The interior architecture of the new DBS headquarters represents a transformation in the Bank’s culture and work practices with 4800 staff consolidating into 60,000m2 of space at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3. The design expresses the Bank’s ‘New Asian’ identity by overlaying ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ landscapes. The natural landscape, applied to floors, walls and ceilings, is inspired by the geographies where DBS has a presence. Topographical drawings of these places are mapped onto surfaces to differentiate colour and texture. ‘New Asian’ culture is then represented by built elements which sit on the contoured landscape. These constructions, including The Hub, Workspace and Focus Rooms, reference the pursuits of commerce, creativity and contemplation. Each nature / culture pair is then themed to introduce diversity and vibrancy across eighteen floors. Examples include detailing of the Hub (commercial) areas as ‘textile’, ‘flower’, ‘vegetable’ and ‘spice’ markets, each metaphor influencing choice of materials, furnishings and accessories. Some floors were further specialised for trading, Islamic banking or executive functions, with internal staircases creating vertical linkages. A space for staff leisure activities on level 13 ‘inverted’ the concept of the other floors by placing a landscape within a building, a reference to walled Chinese gardens.

Photos by Owen Raggett

Construction Industry Council (CIC) of Hong Kong, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Government, has developed ZCB, the first Zero Carbon Building in Hong Kong, which is aimed to showcase state-of-the-art eco-building design and technologies to the construction industry internationally and locally and to raise community awareness of sustainable living in Hong Kong. The project addresses the imminent need for actions to reduce GHG emissions and is specifically designed for the high density, hot and humid sub-tropical urban context of Hong Kong. Open to the public, ZCB is a visitor education centre and houses a green office for CIC, a demonstration home for low carbon living, a multi-function room, the first urban native woodland of Hong Kong and other outdoor landscaped / event spaces. It is to set a world-class example in Hong Kong for low-carbon, highly energy-efficient buildings, acting as a teaching tool and a living platform for sustainability.

Photos by Kalson Ho

Siu Sai Wan Complex a green clubhouse for Hong Kong Island¡¦s Eastern District residents. The building offers leisure and recreational facilities within a green envelope. The open and polymorphic architectural form encourages public interaction while reducing energy consumption. The project is organized in two building blocks ¡X the 1000-seat multipurpose arena, indoor heated swimming pool and a small library make up one structure while the community hall and other activities rooms are housed in the other. The two are linked with bridges and escalators over a lofty atrium space lit with skylights. The atrium dramatically reduces overall energy consumption with naturally ventilated and illuminated design throughout the daytime. Further energy reduction in the complex includes ample provision of operable windows, insulated low-E glass and external sunshading devices. 30 percent of the roof is vegetated to provide thermal insulation and protection against the harsh summer rays. Siu Sai Wan Complex is a green public clubhouse.

Photos by Daniel Wong

The International Quilt Study Center and Museum provides a dramatic setting for the study and display of quilts while providing a signature gateway to the East Campus of the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The brief was two-fold: to safely store and provide appropriate spaces for staff and volunteers to conduct the restoration, study, and documentation of some two-thousand quilts; and to provide public access to environmentally appropriate galleries for the display of the rotating quilt collection exhibit. The LEED-Silver Center is a compact three-story brick building combining simply massed volumes housing the galleries and their support with a bowed facade composed of glass panels “stitched together” to create a large-scale pattern. As in a quilt, the building is organized in layers. The outer layer, comprising the transparent public spaces to the east and support spaces to the west, together enclose and protect the innermost layer, the windowless quilt storage and exhibition areas. The path of travel from the reception hall and galleries is a journey from daylight to the controlled light of the exhibits. A curved stepped ramp runs from the lobby along the east facade, leading visitors up to the light-filled second-floor reception hall overlooking the landscaped forecourt.

