SINGAPORE | Marina Bay Downtown Development News

[RafflesCity]

21 Jul 05

http://www.ura.gov.sg/lad/bfc/images/bfc-main1.jpg


Marina Bay will play an integral role in Singapore's latest efforts to sell itself internationally.

Unveiling the "Marina Bay" brand on Thursday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said this area would be the main focal point for the city.

The project will also help differentiate Singapore from other cities.

However the minister gave the assurance that the existing Central Business District would not be neglected.

A waterfront city in a garden: that is how Singapore is planning to sell itself with Marina Bay as the focal point of the city.

Already, some S$400,000 have been invested in promoting the new "Marina Bay" brand.

Mr Mah said: "Internationally, we want to create a point of difference to compete with other cities. We don't want Singapore to be just like any other city. We want it to be distinctive, to be different. And Marina Bay will personify this difference."

For a start, the government will encourage distinctiveness in its urban design having at the same time the look and feel of a world-class city.

It also wants to make Singapore's skyline one of the most beautiful in the world.

And for that, the National Development Minister said he expected to see an iconic building erected at the Marina Bay area over the next few years.

He also expected Marina Bay to be a place attractive to people.

So what is going to happen to the existing Central Business District?

Mr Mah said this area was still very important and would not be allowed to deteriorate.

In fact, the government would be looking at redeveloping the area together with the existing building owners.

He said: "As demand for new good quality office space grows, we need to develop a new area and the Marina Bay area allows us to create new opportunities, new types of buildings, bigger floor plates, more integrated developments where you have office space, retail and other uses."

The Business and Financial Centre is one of the first such developments that will cater to this new demand.

It was recently awarded to a consortium of developers for a total of S$1.8 billion - at S$4,100 per square metre.

Mr Mah said: "I think the timing has been right. It has allowed the investors to come in and make this investment. They obviously felt the investment interest was very high and I guess that showed they felt there was a lot of potential for such a development. I guess that's reflected in the price."

With the launch of "Marina Bay" brand, Mr Mah hopes to attract new ideas for the development of the area.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline05/skyline05-03/text/images/pg6.jpg

[RafflesCity]

http://www.ura.gov.sg/lad/bfc/thumbnail/images/attraction-prestaddress.jpg

http://www.ura.gov.sg/lad/bfc/thumbnail/images/attraction-totalconnect_01.jpg
http://www.ura.gov.sg/lad/bfc/thumbnail/images/attraction-totalconnect_02.jpg

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpKUrEJr.jpg

Please note that the rendering for the Business & Financial Centre shown here is not the actual one

[Blue_Sky]

WoW...

This project surely will change Singapore's skyline

[satit28]

great for singapore.........
man........
i just thought singapore ran out of space......
and then boom!.........
another great development..............

[babystan03]

Exciting......:D

[stormyouss]

Yeah that's nice !!!!

[Chad]

Nice indeed...Are all heights of those planned buildings fixed?

[nicholasliha]

It will take some time for Singapore to grow the Marina Bay brand, which is IMO semantically weak as a brandname. And right now it still seems like Singapore Inc isn't yet spontaneous enough to establish the kind of destinational quality to its premium urban project. New York had Times Square - an era of sleaze, the birthplace of neon, the address of the world's best countdown party annually; Hong Kong had Victoria Harbour - a choice representation of the exotic east in contemporary films like Tomb Raider and DHL commercials. Marina Bay remains largely undeveloped and in the conceptual stages. And the concepts have largely been distasteful (ala kitsch casino by Wynn Resorts and world's biggest ferris wheel - yay!).

What Singapore will require in this most ambitious of its plans yet (ie convincing the world that there IS something she has that no other city can outshine) is the fullest expression of its urban moods, in all its leering aspects, and not just in its newest site of development. Singaporeans can easily outquirk and outshine other denizens of the modern metropolis category. We have so many cultural idiosyncracies... One frontrunner will be the gay superculture that only Singaporeans are not aware of. Singapore runs two of Asia's largest gay internet networks. And Singaporeans organise Asia's biggest gay party annually, which was thrown out of Singapore this year due to an unfortunate machismo backlash from a minister of state. Filmmakers have also been budding all over since the promotion of film as a powerful means of establishing presence in the consciousness of dilettantes and social commentators worldwide. Eric Khoo recently graced Cannes as the opening selection with his film "Be With Me". Perhaps, in time, more films will go on to establish the Singapore organism on the silverscreen beyond 5minute airbrushed tourism advertisements, making the "Singaporean persona" a force to be reckoned with alongside Zhang Yimou's picturesque peasant and Wong Kar Wai's smouldering diva.

