Site and Location
The Interlace is located on an elevated eight-hectare site, bounded by Alexandra Road and the Ayer Rajah Expressway, amidst the verdant Southern Ridges of Singapore. The development is commissioned by local developer, CapitaLand and its partner, Hotel Properties Limited (HPL). Ole Scheeren, partner in the renowned architectural firm, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), was invited to create a Beverley Hills style luxury large-scale residential complex on the former Gillman Heights site.
With about 170,000m² of gross floor area, the development will provide 1,040 residential units of varying sizes with extensive outdoor spaces and landscaping. The site completes a green belt that stretches between Kent Ridge, Telok Blangah Hill and Mount Faber Parks. Together with Gillman Village, residents can enjoy a variety of nature trails and restaurants within walking distance of the site.
Ole Scheeren said: “The design addresses concerns of shared space and social needs in a contemporary society and simultaneously responds to issues of shared living and individuality by offering a multiplicity of indoor/outdoor spaces specific to the tropical context.” Scheeren is responsible for the office’s work across Asia, including the China Central Television Station (CCTV) headquarters and the Television Cultural Center (TVCC) in Beijing, and the MahaNakhon Tower in Bangkok. His previous work also includes the Prada Epicenters in New York City and Los Angeles.
The apartment blocks are stacked in hexagonal configurations to create an interconnected network of living and communal spaces integrated with the natural environment.
Controversial Design
The project aims to generate ample spaces and opportunities for social interaction and shared activities while also providing intimate spaces of privacy and quietness – simultaneously fostering a sense of community and maintaining individuality and identity. Commentators have said that the controversial design of Interlace building, shares a similar look to the work of Soviet era Architects.
Instead of creating a cluster of isolated, vertical towers – the standard typology of residential developments in Singapore – the design responds to the issues and challenges of tropical living by proposing an expansive network of recreational and dwelling spaces integrated with the natural environment. It manages to look low level, but actually it’s 24 stories high!
The private balconies give apartments large outdoor space and personal planting areas. Cascading gardens spill over the façades of the buildings drawing a visual connection between the elevated green refuges and expansive tropical landscape on the ground. The continuous landscape is also projected vertically, from the planting of green areas in open-air basement voids, through balconies and rooftop gardens.
Environment-friendly Factors
The design capitalises on the generous size of the site and further maximises the presence of nature by introducing extensive roof gardens, landscaped sky terraces and cascading balconies. Above-ground vehicular circulation is minimised, liberating large green areas within the development. The Interlace incorporates sustainability features through careful environmental analysis of sun, wind, and micro-climate conditions on site and the integration of low-impact passive energy strategies.
Extensive residential amenities and facilities are interwoven into the lush vegetation and offer opportunities for social interaction, leisure, and recreation.
Trees, plants and flowers form a part of the residential program and provide a lush tropical environment for the residents to enjoy and provide settings for leisure activities. A number of landscaped open-air voids are introduced to allow light and air to the basement level and first floor parking deck, creating areas of lush vegetation and trees below ground and connecting these subterranean spaces visually and through planting, to the courtyards above.
Two types of roof garden space are provided – Sky Gardens located where there are blocks overhead; and private roof gardens located on roofs open to the sky. The Sky Gardens offer a variety of public programs and can be used by all residents.
Panoramic views across and beyond the site are offered throughout the project, given the advantageous site elevation, massing and overall height. Views from Superlevel 2 Sky Gardens will be at the top of the tree canopy; therefore creating a more enclosed feeling and a focus on foreground. Views from Superlevels 3 & 4 will be well above the surrounding tree canopy, offering distant panoramic views of Singapore’s CBD and the Sentosa coastline towards the sea.
Extensive residential amenities and facilities are interwoven into the lush vegetation and offer opportunities for social interaction, leisure, and recreation.
