- New 150,000m2 eco-quarter designed by Foster + Partners as an exemplary showcase of green architecture
- The mixed-use development will house premium office space, a designer hotel, luxury residences ,retail space and a members only club
- Green Mark Platinum certified by the Building Construction Authority (BCA) in Singapore
Keeping cool
Designed to exemplify Singapore’s ideal of a ‘city in a garden’, South Beach’s central feature is a ribbon-like and lightweight canopy that is inspired by the natural form and function of a tree. The 280m-long canopy floats across the entire development to filter sunlight, solar glare and channel wind breezes into the public spaces. The result is a comfortable and cool environment all year round. At the same time, lower points of the canopy create valleys where rainwater can be collected and recycled for irrigating South Beach’s lush garden landscape.
Other green features include extensive sky gardens which like the canopy, act as ‘lungs’ to create greater natural air movement. These innovative features will contribute significantly to minimise the development’s overall energy consumption. In fact, it is estimated that South Beach will save close to 2,000 MWh of electricity and 174,000m3 of water annually.
Well-grounded
South Beach sits on both filled earth and deep soft marine clay. In its vicinity are also several conservation buildings and an underground MRT station. These posed challenging ground conditions for Arup to work on. In response, our geotechnics team designed two large 89m and 85m diameter cofferdams to stabilise the soil and provide pockets of dry enclose for safe excavation. The cofferdams also double up as the development’s foundation. After six arduous months and 16,420 truck loads, Arup along with other South Beach consultants, marked the end of the entire excavation process in April 2012.
In preserving the project site’s historical past, over 50% of the old Beach Road camp’s existing façade has been retained to form part of the new development. This includes the Drill Hall, the birthplace of the Singapore Armed Forces, which will also maintain its verandah spaces. Archways will also be reinstated to form part of a grand entrance lobby at one of the four conservation buildings.
When complete, South Beach will be a vibrant scene with sunken courtyards and tiered gardens, presenting a seamless connection between buildings of the past, present and future.