What could follow up brilliantly to this campaign promoting the real returns of financial investment in Singapore's new CBD, ostentatiously hailed as an unfurling of the epitome of the Singaporean legacy on the perfect tabula rasa, would be a social liberation drive. Giving filmmakers free reign to express their emotions about their surroundings. Letting sycophants of every variety hold the parties that they want. Letting the legacy formats of film, literature and art fluorish as the first pillars of the new CBD go up, a CBD that isn't just about the most beautiful skyline or the most efficient accessibility, but a new urban scape that in fully insync with the throbbing pulse of a city's innate rhythm. That is what will make our city. The people and their stories, not just the architecture.

"Mr Mah said: "Internationally, we want to create a point of difference to compete with other cities. We don't want Singapore to be just like any other city. We want it to be distinctive, to be different. And Marina Bay will personify this difference." " - for a start, why don't we let our distinguished gay community hold Nation 06 on Marina Green next year? You can bet Asia's richest, most extravagant and most venerable opinions will be painting Singapore in a good light again.

[RafflesCity]

Nice indeed...Are all heights of those planned buildings fixed?

no not necessarily, and neither are the actual designs which will involve the developers, architects & government planning agencies.

edit: Added a pic taken from the waterfront promenade

Taken in April 2006:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/nitebay.jpg

[RafflesCity]

http://home.pacific.net.sg/~mippy/marinabay.jpg

Marina Bay the new brand name
22 Jul 05

URA will use concept to sell Singapore as a leading global city

By Daryl Loo

A YEAR-LONG search for a new brand name to help sell major developments in Marina Bay has ended with a final decision.

And the winner is... Marina Bay.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will now take the Marina Bay concept to the world as a key part of its plan to sell Singapore as a leading global city.

URA chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said over the next year, the authority will take Marina Bay to international property conferences to 'talk to international investors, property analysts and the media about the project and business opportunities'.

Already, she led a team in March this year to promote some of these projects at the Marche International des Professionals de L'Immobilier, a major international real estate conference held in Cannes, France.

Under the official Marina Bay banner, the URA will pitch the Explore, Exchange, Entertain concept, which sells the idea of a 'work, live, play' lifestyle, rather than the land or buildings themselves.

URA executive planner Shirlene Sim said: 'We have assessed the competition and we realise Singapore cannot compete on land and buildings.'

Yesterday's brand launch offered a sneak peek into Marina Bay's future.

In the smart 62nd-storey Tower Club in Republic Plaza, 170 guests who included developers, property consultants and the international media were shown a sleek three-minute video and models of various developments.

The URA paid brand consultancy Interbrand $400,000 to come up with an ideal brand for the area. In the process, it consulted parties such as developers, retailers, restaurant owners and tour operators.

Some 400 possible names had been mooted. Previously, the area had variously been dubbed 'New Downtown', 'extension of the CBD' and 'Marina Bayfront'.

But as it turned out, the right name had been staring everyone in the face all along.

'The name is not new. But what has been used informally so far has now endeared itself to all parties,' said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan at the launch.

Over the past five years, the Government has introduced residential, office and entertainment sites in the area with a vision to transform it into a 'work, live, play' centre.

A 1,111-unit City Developments condominium, The Sail @ Marina Bay, is already half-sold and will be ready for its first residents by 2009. Office complex One Raffles Quay is now being built and will be ready next year.

The site for a new business and financial centre was successfully tendered out to a consortium of developers comprising Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings and Hongkong Land last week.

Also in the pipeline is the high-profile integrated resort that will include a casino, which is scheduled for completion by 2010.

Mr Mah said: 'Cities around the world are experiencing a new burst of energy, be they New York, London, Dubai from further afield, or Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Shanghai or Hong Kong nearer to home.

'We are all fighting for the same global pool of investors, talent and jobs.'

[Dale]

Is Singapore going to hold fast to its 280m height cap ?

[Alvin]

fantastic news for Singapore! You guys should really build a supertall (400m+)over there. :okay:

[ncon]

Is Singapore going to hold fast to its 280m height cap ?


from the renderings i think the tallest still 280m

i think should be more around 300m+

[627]

i heard that the buildings in singapore have a certain height limit because singapore is so small that pretty much everywhere is near the airport so they cant have skyscrapers goin too tall

[ncon]

i heard that the buildings in singapore have a certain height limit because singapore is so small that pretty much everywhere is near the airport so they cant have skyscrapers goin too tall


not so cos the city center are quite a distance from the airport

if i'm not wrong the height limit is not above 400m+ :)

[627]

yeah but singapore is so small that a "Distance" isn't even that far. the airport is about 12 miles away from the city centeer. 12 miles wont even get you from LA to pasadena.

soo if u were to travel the "speedlimit" at 75mph, you'd get from the airport to the city center in like 15 minutes and that definitely is not far

i heard that the height limit has already been reached, and thats why singapore's tallest buildings are all the same height :)

[rark]

not so cos the city center are quite a distance from the airport

if i'm not wrong the height limit is not above 400m+ :)
height limit 280m .
and you guys might want to check out http://www.marina-bay.sg/index-flash.htm

[samsonyuen]

Wow, that's going to look great. What was there before? I'm amazed by how much Singapore can grow being such a small space. Regarding the gay culture, is there any law that forbids homosexual acts taking place still? And if so, why? Since there are seemingly so many Singaporean gays.