Photos by Peter Aaron / OTTO

The campus of Salve Regina University is located in the heart of Newport’s renowned “summer cottage” district and includes important historic houses, including Ochre Court (Richard Morris Hunt, 1881). For more than sixty years, the University got along with a make-do chapel installed in what had been a ballroom in Ochre Court. Our new chapel, nestled into a small wood at the center of campus, has been designed as the physical representation of the university’s spiritual mission, which combines a continuing Catholic tradition with open and ecumenical outreach to people of all faiths. Our design combines local stone in the tradition of New England country churches with the cedar shingles of nearby Shingle-style buildings by Peabody & Stearns and McKim, Mead & White. The chapel establishes an axial relationship with Ochre Court, recasting the buildings of the estate into a consolidated academic campus. The south-facing entrance porch opens onto a new landscaped lawn. The sanctuary accommodates 250 worshipers; historic windows are set in an adjacent meditation room. The stair tower that links to the common room below is topped with a belfry and steeple, creating a visual landmark for the chapel bells that will gather the Salve community.

Photos by Francis Dzikowski / Esto

Clients for whom we had designed a house in San Francisco asked us to complement their existing weekend house in the Sonoma Valley with accommodations for formal entertaining and a poolhouse that doubles as a guest cottage. The robust Awahnee sits atop a hill at the northwest entry to the property, oriented to spectacular views south to the Sonoma Mountains and east and north over the valley. It provides a quiet reading room to the east, a kitchen wing to the north, and a dining pergola with adjacent barbecue to the west, all organized around a central entry lawn. The guest cottage is situated downslope amidst mature Arbutus and tall live oaks, with a south-facing pergola overlooking the adjacent pool and providing shade for the main living space. Use of light-colored cladding and roof materials as well as artful placement of window louvers and pergolas help minimize solar heat gain while maximizing cool breezes during the summer months. The two structures share a common vocabulary inspired by northern California farm vernacular and a common palette of cedar board-and-batten siding, corrugated metal roofs, Sonoma stone walls, locally-crafted windows and doors, and bluestone paving.

Photos by Peter Aaron / OTTO

The Living Steel International Extreme Housing Competition was essentially a specific yet simple brief – a sustainable steel house for Cherepovets, Russia – a city that experiences -48C temperatures. With origins from a locality where cooling is the primary consideration it enabled an unconditioned and fresh approach to a demanding climatic problem. We reviewed the climatic conditions of Cherepovets to best understand both the opportunities and difficulties associated with such a harsh environment. The qualities of steel were re-considered and the unusual use of existing technology integrated into a highly refined approach to energy management. The Cherepovets house is a foreign reaction to a local problem. Every aspect of the solution is a means of considering how best to retain energy produced by the day to day performance of a house that trapped in the building is moved to a singular collection point then redistributed through a centralized storage wall. The wall is sheet steel filled with gravel and acts as a large thermal mass radiator. The building is deliberately precise; the aesthetic is the outcome of developing the potential of a technical solution with the understanding that ‘beauty’ is an equal partner in a sustainable response –alongside efficiency.

Photos by Peter Stutchbury

Shelford Suites sits on a rectilinear site enclosed by neighbouring private developments. The architecture is based on the use of linear forms to enhance the depth of space. The composition of the facades creates a movement of shifting planes and volumes, giving the building a lighter feel and redefining the streetscape with its linear form. The L-shaped layout allows one to enjoy 2 vastly different views within the compound. The longer building promises a glamorous city view, while its shorter counterpart captures the lush scene of the elongated internal garden and pool, creating an illusion of space within the tight site. A Gold Plus winner under Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority Green Mark Award, Shelford Suites underscores how environmental sustainability can be achieved without compromising on aesthetics, comfort and quality of living. Units are designed for the occupants’ needs in mind. There are 3 unit types generally: 2-Bedrooms unit for the newly-weds, 3-Bedrooms unit for the nuclear families, and the 4-Bedroom unit for extended families. All are equipped with large balconies, which act as verandahs for units below, and to bring in the distant landscape visually, allowing one to enjoy the panoramic view from the comfort of his home.

