index, Johns Hopkins University, Statista, and Macrotrends, the list seeks to have a complete vision, putting together traditional metrics with new factors.

Singapore as of late is continually building its reputation as a City in Nature, with Singaporean design long having a strong consciousness to acknowledge that green spaces matter. Urban planners and architects alike have taken a conscientious decision to weave in nature throughout the city as it continues to uproot new buildings and developments, incorporating the implementation of plant life in any form, whether it be through green roofs, cascading vertical gardens, or verdant walls.

Biodiversity has become ubiquitous in project descriptions as yet another mark of the design's environmental accomplishments. The increasing focus on sustainability, the standard inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, prompts a deeper understanding of what biodiversity in urban environments means and how can architecture and urban design actively contribute to it. With species extinction rates soaring and urbanization over natural land continuing, cities become an essential factor in sustaining biodiversity, and the following explores how the built environment can foster multi-species habitats.

This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights different competition-winning designs submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From large scale commercial developments to cultural interventions in historical urban fabrics, from adaptive reuse projects with an environmental focus to educational facilities, this article showcases a variety of design approaches, programs and scales. The proposals featured are the results of local and international competitions, either creative concepts or projects currently in progress.

Singapore has emerged as a global design center. As a city-state and island country in Southeast Asia, the Lion City is home to a new class of high-rise buildings, gardens and iconic landmarks. While the design world is familiar with structures like the Safdie's Jewel Changi Airport or OMA's Interlace, Singapore has also built a range of new public and civic buildings alongside extensive land reclamation projects.

Architectural photographer and short filmmaker Kevin Siyuan released his latest architectural short film titled "A Wes Anderson-ish Singapore", a short motion picture that features buildings by world renowned architects built around the country. The 30-minute documentary was released as part of Singapore Archifest's virtual exhibition: Singapore Through My Eyes, and focuses on the urban planning, architecture, neighborhoods, parks, and green spaces, and how the people of Singapore have adapted to the pandemic.

The urban metropolises of our planet are home to an abundance of stories. They are home to stories of wealth, of innovation, and of architectural marvels. They are home, too, to stories of inequality, inequity and of urban divides – places where one’s income determines the quality of the spatial environment around them. Within these stories has developed an increasing advocation for making cities “smarter”, the goal being to use data and digital technology to build more efficient and convenient urban environments.

The Singapore Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai illustrates the city's aspiration towards a sustainable future that merges architecture, nature, technology and culture. Under the title "Nature.Nurture.Future", the pavilion designed by WOHA Architects and landscape design practice Salad Dressing showcases a sample of Singapore's urban environment that epitomizes its City in Nature vision. The multi-layered green space creates a self-sufficient ecosystem highlighting ideas of sustainability and resilience through the marriage of technology and nature.

Aedas revealed the design for the Jurong East Integrated Transport Hub, a development merging work environment and recreation located within a vibrant commercial area outside of Singapore’s city centre. Featuring a transport interchange station and an office tower, together with community-oriented amenities, the project is designed as a catalyser for the emergence of a second financial district in the western part of the city.

Time magazine has released the World’s Greatest Places Of 2021, selecting 100 destinations from around the globe. With revitalized riverfronts, affordable artistic incubators, and superlative city-states, the list is a tribute to the built and natural environment that found a way “to adapt, build and innovate”, amidst the challenges of the past year.