[zachary24]

I’m very skeptical of the trend to develop ‘new extensions of CBD’s’ by governments. Urban areas evolve over time, they cannot be created in a few years. What will be created is a concrete jungle without any soul. Docklands in Melbourne is another perfect example. Although Marina is a lot smaller than Docklands, Docklands clearly proved that governments are inefficient when managing large urban renewal developments.

[ignoramus]

NOTHING! Now its just an empty piece of reclaimed land, with some trees and grass, and 1 completed skyscraper, 2 skyscrapers under construction and 1 land parcel sold to a HK Singapore developer.

[RafflesCity]

NOTHING! Now its just an empty piece of reclaimed land, with some trees and grass, and 1 completed skyscraper, 2 skyscrapers under construction and 1 land parcel sold to a HK Singapore developer.

4 skyscrapers under construction right at the moment of this post.

1 Raffles Quay = 2
The Sail = 2

Also under construction now, is the Marina Barrage project.

Over the next few years the construction will intensify as the BFC project and Integrated Resort and new MRT extension get underway.

[drwho]

that looks awesome! :yes: :yes:

[samsonyuen]

I’m very skeptical of the trend to develop ‘new extensions of CBD’s’ by governments. Urban areas evolve over time, they cannot be created in a few years. What will be created is a concrete jungle without any soul. Docklands in Melbourne is another perfect example. Although Marina is a lot smaller than Docklands, Docklands clearly proved that governments are inefficient when managing large urban renewal developments.

London Docklands is a positive example. The first new docklands-type projects is a wonderful regeneration project.

[RafflesCity]

Wow, that's going to look great. What was there before? I'm amazed by how much Singapore can grow being such a small space.

What was there before?

Sea.

The land is entirely reclaimed. The reclamation for the CBD started in the late 70s:

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980006806-8262-3202-1349/img0041.jpg
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980006806-8262-3202-1349/img0048.jpg

some more views
http://img31.photobucket.com/albums/v94/huaiwei/pr04-09_Page_2.jpg
http://img31.photobucket.com/albums/v94/huaiwei/pr04-09_Page_3a.jpg
http://img31.photobucket.com/albums/v94/huaiwei/pr04-09_Page_1a.jpg

Singapore has continuously been reclaiming land right until today and it is still continuing.

[HD]

London Docklands is a positive example. The first new docklands-type projects is a wonderful regeneration project.


london docklands is not a postive example. first it was struck by a real estate crisis in the 80s and became a symbol of failed planning. only many many years later the docklands became relatively popular. it surely is a nice regeneration project but not a very inspiring one I'm afraid. the architecture is boring. and it's not very livable either. that shopping center is a symbol of mediocracy - fits well into canary wharf though...


now, singapore's development looks fabulous. it will be integrated into the adjacent city center - unlike canary wharf.

[redstone]

Very exciting, so many projects.....

[redstone]

http://www.pub.gov.sg/Marina/images/marinaimage.gif

http://www.pub.gov.sg/images/marinarelease2.jpg
This is the Marina Barrage, now u/c.

[Qatar4Ever]

Singapore is an amazing country. I loved it on my last visit, and i remeber how amazed I was walking along boat quay. I would definitly go back once this project is completed.

I have a couple of nice shot of singapore and its skyline www.flickr.com/abdulla_qatar

You can see the skyline today and then think of it doubled in size to get an idea of how big this project is !!

Good Luck Singapore.

[satit28]

Wow............
i love u Singapore...........!!!!

[Blabbyboy]

london docklands is not a postive example. first it was struck by a real estate crisis in the 80s and became a symbol of failed planning. only many many years later the docklands became relatively popular. it surely is a nice regeneration project but not a very inspiring one I'm afraid. the architecture is boring. and it's not very livable either. that shopping center is
I agree. Having been to the London Docklands, my impressions are of a desolate, unwelcoming, windswept 9-to-5 urban nightmare. Hopelessly uninspired architecture and nothing to attract anybody other than the workers. ((shudder)). Mediocrity is the keyword.

[Harkeb]

Singapore is an amazing city. It beats Dubai by far, yet keeps a very low profile. I like its modesty, yet the city does not have to stand back to the likes of Hong Kong and Shangai. Well done!

[Mauricio Canada]

What a beautiful project Singapore!
Hopefully it will all go as planned.

Keep us updated on the constructions
at the Marina Bay!

[redstone]

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/8675/sailnitepano.jpg
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=174108
The Sail, 245m super luxury condominiums.

