Towering icons lend a new identity

Aug 19, 2008
Towering icons lend a new identity
Daring designs such as The Sail add glamour to Singapore's skyline
By Kimberly Spykerman

SKYSCRAPERS here don't have it easy.

They have been panned for spoiling the city skyline or for towering
over older buildings which have more 'character'.

They have also been seen as potential death traps when people recall
how New York's World Trade Center became a target of terrorists.

But here, where land is scarce, the only way to build is up.

Mounting a defence of skyscrapers, Mr Ashvinkumar Kantilal, the first
vice-president of the Singapore Institute of Architects, said
towering concrete structures will enable Singapore to accommodate its
growing population.

'Because of future plans to house a population averaging six million,
special considerations must be given to land use to achieve our
national objectives. In Singapore, land is so expensive, so the game
plan is to maximise its economic potential,' he said.

The URA's draft Masterplan 2008, a document stating the guidelines
for buildings based on the intensity of Singapore's projected
physical development, is shooting for exactly that.

But critics charge that talk about 'development' covers up the dent
in conservation efforts.

They say that with nondescript modern skyscrapers jostling for space
in the air, Singapore becomes just another modern-looking metropolis
lacking in character; quaint but smaller buildings are being
bulldozed into history in the name of creating space for their
taller, shinier cousins.

But architects who spoke to The Straits Times said skyscrapers can be
glamorous icons.

Mr Tai Lee Siang, 45, president of the Singapore Institute of
Architects, believes that if these buildings are planned and designed
with a gung-ho attitude, they can have an edge over their regional
counterparts.

He said: 'They could lend new identities to cities. With the
completion of the new skyscrapers that are more daring and dramatic
in design, such as The Sail and Sands integrated resort, Singapore
can definitely stand out.'

The professionals, when asked to name some of their personal
favourite buildings, obliged.

Mr Ashvinkumar singled out The Concourse in Beach Road, known for its
iconic haphazard structure, saying that he was involved in its
design 'in my formative years as an architect some 19 years ago'.

Mr Tai was torn between naming the Asia Insurance Building and the
OCBC building, both of which he termed 'classic beauties'.

He said the 87m-tall Asia Insurance Building's marble-clad facade and
tropical fins make it a one-of-a-kind structure in this region.

Singapore's tallest skyscrapers are Republic Plaza, OUB Centre and
UOB Plaza One, which stand at 280m.

They are midgets compared to regional giants like Kuala Lumpur's
Petronas Towers, and Taiwan's Taipei 101.

Should Singapore try to measure up?

Mr Ashvinkumar said he did not think so: 'Such massive structures
lack a 'human connectivity' factor. Buildings and people have to
interact together and not have one dominate over the other.'

Mr Tai shares this sentiment.

Citing the HDB's plans for 50-storey flats at Duxton Plain, he said
that while going that high fulfilled a function, the challenge for
architects lay in ensuring that these homes did not function the way
offices did.

He said: 'Unlike offices, public housing has the additional
responsibility of providing a socially harmonious environment. People
just cannot be boxed in. They must have the necessary infrastructure
in place to interact.'