Artist’s impression of the 150,000 sq ft Urban Park at Tanjong Pagar Centre. Source: GuocoLand
Singapore’s Garden City vision was started in the 1960s by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Thousands of trees were planted along roads and in housing estates to transform the city into a flourishing garden.
The country’s bold plan to go green has evolved over the years as environmental issues such as climate change take centre stage. For instance, more developers are now encouraged to adopt sustainability into their building designs.
At the recent PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (Singapore) 2017, developer GuocoLand was hailed as an exemplary innovator for its integrated development Tanjong Pagar Centre, which was fully completed in early 2017.
At 290m high, it is the tallest building in the Garden City and quite possibly the greenest too, picking up the Best Green Development prize for incorporating well-designed public spaces as well as sustainable and green amenities.
The project stands out for its 150,000 sq ft Urban Park, which is directly linked to Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Visitors can enjoy its lush greenery and take part in community events such as group exercise sessions or watch music performances.
Here’s a look at four other properties which have scored top marks for being green.
PARKROYAL on Pickering
Dubbed the first eco-friendly hotel in Singapore, the project at Upper Pickering was completed in 2013. Developed by UOL Group, it features over 160,000 sq ft of sky gardens and achieves total energy savings of 3.5 million kilowatt hours per year. This is equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 8,500 households.
CapitaGreen
Completed in 2014, the 40-storey Grade A office building near Raffles Place MRT station is touted as one of the greenest commercial buildings in Singapore. Designed by Toyo Ito, more than half of the building’s façade is covered by plants. At the top sits a red and white sculptural petalled wind scoop that helps to draw in cooler air, and channels it to the floors below.
The Criterion in Yishun comprises 505 executive condominium (EC) units spread across 10 blocks. CDL launched the project in 2015 and it boasts free-to-use electric bicycles with a solar charging station – a first for an EC project. This encourages residents to adopt a green mode of transport and reduces their carbon footprint.
The $3.2 billion mixed-use project by Lendlease in Paya Lebar is slated for completion in 2019 and offers more than 100,000 sq ft of green public spaces. Aside from high efficiency water fittings and more efficient air-conditioning systems, there will also be end-of-trip facilities and bicycle parking spaces to promote cycling among tenants.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