20 July 2005

http://tinypic.com/99nqmq.jpg
By RafflesCity

[redstone]

http://www.meinhardt.com.sg/admin/project_images/OneRafflesQuayWebsite.jpg
One Raffles Quay, 245m office tower

http://www.geocities.com/unixxi/orq3_090705.jpg
^As at 9 July

[Intoxication]

This project will make Singapore's skyline even more beautiful.

[redstone]

Actually the Downtown project was announced in 2004.... :)

[redstone]

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2964/pano20050806a5jj.jpg
Site of New Downtown, pano by Hyacinthus from the terrace at Overseas Union House.

[thryve]

One Raffles Quay is cool!

[RafflesCity]

S'pore set to be 'sparkling jewel' in 10 years' time

Marina Bay, Orchard Road, heartland part of all-encompassing vision of nation at 50

22 Aug 05

By Li Xueying

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2005-08-22/aspark22-000220.jpg

IMAGINE in 10 years, when Singapore turns 50, that you are in Shenton Way surrounded by familiar tower blocks - but the scene as you gaze out to Marina Bay is totally different from now.

Instead of bumboats and a distant view of trees on reclaimed land, you see not one, not two, but three gardens, an integrated resort and a shimmering finance centre.

There's a cosmopolitan buzz as joggers, espresso-sipping office workers and sightseers both local and foreign throng the 'Bayfront' that makes up the gateway to one of Asia's most exciting cities - and what's more, there's good fengshui as well.

This is part of the vision of Singapore as a 'vibrant, global' city that was outlined by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his speech last night.

Armed with video slides and enthusiasm, Mr Lee described how Singapore can become a dynamic city, not just for attracting tourists, but 'also to create an outstanding living environment for all Singaporeans'.

To achieve this, Singapore should capitalise on its strengths - its multicultural heritage, clean and safe environment, disciplined and energetic people, and a cosmopolitan and open society, said Mr Lee.

Just as other cities such as New York and Dubai are reinventing themselves, so should Singapore.

'Our city must be full of life, energy and excitement,' said Mr Lee. 'It must be a place where people want to live, work and play, and where they are stimulated to achieve, be creative and enjoy life.'

From Orchard Road for shoppers, Bras Basah and Bugis for students, to heartland estates like Toa Payoh for residents, rejuvenation has begun. And 'in five to 10 years' it will be seen taking shape, he said.

The most exciting change - the 'centrepiece', as Mr Lee puts it - will take place in Marina Bay. 'The Bayfront will be the signature image of Singapore,' he said.

He showed a slide of the new downtown in 10 years, with three gardens, a lake - the new Marina Barrage reservoir - an integrated resort and a business and financial centre.

The largest garden will be next to the integrated resort at Marina South. The size of the current Botanic Gardens at 50ha, it will be ready by 2010. There will be a 30ha waterfront garden at Marina East and a 10ha beachfront garden at Marina Centre.

They will be linked by bridges, forming a waterfront loop 'so that you can walk, jog, or even run a marathon around the Bay', said Mr Lee. Other changes include the extension of One Fullerton to Collyer Quay, the redevelopment of Clifford Pier, and the new business and financial centre.

'We will have a Garden City by the Bay,' said Mr Lee, using a Chinese phrase - 'you shan, you shui' - meaning 'got mountains, got water'. He added: 'Very good fengshui!'

Over at Orchard Road, plans are brewing to make it 'one of the great streets of the world, a place to see and be seen'. The vacant site over Orchard MRT station will be transformed into a focal point with event space and an observation tower in a building up to 40 storeys high. A few MRT stops away, the Bras Basah and Bugis area is being revived as a student and artists' enclave.

As for HDB estates - in which more than 80 per cent of Singaporeans reside - more will be rejuvenated, the way Toa Payoh has been transformed, Mr Lee promised. Singapore's second-oldest housing estate now has modern 40-storey flats with 'million-dollar views', a new town centre, and new offices. Other towns that will follow in the upgrading plan include Ang Mo Kio, Bedok and Clementi, said Mr Lee.

This is all part of the vision of a city that is 'a sparkling jewel, a home for all of us to be proud of, a home that belongs to all of us'.

Industry players approved. Said architect John Ting: 'It's a very comprehensive vision, starting with the important base - the HDB estates where the people live.

'The transformations on the Marina Bay are connected with the civic district and the shopping areas. All the pieces are being pulled together into an all-embracing vision.'

http://img31.photobucket.com/albums/v94/huaiwei/pr04-09_Page_4a.jpg

[gucci_london]

when the consturction work is finished and everythfing singapore will even have better skyline.

[RafflesCity]

New Marina Bay developments to include landscaped open spaces

3 Oct 05

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpYWXDXP.jpg

By Margaret Perry, Channel NewsAsia


SINGAPORE : New developments in the Marina Bay area will have to include landscaped open spaces.

Speaking to delegates at an international conference on waterfront development, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said this was to complement Singapore's Garden City image.

