Singapore leads green architecture and sustainable building design in Asia – here’s why
- Projects like the Eden ultra-luxury residences show how nature forms an integral part of building design in Singapore, hailed as Asia’s only ‘biophilic city’
- The trend was kicked off there with WOHA’s Newton Suites, which was so impressive in its use of greenery it saw a change in building legislation
Kermit the Frog once lamented that it wasn’t easy being green. Large-scale developers who for years have been trying to reconcile their economic and environmental concerns would agree.
The seeds have been sown for some time in Singapore, where biophilic architectural accomplishments have built on the “garden city” vision of the late founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. It started as a desire to green the island quickly to provide shade and access to nature for all. Fifty years later and Singapore has evolved into a “city in a garden”, where pervasive plant life and biodiversity are inherent parts of the built environment.
Singapore is Asia’s only biophilic city, according to Richard Hassell, co-founder of architectural firm WOHA, the long-time leaders in green design in Singapore. But the concept, while in its infancy in Hong Kong, has been gaining traction across the region for some time, with major projects in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and mainland China in particular hotly following the Lion City’s lead.
Swire’s first residential foray into Singapore is the most recent designed around the scientific principle that connecting humans to nature improves well-being.
