Winning Residences from the President's Design Award
One of Singapore’s most recognised names in residential design, as well as two public housing projects (HDBs) lauded
One of Singapore’s most recognised names in residential design, as well as two public housing projects (HDBs) received a President’s Design Award (PDA) this year.
Rene Tan, founding partner of RT+Q Architects was named a Designer of the Year, while SkyTerrace @ Dawson by SCDA Architects and SkyVille @ Dawson by WOHA Architects were both recognised as Designs of the Year, out of a record 140 nominations.
The PDA is a national benchmark for design excellence, administered by the DesignSingapore Council of the Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority since 2006.
Rene Tan, founding partner of RT+Q Architects was named a Designer of the Year, while SkyTerrace @ Dawson by SCDA Architects and SkyVille @ Dawson by WOHA Architects were both recognised as Designs of the Year, out of a record 140 nominations.
The PDA is a national benchmark for design excellence, administered by the DesignSingapore Council of the Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority since 2006.
Jury citation for Rene Tan:
“The House at Watten Drive is a commendable rethinking of terrace housing and demonstrates how the constraints of a long and narrow site can be turned into opportunities.”
“The House at Watten Drive is a commendable rethinking of terrace housing and demonstrates how the constraints of a long and narrow site can be turned into opportunities.”
Jury citation for Rene Tan:
“In The House in 3 Movements, the spaces are well-conceived and display a fluid quality between floors that is also experienced in the spaces between the house and its neighbours.”
“In The House in 3 Movements, the spaces are well-conceived and display a fluid quality between floors that is also experienced in the spaces between the house and its neighbours.”
House of the Connoisseur, by Rene Tan
House with Bridges, by Rene Tan
Take the Houzz Tour
The PDA also awarded engineer Hossein Rezai and architect Raymond Woo as Designers of the Year.
Rezai, who founded Web Structures, is the first engineer to be recognised by the design award. He has been involved in the design and realisation of some of the most impressive structures including skyscrapers and bespoke resorts in over 26 countries.
Woo is the principal architect of Raymond Woo & Associates, a firm that designed some of the most iconic, much loved and successful public and commercial buildings in Singapore, such as the Singapore Science Centre (1975) and Ngee Ann City (1993).
Take the Houzz Tour
The PDA also awarded engineer Hossein Rezai and architect Raymond Woo as Designers of the Year.
Rezai, who founded Web Structures, is the first engineer to be recognised by the design award. He has been involved in the design and realisation of some of the most impressive structures including skyscrapers and bespoke resorts in over 26 countries.
Woo is the principal architect of Raymond Woo & Associates, a firm that designed some of the most iconic, much loved and successful public and commercial buildings in Singapore, such as the Singapore Science Centre (1975) and Ngee Ann City (1993).
Design of the Year: SkyTerrace @ Dawson
Designed by the award-winning team of architect Chan Soo Khian, SCDA Architects, SkyTerrace @ Dawson is a new generation HDB housing prototype located in Dawson Estate, Queenstown, with five residential 43-storey towers (totalling 758 units) and a four-storey linear car park podium connected by sky-bridges at every level.
Designed by the award-winning team of architect Chan Soo Khian, SCDA Architects, SkyTerrace @ Dawson is a new generation HDB housing prototype located in Dawson Estate, Queenstown, with five residential 43-storey towers (totalling 758 units) and a four-storey linear car park podium connected by sky-bridges at every level.
Jury citation for SkyTerrace @ Dawson:
“SkyTerrace @ Dawson is a fresh and innovative project that provides a solution for public housing in Singapore with a specific focus on the concept of multi-generational living. It surprises with a sophisticated image that is usually associated with private housing.
“The variety of loft and studio units are put together in such a way that is functional and also contributes to the formal language of the design. The ground plane is skilfully integrated with the adjacent park and through the strategic use of sky terraces and roof gardens, there is a conscious effort to make green spaces accessible even to tenants living at the highest levels…”
“SkyTerrace @ Dawson is a fresh and innovative project that provides a solution for public housing in Singapore with a specific focus on the concept of multi-generational living. It surprises with a sophisticated image that is usually associated with private housing.
“The variety of loft and studio units are put together in such a way that is functional and also contributes to the formal language of the design. The ground plane is skilfully integrated with the adjacent park and through the strategic use of sky terraces and roof gardens, there is a conscious effort to make green spaces accessible even to tenants living at the highest levels…”
Jury citation for SkyTerrace @ Dawson:
“…The architects have designed a prefabricated concrete structure which is very elegant and fluid. They managed to overcome many of the limitations of this technology with a building that has been very well detailed and executed.
“The Jury commends it for being an exemplar for future public housing by fulfilling the high density requirement in an increasingly land scarce Singapore, while creating high quality architecture that addresses pressing demographic issues.”
“…The architects have designed a prefabricated concrete structure which is very elegant and fluid. They managed to overcome many of the limitations of this technology with a building that has been very well detailed and executed.
“The Jury commends it for being an exemplar for future public housing by fulfilling the high density requirement in an increasingly land scarce Singapore, while creating high quality architecture that addresses pressing demographic issues.”