When the F1 powerboats roared into Marina Bay last month, they stirred up the water and the crowd.

Mr Mah said the bay area needed more such events to create a sense of place and attract people as well as well-designed buildings and landscaped open spaces.

He said: "Green spaces need not be at the ground level only but can also be designed vertically within buildings. We will be studying guidelines to require new buildings in the Central and Bayfront areas at Marina Bay to develop landscaped open spaces in their developments."

Attractive waterfronts are a hit with tourists, which is why many countries are developing these areas.

For many cities, this involves revitalising old or former industrial neighbourhoods but that's not the case in Singapore.

The reclaimed Marina Bay is providing a blank canvas to planners to develop as a place to live, work and play.

Richard Rosan, President, Urban Land Institute, said: "Certainly older waterfronts in other countries cannot do all three, maybe they can do one or two but here you could do all of them and you could do it in a very nice way."

Work on Marina Bay has begun but it will be five years before the city's waterfront gets its new skyline.

[RafflesCity]

First phase of Marina Bay's business site to occupy 224,000 sqm

25 Oct 05

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phppKq6nz.jpg

SINGAPORE : The first phase of the Business and Financial Centre, or BFC, will have a gross floor area of 244,000 square metres, more than double the area stipulated in the tender conditions.

This was announced on Tuesday at the signing of the building agreement.

The BFC will be developed by a consortium comprising Keppel Land, Cheung Kong and Hong Kong Land.

About three quarters of the development under phase one will be dedicated to office use.

The remaining is earmarked mainly for residential development.

The consortium comprising Keppel Land, Cheung Kong and Hong Kong Land has big plans for the new Business and Financial Centre.

It is earmarking 244,000 square metres of space for the first phase, more than double the minimum requirement of 100,000 square metres.

About three quarters will be dedicated to office use.

Keppel Land says it reflects their bullish outlook of the office sector.

Said Kevin Wong, managing director of Keppel Land, "We look at the market and we assess the demand and we feel with the amount of offices we intend to build, it would put us in a very good position to satisfy the anticipated demand for, especially, the offices. And of course we will be doing some residential also."

The remaining space under phase one will be developed for residential use, with a small area set aside for retail.

About a quarter of the first phase, or 55,000 square metres, will be set aside for residential development.

Analysts say the success of the The Sail @ Marina project will likely have a spillover effect on this upcoming development, expected for launch in the middle of next year.

Some commercial space will be ready around the time of the expected completion of the integrated resort at Marina Bay.

Said Mr Wong, "We should be starting construction sometime next year. If your next question is when it will be completed, we should be able to complete the first building by 2009 or 2010."

The consortium has taken up an eight-year option to purchase and develop the remaining 194,000 square metres of space in the BFC. - CNA /ct

[onetwothree]

WOW! Awesome!

[Chad]

so, as mentioned as first phase?, How many buildings there will be?

[RafflesCity]

Yes it will be the first phase to be developed. No idea how many buildings as I dont have any confirmed renderings or more info.

All I can manage is this 'concept drawing', supposedly by KPF as revealed by local papers:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/php6Q0IC7.jpg

I expect more news within the next few months on this project though :)

[Chad]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHIT !!!! :eek:

[RafflesCity]

haha :D

that was my initial impression too...but this design isnt confirmed yet...so lets wait! :happy:

[ncon]

Yes it will be the first phase to be developed. No idea how many buildings as I dont have any confirmed renderings or more info.

All I can manage is this 'concept drawing', supposedly by KPF as revealed by local papers:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/php6Q0IC7.jpg

I expect more news within the next few months on this project though :)

i notice the pattern is green Glasses and all glassy skyscraper

[redstone]

Can't wait!!!!!

BFC
Sail
Integrated Resort
:banana:

[Joshua888]

the pics are really nice & the projects that Singapore plan

I'm proud to be half Singaporean :-)

[babystan03]

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Singapore's BFC project attracts Arab money

Thursday • October 27, 2005

ONE day after the consortium that won the bid for the Business and Financial Centre (BFC) increased the size of its development for the first phase of the project, an Arab investment bank has come knocking.

Bahrain-based Gulf Finance House has begun talks to join the consortium developing the $1.8 billion Marina Bay BFC, said its chief operating officer Peter Panayiotou yesterday.

Mr Panayiotou told Dow Jones Newswires that the group was keen to invest in the project.

In addition, the investment bank may apply for an Islamic banking licence in Singapore and it has discussed this possibility with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, he said.

"We would be interested in joining that consortium with a view to buying the whole development later on. At this stage, we are conducting negotiations," he said.

Mr Panayiotou said his company had held initial talks with Keppel Land, a member of the consortium that also includes Cheung Kong Holdings and Hongkong Land Holdings.

On Tuesday, the consortium said it would develop a larger-than-expected 244,000 square metres of space in Phase One of the BFC project, a move that signalled growing confidence in Singapore's property market.

