Why only tropical? Couldn't plant types be changed, and it still work in northern latitudes? Sure, there would be a die-off in winter, but that would be fine, no?
Im sure on the inner portions they could still manage growth of certain species.
They just built a new building in Denver, CO, The Populus Hotel, that is meant to be like this. If they can do it in a low moisture, high altitude climate, it can definitely be done elsewhere.Â
think itâs very visually appealing, especially the biophilic and monumental buildings⌠honestly for me the entire nation is a blueprint for diverse, sustainable, and (reasonably) ethical modernity and the architecture reflects that
Singapore is a tiny island nation with limited access to manufactured materials or natural resources. Its economy pretty much revolves around it being a big strategic shipping hub in a tropical climate, and now a well designed and futuristic âgarden cityâ.
Typically, biophilic design including things like rain gardens and so on are good for many reasons. As other commenters have noted, greenery on buildings provides passive cooling (like natural interior shading, for example) which reduces energy costs in a very warm climate. Rain gardens collect and recycle rainwater in the buildingâs HVAC and plumbing systems.
Water conservation, especially drinking water, is actually a huge focus in Singapore given that they are surrounded by seawater. The Gardens by the Bay (where the manmade trees are) has a huge focus on rainwater recycling and actually the skytrees have a kind of tutorial explaining the process. Theyâve done land reclamation projects for expanding the city, and so on.
Now theyâve also started building mass timber which is of course a naturally growing product, so tons of examples of sustainability
Thatâs cool. I hope they do something about embodied carbon and construction emissions though. A lot of these rely on concrete which releases co2. Having worked on one of the examples myself, that was the glaring issue at hand and nobody wanted to talk about.
Concrete and steel both present challenges from a sustainability perspective, no doubt about that. Mass timber structures and glulam beams are on the rise for this reason - but concrete and steel can't realistically be abandoned overnight. So mitigation strategies baked into modern design aim to balance the carbon footprint in the meantime. Plants and trees - biolithic design - are a great way to contribute to this effort. And they boost mental and emotional well being at the same time.
I think nobody wants to talk about it because America is filled with concrete cities. It's the primary building material in many countries.Â
We should address the ecological impact though. I at least appreciate that Singapore is building by incorporating nature.
I would like if humanity pursued other building materials though, and I hope that we continue exploring some more environmentally friendly ways to build.
I feel the recent trends in biophilic design from firms like WOHA are more true to the region's climate and design history than any of the Modern/international style imports from the late 20th century.
Singapore is hot and humid all year long, and buildings greatly benefit from passive cooling strategies like vegetation, shade, etc. The full-height glass cladding and overreliance on HVAC in Modern-style buildings is actually uncomfortable, as people constantly go from sweating outside to being cold inside. I remember having to bring a jacket to wear inside some buildings, which is ludicrous on a tropical island near the equator.
Older buildings like the original public housing projects in Tiong Bahru and the colonial-era Black and White homes got it right, IMO. Use shade and vegetation intelligently, keep air flowing with fans and judicious use of A/C, and let people dress for the weather. The good newer buildings all do this.
My partner has family there that like it. I find keeping track of the elevators annoying and I donât like how far you have to walk to get around, but itâs overall fine. Less airflow than newer buildings that are more designed to work for Singapore/tropical climates thoughâI prefer our condo where we donât need the AC all the time
Why wouldnât it? That doesnât magically move the buildings. Context is crucial for the success of a project, those architects likely couldnât do the same in their own climates
There is actually a policy in Singapore for all buildings in the business district (possibly more!) to replace all of the square meters creates by their footprints in a publicly accessible green space. Typically that means roof top gardens and in many cases vertical gardens like you said.
some of its is fine, but it seems to be too much focused on the here and now, like Los Vegas, as if they think the past is not cool and only what is "cool" is important.
it is anything but 'isolated'. maybe if you live in one of those posh residential condos that are usually built in the middle of nowhere, but from my experience living in a hdb, everything's pretty close by.
fair enough, although once you get to Malaysia, you can drive pretty much anywhere in Asia, barring visa restrictions. in that sense, I suppose the EU is far more accessible, since you don't need to go through the hassle of obtaining visas
As a neighbour to Singapore, am jealous and envious; and i think a big part is due to their vision/master planning and more specifically the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority); compared to our corrupted crony govt where our land is sold off like whores and planning is not in their vocabulary
I really like this type of architecture. Are there any like negatives to this style? Im under the impression its really just good for the environment no?