Photos by Marc Tey

Richman-Duplex, West72nd Street-NY,Completed August2011 The refurbishment of this 167m2/1,800sf duplex within an existing post-war, residential-tower in the premier upper-west side of Manhattan, was designed for a retired couple, devotees of classical music/ballet, as an urban sanctuary for their frequent visits to NY and purchased both for the mesmerizing views and close proximity to Lincoln Centre. The conceptual framework, based on a set of ancient Japanese design aesthetics, embraced by the Owners during the years the family lived/worked in Japan –were ideals of wabi (transient/stark beauty), sabi (beauty of natural-patina, aging), and yūgen (profound grace, subtlety). A delicate Noh-mask carved using traditional techniques by the client’s daughter floats ethereally within a glazed-lit niche. Programmatically the space divides into public/private. The lower-level is one large, open utilitarian space for dining/entertainment with floor-width views, partitioned with Shoji screens. The private bedroom “quarters” on the upper-level, feature a sequence of graceful/rhythmic forms flowing around the central core wall forming a contextual relationship with the adjacent building/lake. The low-ceiling height restrictions were resolved by creating dropped ceiling-planes that carved/slipped/floated with lit-coves/lit-infinity edges creating a dynamic/sculptural interplay-an illusion of a taller/grander spatial-openness. Minimal tolerances rely on precision in execution completing the Enso“circle”–the absolute in strength/elegance/void.

Photos by Francis Dzikowski/Esto

Leigh & Orange creates slick equestrian performance arena in Qatar Leigh & Orange was commissioned to build the world class equine facility, Al Shaqab Equestrian Performance Arena, located in Doha, Qatar. The 800,000 square meter equestrian academy is part of the Education City complex, containing 7,000 seats with an extended capacity of 10,000, providing a grand inner precinct for the Emir¡¦s stables and the large Performance Arena that acts as the central focal point. The performance arena houses have three primary functions: a warm up area and two performance arenas¡Xindoor and outdoor. Conceptually the building is treated as three distinct elements: the plinth base, the roof and the infill glazed wall that links these two elements. The roof form aims to recall traditional desert tents hovering on the horizon which is curved in two directions with its high point over the indoor arena. Our practice founded in 1874, Leigh & Orange is a large, well-established, international architectural design practice offering high quality design and project management services on a wide range of building types, in both public and private sectors throughout Hong Kong, China and the Middle East. To know more about us, please visit www.leighorange.com.

Photos by John Nye

This competition winning design proposal for a new city government office complex in Xitaihu New Town incorporates a 5 star hotel with full conference and meeting capability together with a range of restaurant and support facilities. The dynamic shape provides a unique, sculptural form as one approaches the building. Located on a corner site, the faceted planes of the building shift their formal relationships when seen from different vantage points. The “rock crystal” is purposely asymmetrical in its formal massing, with faceted planes bevelled to differing orientations. The dramatic form of the building is part of the project’s integrated sustainable design, generated to create a self-shading form which, in conjunction with the horizontal sun shading and variable facade panel system, significantly reduces the facades peak heat loading, allowing for a significant reduction in plant and services. The green building approach is enhanced by the use of a displacement air conditioning system, providing supply air to all office spaces through a raised floor that also allows future flexibility for changes in layout and building cabling. This building is designed to achieve a 2 star Chinese green star energy rating (equivalent to Australian 5 star).

Photos by Borong Chen

The brief for this project was to refresh the image of the existing retail centre through the design of a new facade system. The complex includes: cinema complex, Wanda brand department store, Walmart, general retail, entertainment and restaurant zones, digital superstore and homemaker centre. LAB studied numerous potential facade systems that would addressed the client requirement for the design of both a “new face” to the retail centre, along with the economic considerations of ease of fabrication, construction and staging – particularly in order to minimise disruption to the retail operations, and to meet an aggressive and ambitious construction schedule. The resulting 18,000m2 façade screen is suspended off the building structure. The variegated tiling pattern serves to unify the disparate existing retail components, pulling together differing parapet heights, and differently scaled entries and openings. These entries are articulated by a pleated and glazed arcade, giving a more common expression at each of the entry gates. The repetitive triangular pattern is based on Polish mathematician Warclaw Sierpinski’s fractal tiling set. The fixed set is reproducible at any magnification or reduction, and can be broken down into a ‘rep-tile’ of smaller self-replicating tilings to form smaller copies of the same shape.