The BFC, slated for completion in around 18 years, will have a total gross floor area of 438,000 square metres, equivalent to about 20 per cent of the available office space in Singapore's central business district.

The first commercial buildings is due for completion around 2009 or 2010. The consortium may use up to 40 per cent of the available space for hotels, malls and residential developments.

Gulf Finance House — which manages US$3 billion ($5.1 billion) in assets — launched the Bahrain Financial Harbour in 2002, a US$1.3 billion project to lure financial services institutions away from Dubai and Qatar.

Gulf Finance's interest in Singapore also underscores how Middle Eastern investors, boosted by windfall petrodollars from higher oil prices, are eyeing South-east Asian infrastructure projects.

In its latest annual report, the Bahrain investment bank noted a trend among Arab investors to diversify away from United States assets.

"The reality today is the Middle East is very liquid — the level of liquidity will surprise many," said Mr Panayiotou.

However, there is a limit to how much investment the region's economies can absorb, therefore interest has grown in other markets.

"There is great appetite to find alternative channels of investment. The Arabs are traditionally interested in hard assets like infrastructure. That is something that they like, they understand and want to invest in," Mr Panayiotou said. — Agencies

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

[babystan03]

Oct 26, 2005
Size of new Marina Bay business complex to be increased
Developers' decision reflects upbeat outlook on prime office space

By Fiona Chan

SINGAPORE'S new Business and Financial Centre (BFC) at Marina Bay got a major vote of confidence yesterday when the developing consortium announced that its $1 billion centrepiece office and residential complex would be much bigger than expected.

Reflecting an upbeat outlook for the high-end office market, the consortium will construct a 244,000 sq m complex for phase one - about 2.5 times the minimum development size of 100,000 sq m required by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Hongkong Land, one of the consortium's three developers, had previously said the first phase of development on the 99-year leasehold plot would cover about 158,000 sq m, 50 per cent more than the URA's minimum requirement.

But the consortium, which also includes Keppel Land and Cheung Kong Holdings, is now confident Singapore's property market, especially the office sector, will welcome a bigger development.

It said yesterday that about 180,000 sq m of the Marina Bay development will be devoted to offices in a bid to take advantage of rising demand for top-end commercial space.

This is more than 70 per cent of the development's total gross floor area (GFA), higher than the minimum 60 per cent office space guideline laid down by the URA.

Although the entire BFC site is slightly smaller than the 490,000 sq m Suntec City, the new development will offer more office space. Suntec City currently has about 113,850 sq m of offices and 77,631 sq m of retail space.

About 22 per cent of the BFC complex, or 55,000 sq m, will be taken up by residential units, with the remaining 9,000 sq m going to retail use.

'We looked at the market and assessed the demand and we feel that the amount of offices we intend to build would put us in a very good position to satisfy the anticipated demand, especially for offices,' Keppel Land's managing director, Mr Kevin Wong, said yesterday.

He said construction of the project would begin next year along with the launch of the first residential units, while the first buildings would be completed in 2009 or 2010.

He was speaking to reporters after signing the building agreement with URA to purchase the first phase of the BFC, which makes up more than half the total GFA of the 438,000 sq m BFC site.

The first phase of 244,000 sq m will cost the consortium - which is also developing the neighbouring One Raffles Quay - slightly more than $1 billion, based on the winning bid of $4,101 per sq m.

'We're very pleased with the performance of One Raffles Quay and that's partly why we've expanded phase one of the BFC,' said Mr Ian Hawksworth, executive director of Hongkong Land.

'The office market is particularly strong at the moment and the average rentals are continuing upwards.'

One Raffles Quay, which will offer about 122,000 sq m of prime office space upon completion next year, has already leased out more than half its floor space.

Market-watchers told The Straits Times yesterday that they were 'unsurprised' by the consortium's decision to enlarge the development.

'We're inclined to think there will be considerable pent-up demand for quality office space such as will be brought on line at the BFC,' said Mr Moray Armstrong, executive director of property consultancy CB Richard Ellis.

'There's quite a shortfall of new office construction over the four-year horizon, and this market will require the volume of space the consortium has committed to bring on.'

The larger development also indicates the consortium's confidence in the up-and-coming Marina Bay area and is 'a vote of confidence for Singapore', said Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan, who was guest of honour at the signing ceremony.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

Creating a buzz

Keppel Land, Hongkong Land and Cheung Kong Holdings each hold an equal stake in the consortium that won the tender for the Business and Financial Centre (BFC) site on July 14.

The BFC consortium is required only to develop 100,000 sq m of the project by 2013, but it can take up to 18 years to complete the rest of the development.

The consortium also purchased the option to buy and develop the remaining 194,000 sq m of the BFC site within the next eight years.