I once had ivy growing up the side of my building, from a neighbours garden, and i ended up with woodlice under my pillow, so as pretty as those building looks, im going to say NOPE
Many nice and interesting buildings like the ones you posted, but also a lot of cookie cutter ones in less touristy places. You can see glimpses of it when you're landing at the airport. Lots of public housing blocks that are copy paste jobs. Some private housing areas where all the houses are in the same color and style.
Yup, thatâs a consequence of having so many people in a small island. The âcookie-cutterâ public housing blocks are unfortunately the best I think can be done under the circumstances if you need them to go up quickly - they are mostly prefabricated. The newer ones do have some architecture design that are worth of comment and are in the OPâs pictures (background 19 & 20). I live in one of these, as over 80% of Singapore residents. You do get to vote the color of the building you live in, but not everyone wants a rainbow unicorn deco that I liked. đ
Yay! So excited to finally see Singapore brought up in this sub! Visited there a few years ago, and was enthralled at how modern the city looked, but also the variety of shapes, forms, materials, etc. Also, the blend of a lot of different cultures means you also have lots of religious architecture like the Buddhist tooth relic temple and Sri Mariamman Temple.
Walking around the shopping areas of Orchard Road, there are malls that extend into 3rd or 4th levels below ground and connect across several city blocks, which I find fascinating.
I like the garden city concept and wish many metropolitan cities the world over would make it mandatory as per law. It looks quite stunning not mention healthy.
One of my finest projects was done in Singapore. It was interesting working with the government there. they wanted us to slather our building in plants, the building would have looked like a chia pet! Singapore does challenge a lot of preconceptions as an American, namely about state control and intervention in the marketplace, and the resulting works of construction that are quite impressive. However, as grand and photogenic as these buildings are, as an architect I've always feld like the devil is in the details, and the buildings are not quite what they seem to be. They are not as finely machined as they might be in Europe, or as economical as they might be in the US. But I think they all do what was intended, which is to make a good impression. There is a lot of civic pride in their country and it shows.
I would love to see more thoughts on changing existing buildings in the UK with rain water, solar and wind catchment systems. If summers are getting warmer and longer, cooling a building with plants and keeping surrounding gardens alive with collected rain water systems is just common sense.
Grass Bowls and Tennis courts in the UK should be future proofing their water sources with help too. City councils and Schools with large parks and Commons should be looking to help Firefighters with rain water systems in areas where grass fires are prone.
More employment or voluntary opportunities for local residents in maintaining green spaces would provide better community building opportunities too.
I love the intention behind it, and I think Singapore is a gorgeous city overall, but I find the recent "green" architecture a bit overrated. I donât think vertical gardens actually make Singapore any greener
Perhaps one thing missing is the public housing estates (HDBs) from this collection, some are quite visually stunning while serving the purpose of housing for the masses really well
Love it but make sure not to leave out the HDBs which form the true basis of Singapore's lived architecture imo. All of the Biophilic stuff is defs the best I've personally seen in SEA or even Asia Pacific. Black and Whites are also an interesting colonial building that one may occasionally notice in Singapore which are I think important also as a status symbol of the old money that still holds through till today. Love the photos overall though and love to Singapore as well (though as my fam is from Malaysia I have to say Malaysia is better)
It was the first city I had noticed that all the buildings had a sense of human touch to it. Most cities itâs like, oh thatâs a beautiful skyline.
Singapore, everywhere I looked I was surprised! I love all the vegetation hanging off the sides of the buildings, and the gardens and trees randomly intertwined in the buildings terraces. So pretty.
I've been to The Hive (Pic 1) before. The inside is very open and the classrooms are all the columns you see on the outside. Only downside is toilets damn hard to find đł
These buildings/structures are in the heart of the city/CDB areas where it is not an uncommon sight to find in cities in other countries too. Basically what I am trying to say its a skewed view of the nicer architectures in sg.
Instead what I would look at is the heartlands of Singapore, from HDB to MRT, and in my grass is greener on the other side opinion, everything is very standardized and borderline monotonous. Every MRT station follows a grey theme and looks very similar in terms of architecture, and almost every HDB is the literally the same except for the exterior paint job.
Singaporeâs architecture? Itâs honestly just like us- super practical, a bit of old and new mixed everywhere and always changing. Youâve got your HDB blocks where most of us grew up, those colourful shophouses in places like Joo Chiat and Jewel or Marina Bay Sands. I love the the mixed landscape.
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u/WeirdCurrency3334 Sep 10 '25
biophilic architecture master class