Photos by Yu Wei

Guardian Towers comprises two sites: a residential tower and an office tower, joined by a shared retail and services podium. Guardian Towers in Abu Dhabi is the second completed UAE project by LAB Architecture Studio. Achieved in association with ERGA-Progress, Guardian Towers was completed in August 2011, and the residential and office towers are fully occupied. Constructed by Dubai Constructing Company, the project was finished early and with significant cost savings. Centrally located along the northern edge of the Danet Abu Dhabi development, Guardian Towers’ design provides for a conspicuous fragmentation of the traditional box-shaped tower design that marks much of Abu Dhabi. The two towers are shifted in relation to each other, providing a more dynamic interaction at the scale of the buildings and the skyline. This shift offers a more diverse set of contextual alignments, both with the existing buildings to the north, and the more symmetrically positioned buildings within the development. Beyond their siting, the two towers break down the rectangular massing of traditional mid-rises with a more fractured and offset form. The offset design allows the project to portray a degree of spatial articulation and visual complexity that redefines the image of the mid-rise tower.

Photos by Javier Callejas Sevilla

The owners (a family of four) pictured a sustainable indoor/outdoor lifestyle that would take advantage of their large battle axe lot. A pool house (clad in metal and cellular polycarbonate) was built first so they could live on site and watch the construction of the main house. The family approach daily life as improvisation with no fixed sense of what activities should happen where. The resulting compound of interconnected indoor and outdoor spaces anticipates changes in use over time. Tall white boxes enclose living and sleeping spaces and low wood clad bars house bathrooms and storage. All living/sleeping spaces spill to the outside along the primary circulation that runs from motor court, to the big lawn, to the pool. The constant indoor/outdoor traffic required an alternate approach to air-conditioning to responsibly provide indoor comfort over hot dry summers and cooling is achieved through a combination of passive strategies supplemented by fan-assisted earth tubes. The intelligence of this house design is how such disciplined choices add up to deliver such spatial variety. With minimum window/door types, modest materials, simple shapes and a few inventive details the house provides an unexpectedly strong backdrop for living.

Photos by Eric Stuadenmaier

This project sensitively and sustainably restores and enhances a significant building in the heart of Los Angeles’ African American Community. The original 1926 YMCA building was designed by celebrated African American architect, Paul Williams, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and the restoration and addition re-establishes the building’s role as an important community resource. The inventive approach to the integration of new building systems generated a strong social space – the anchoring roof garden. The subtly detailed screen that wraps the new addition backdrops the garden and provides a lightweight counterpoint to the solid Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. The perforated screen feathers at the ends to catch views of the city and incorporates a fugitive ornamental pattern (inspired by historic building details) that is revealed by the sun at different times of day. The final construction cost came in under the original estimates and the building is pending LEED gold.

Photos by Eric Staudenmaier

Martin No. 38 is a residential and commercial development located on the fringe of Singapore’s Central Business District. The brief was to provide loft-like spaces for young professionals, close to the city centre and yet offering a refuge from busy working lives. A variety of apartment types were designed, with open layouts to maximise flexibility of space-usage. The dominant mass, a 15 storey tower, contains apartments and penthouses with ample balconies providing views of the city. Single bedroom pied-a-terre units are stacked in three small stand-alone towers to the north, overlooking a mature tropical landscape. The commercial component is housed in a two storey building with covered walkway facing Martin Road – a contemporary version of the Singaporean ‘five foot way’. The material selection is robust, but with a richness of texture, light and shade. Off-form concrete is used for the walls and ceilings, both externally and internally. The main façade is formed by a skin of aluminium sun louvres which are controlled separately for each apartment. The surprise and delight in this building comes from its constantly changing appearance, animated by the decisions of individual residents as they adjust their interface with the outside world.