Other developments taking shape in the new Marina Bayfront area include One Raffles Quay and The Sail @ Marina Bay condominium, which are expected to be completed by next year and 2009 respectively.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

[RafflesCity]

Flower power to spice up Marina Bay

21 Jan 06

Govt launches int'l design competition for proposed Gardens by the Bay

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gbtb.jpg

THE government's vision of Singapore as the world's premier tropical garden city looks to be in full bloom with the launch of the Gardens by the Bay international design competition yesterday.

Organised by the National Parks Board and sponsored by the government, it aims to attract top local and international landscaping architects and planners to create three unique and world-class gardens in the Marina Bay area. The gardens will be situated by the waterfront on prime reclaimed land.

The competition will be divided into two phases. The first phase, the masterplan competition, will start this month and end in September. This stage will invite companies to submit designs and ideas for the three gardens and several adjacent areas. The details of the second phase, the design competition, will be announced later.

Boasting a combined land area of 94 hectares, almost twice the size of the Botanic Gardens' 52 hectares, the Gardens by the Bay will feature the world's first cooled conservatory for public display in the Tropics, said Tan Wee Kiat, chief executive officer of the National Parks Board.

The three gardens - Garden at Marina South, Garden at Marina East and Garden at Marina Centre - will be connected by waterways. Each garden will have its own distinctive look and feel. Visitors can expect a different experience depending on whether they visit during the day or night, said Dr Tan.

Speaking at the launch yesterday, Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, said: 'The Garden at Marina South is envisaged to showcase tropical blooms and foliage colour at their best. At its heart will be a conservatory that features flowering plants from cooler climates.'

Dr Tan added: 'Gardens by the Bay is dedicated to Singaporeans as their own space where they can participate in meaningful and memorable activities.'

When Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, then Prime Minister, launched the First Tree Planting Day back in 1963, the seeds of transforming Singapore into a garden city were sown.

Moving on from creating a garden city to a 'city in the garden', the National Parks Board's ultimate goal is to create a garden that will rival other world-renowned parks such as New York's Central Park and London's Kew Gardens.

The present Botanic Gardens will concentrate on education, research and conservation, while the new gardens focus on horticultural recreation. And in conjunction with the ongoing process of transforming Singapore into a vibrant global city, the inaugural Singapore Garden Festival will be held in December.

'Singapore's location just over one degree north of the Equator imbues it with a rich diversity of flora and fauna. At the crossroads of East and West, it is a rich blend of many cultures and an international centre of commerce. These geographical, ecological, historical, and cultural ingredients, located within a developed infrastructure, offer unparalleled possibilities for a new horticultural icon at the Gardens by the Bay,' Mr Mah said.

The Gardens by the Bay are expected to be open to the public by 2009 or 2010.


http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2006-01-21/BT_3389266_21_01_2006.jpg

[Kai Tak]

About the height limit restriction in Singapore... It's not being caused by Changi, it's some other airport that I'm unfamiliar with. Here's a pic off Google Earth:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c39/KaiTak/Singapore.gif

You can see Changi off to the far right, downtown in the lower left corner, and in the middle is the mystery airport prohibiting tall skyscrapers! Anyone have a name for this airport, and why it continues to exist? :)

[krull]

Looks interesting.

[ignoramus]

About the height limit restriction in Singapore... It's not being caused by Changi, it's some other airport that I'm unfamiliar with. Here's a pic off Google Earth:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c39/KaiTak/Singapore.gif

You can see Changi off to the far right, downtown in the lower left corner, and in the middle is the mystery airport prohibiting tall skyscrapers! Anyone have a name for this airport, and why it continues to exist? :)

Its the Paya Lebar Airbase. Its for the country's defence.

[RafflesCity]

^^

Paya Lebar Airbase was the former international airport that was in existence until 1981. As can be seen, the runway is long enough for jumbo jets (comparable to Changi).

[pedang]

go go goo.. singapore :)

[Kai Tak]

Paya Lebar Airbase was the former international airport that was in existence until 1981. As can be seen, the runway is long enough for jumbo jets (comparable to Changi).
Ahhh okay then. ;)

There's a runway built on reclaimed land even farther to the right than Changi, I was under the impression that was an airbase too. How about closing down Paya Lebar and moving things here?

That sucks Singapore has a height restriction when they could easily close that place down. :)

[RafflesCity]

Ahhh okay then. ;)

There's a runway built on reclaimed land even farther to the right than Changi, I was under the impression that was an airbase too. How about closing down Paya Lebar and moving things here?

That sucks Singapore has a height restriction when they could easily close that place down. :)

Yes that is a new airbase at Changi...it also provides expansion for Changi Airport in future if necessary.

but I dont know if Paya Lebar airbase will be closed though :cheers:

anyway here's some interesting info....

after seeing what's planned to be built on top of the ground, theres a lot of stuff being planned underground too....

[RafflesCity]

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/7541/dscn06201cq.jpg

[satit28]

wow........
they plan ahead very fast.............