Design of the Year: SkyTerrace @ Dawson
Design of the Year: SkyTerrace @ Dawson
Design of the Year: SkyVille @ Dawson
Designed by award-winning architects Wong Mun Summ & Richard Hassell and their team at WOHA Architects, SkyVille @ Dawson is a public housing project consisting of 960 units divided into three blocks of four ‘villages’ each, a translation of the former kampong (local village) pattern into contemporary social housing. The architecture provides a universal, beam-free, clean and flexible space as the core of each home, with a variety of interior layouts.
Skyville @ Dawson’s universal design
Photos courtesy of WOHA / Patrick Bingham-Hall
Designed by award-winning architects Wong Mun Summ & Richard Hassell and their team at WOHA Architects, SkyVille @ Dawson is a public housing project consisting of 960 units divided into three blocks of four ‘villages’ each, a translation of the former kampong (local village) pattern into contemporary social housing. The architecture provides a universal, beam-free, clean and flexible space as the core of each home, with a variety of interior layouts.
Skyville @ Dawson’s universal design
Photos courtesy of WOHA / Patrick Bingham-Hall
Jury citation for SkyVille @ Dawson:
“SkyVille @ Dawson envisions a new typology for public housing in high-density urban areas. The architects managed to break down the scale of the high-rise block into a series of vertical villages, creating meaningful communal spaces akin to the kampong or village.
“At 11-storey intervals in elevation, horizontal planes with luscious greenery are inserted to create a spacious and airy environment for each residential cluster. The intervals coincide with and recall the heights of first generation public housing, bringing the familiarity of a ground level void deck to even residents who are living at higher levels…”
“SkyVille @ Dawson envisions a new typology for public housing in high-density urban areas. The architects managed to break down the scale of the high-rise block into a series of vertical villages, creating meaningful communal spaces akin to the kampong or village.
“At 11-storey intervals in elevation, horizontal planes with luscious greenery are inserted to create a spacious and airy environment for each residential cluster. The intervals coincide with and recall the heights of first generation public housing, bringing the familiarity of a ground level void deck to even residents who are living at higher levels…”
Jury citation for SkyVille @ Dawson:
“A variety of communal spaces such as communal living rooms and sky gardens are carefully curated along the streets in the sky at three strategic levels, creating a more human scale environment in this 47-storey building complex. A repetition of simple geometry creates a rich diversity of spaces, visual connectivity and a sense of orientation.
“The Jury commends it for being an exemplar for future public housing by fulfilling the high density requirement in an increasingly land scarce Singapore, while still keeping the spirit of old kampongs or villages.”
“A variety of communal spaces such as communal living rooms and sky gardens are carefully curated along the streets in the sky at three strategic levels, creating a more human scale environment in this 47-storey building complex. A repetition of simple geometry creates a rich diversity of spaces, visual connectivity and a sense of orientation.
“The Jury commends it for being an exemplar for future public housing by fulfilling the high density requirement in an increasingly land scarce Singapore, while still keeping the spirit of old kampongs or villages.”
Design of the Year: SkyVille @ Dawson
The PDA also awarded these other projects and products as Design of the Year:
Bynd Artisan
by &Larry
Enabling Village
by WOHA Architects
HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 All-in-One Printer
by HP Inc. (Edwin Chin and team)
National Design Centre
by SCDA Architects
SAFETiCET
by NSP Tech (Joseph Lum and team)
Samsung “AddWash”
by Samsung Electronics (Ken Ding and team)
Vscan Access
by Chemistry Form & GE Healthcare (Bassam Jabry, Karin Aue & Abhay Nihalani and team)
Wah Son @ Seletar Aerospace Park
by ipli Architects
The recipients received their award from President Tony Tan Keng Yam at a ceremony held at the Istana. An exhibition of the President’s Design Award 2016 is being held at the National Design Centre until January 6, 2017, and at the URA Centre from January 9 to 27, 2017. Admission is free.
MORE
Winners in the SIA Architectural Award 2016
The PDA also awarded these other projects and products as Design of the Year:
Bynd Artisan
by &Larry
Enabling Village
by WOHA Architects
HP OfficeJet Pro 8720 All-in-One Printer
by HP Inc. (Edwin Chin and team)
National Design Centre
by SCDA Architects
SAFETiCET
by NSP Tech (Joseph Lum and team)
Samsung “AddWash”
by Samsung Electronics (Ken Ding and team)
Vscan Access
by Chemistry Form & GE Healthcare (Bassam Jabry, Karin Aue & Abhay Nihalani and team)
Wah Son @ Seletar Aerospace Park
by ipli Architects
The recipients received their award from President Tony Tan Keng Yam at a ceremony held at the Istana. An exhibition of the President’s Design Award 2016 is being held at the National Design Centre until January 6, 2017, and at the URA Centre from January 9 to 27, 2017. Admission is free.
MORE
Winners in the SIA Architectural Award 2016
A total of 17 jurors from seven countries (including Singapore) cited Tan’s modern and elegant design language addressing the local tropical climate in his portfolio of works.
A gifted musician, Tan co-founded RT+Q Architects with TK Quek in 2003. He is also an academician, having taught at UC Berkeley, Syracuse, National University of Singapore and the University of Hong Kong. In 2013 and 2014, he was both speaker and juror at the World Architecture Festival.