Photos by Albert Lim

As one of China’s major manufacturing centres, Suzhou Industrial Park requires a range of financial support services, and the 20 storey building provides over 30,000 m2 of space for these activities. The building presents a distinctive and identifiable form within the precinct. Two slender planes of polished granite appear to support a glazed tower over a podium and frame the principal entry. The regular grid of recessed 1m x 1m windows, many of which open for ventilation, belies the building’s height which is limited to 100m by the planning controls. At close quarters the granite planes appear as crisply detailed screens. Traditional Chinese architecture uses screens to frame views, filter sunlight and importantly, provide a sense of privacy whilst maintaining a strong connection to the outside. The granite screens of the China Merchant Bank achieve the same effect at both a precinct and human scale, with a sense of permanence and privacy that is so critical for a bank building. The dual wall western façade contains interconnecting stairs set within a wider section of the wintergarden. Uncommon in many Chinese commercial buildings, these have proved successful in fostering staff interaction and in changing the traditional rigid workplace environment.

Photos by Yao Li

This mixed use development occupies a corner site on the waterfront of Auckland’s eastern suburbs. The lower level contains car parking, a bank, restaurant and the main building entry, around a publicly accessible courtyard, at the centre of which is a rotating sculpture known as ‘The Seedling’. These lower level spaces have been raised 0.5 metres above street level to allow views over parked cars to the beach and water beyond. The middle level contains 5 commercial office suites and one residential apartment, while the upper level houses 4 residential apartments. The deep rectangular site is enclosed on two sides by adjoining developments, resulting in a planning concept based on 6 internal courtyards, in addition to the public courtyard on the northern frontage. The building is constructed entirely of off-white precast concrete panels, with hollow core precast floor panels. The concrete is left exposed to all external faces and internally to all common areas. Angled off-white glass reinforced concrete blades are employed on the east and west faces of the public courtyard for privacy and sun-shading, while maintaining views out to the water.

Photos by Daniel Mayne

The prominent site of the Al Bidda Tower demanded a memorable form that would be a unique departure from conventional tower design, and provide a clear-span interior which maximises lettable space at the upper levels. The 90,000 sq.m, tower is clad in an unconventional diagonal curtain wall that accommodates the progressively varying floor plates as well as the rotation of the apex on the triangular ‘rotor’ shaped plan. The resulting multi-faceted glass façade sparkles with sunlight during the day and at night, specially designed façade lighting during the night. The tower dominates the skyline of Doha’s central business area and Corniche by presenting a striking, continually twisting façade and structure. The plan is rotated at each level, and each floor plate is unique. Al Bidda tower complements its modern surroundings and stands out with its inventive and varied triangulated structural curtain wall system. The Al Bidda Tower is winner of a High Commendation in the Cityscape Awards 2011 and won Tower Project of the Year in the Construction Week Qatar Awards in 2011. It also won the Architecture Award (Qatar) – Office Award in the Arabian Commercial Property Awards 2011.

Photos by Shadi Saliba

THE LIGHT LINEAR, a state-of-the-art residential development epitomes today’s modern urban lifestyle tinge with the eco-centric environment features – set amidst a busy thoroughfare, the Jelutong Expressway at the eastern coastline of Penang. Most condos offer delightful, panoramic views of the ocean, Penang Bridge, city centre and landscaped gardens. The development embodies the art of high living with a deep sense of appreciation for the environment, the design concept of Light Linear centres upon a modern, minimalist design powered by the intelligent Smart Home System that integrates security, home automation and lighting automation through the use of central command interfaces. Plant life in and around the property is watered by an ingenious rain harvesting system, while part of the construction is made of sustainable building materials. Light Linear captures the little extras found in a home buyer’s needs through its luxurious 50 metres length swimming pool, tennis court, cycling track, basketball court, indoor golf putting green, spacious car park lots, fully equipped gymnasium and large locker space for storage needs. Weekend parties and get-together by the poolside are a memorable affair with barbeque pits located amidst serene surroundings inviting loved ones to stroll through the garden trek.

Photos by Muhammad Taufik