[ignoramus]

Yes that is a new airbase at Changi...it also provides expansion for Changi Airport in future if necessary.

but I dont know if Paya Lebar airbase will be closed though :cheers:

anyway here's some interesting info....

after seeing what's planned to be built on top of the ground, theres a lot of stuff being planned underground too....

Unless the govt suddenly springs a surprise on us (like when they suddenly decided that they needed a casino to draw in tourists), I don't see them moving Paya Lebar airbase away. Perhaps they really need the base to be there for strategic defense reasons. We never know what the defence ministry is thinking.

I like the new downtown. Everything is new and perfectly designed and green, located around the bay and the best of all, its connected to the existing CBD well, and with such great infrastructure. If only they extended such new initiatives being developed in the new downtown to the rest of Singapore.

[Kai Tak]

Yeah sorry about getting off subject with the airport talk. I have an unhealthy obsession with airports. :D

This project is a really sweet set up, a signature area of town. I'll have to visit someday, along with Hong Kong [again] once they build that WKCD. :cheers:

[ryanr]

:eek: Awesome. Thanks for all the info, guys. Singapore sure knows how to plan urban centers, these are amazing.

[RafflesCity]

S'pore scours the world for park ideas

9 Feb 06

Famous Japanese designers show interest in revamp of waterfront

By Kwan Weng Kin
JAPAN CORRESPONDENT

TOKYO - SINGAPORE has launched an intensive search for ideas and partners to help plan and design three new downtown parks on its waterfront, with three teams of officials now visiting well-known design companies around the world, including Japan.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2006-02-09/ST_3488586_01_01_0001.jpg

To promote the international competition for the Gardens by the Bay project, National Parks chief executive Dr Tan Wee Kiat gave presentations to five Japanese design companies in Tokyo and Osaka over the past three days.

He said he hoped to find the talent capable of creating world-class tropical gardens 'that can capture the essence of Singapore in the future' and can rival the world's finest parks, such as New York's Central Park and London's Kew Gardens.

Besides Dr Tan, NParks' chief operating officer, Mr Leong Chee Chiew, is heading a team that is looking up design companies in New York, Boston and London. Some members of this team will also go to Sydney.

A third team led by director for parks development, Mr Yeo Meng Tong, is visiting Munich, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Paris and Madrid.

Japan's involvement in Singapore's greening programme goes back a few decades, with Japanese gardening and urban designers visiting Singapore in the 1980s and 1990s to help bring the Garden City concept to life.

Given their unqualified success, it is only natural that Dr Tan should look to Japan as a source of creative talent in the Republic's latest quest to create three stunning new parks.

'I am particularly keen to see some of the Japanese firms short-listed because they have such a finely-honed sense of aesthetic. They have an appreciation for nature and its use in enhancing the environment for man,' Dr Tan said.

Without disclosing the names of the firms, he added: 'They are all very passionate in their work, as reflected in the body of work that they have done. I am very gratified to see that they were all very immediately engaged with the idea of what Singapore is trying to do.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2006-02-09/ST_3489047_09_02_2006.jpg

Seeing that one of the planned parks is a narrow promenade, one Japanese designer has suggested expanding the 'footprint' and integrating the garden with adjacent urban areas.

Japan's pantheon of world-class architects and landscape designers includes such luminaries as Mr Kisho Kurokawa, and the avant-garde team of Ms Kazuyo Sejima and Mr Ryue Nishizawa of the Tokyo-based partnership SANAA.

Mr Kurokawa was responsible for the Fusionpolis and Republic Plaza projects in Singapore.

Ms Sejima and Mr Nishizawa, rated the most original and influential of a new generation of Japanese practitioners, designed the new state-of-the-art building for the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, due to open next year.

Another Japanese architect, Mr Yoshio Taniguchi, was behind the redesigned Museum of Modern Art, also in New York.

Dr Tan, who relinquishes his post this month but will continue as director for the Gardens project, also encouraged Singapore companies to take part by aligning themselves with bigger companies if they have not done projects of equivalent size.

He said Singapore companies can impart an advantage to their foreign partners because they know Singapore, thereby 'shortening the learning curve'.

At least two of the five Japanese companies Dr Tan visited are known to have already sounded out their counterparts in Singapore on the competition.

The first phase calls for the submission of a master plan to provide design strategies and the designs of key features for the three parks.

Interested parties have until Feb 28 to express their desire to participate.

They will need to show a good track record in projects of a similar scale and will be expected to field a team of designers that includes at least one urban planner, a landscape architect and a horticulturist or botanist.

Dr Tan was excited to discover three of the companies he visited had Singaporean staff. Their bilingualism is believed to be valuable to their employers when pursuing projects in China.

'I hope eventually these people will go back to Singapore because we will need them. It is good that they are getting experience in excellent firms,' said Dr Tan, who left Tokyo yesterday to visit design companies in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[RafflesCity]

Singapore confident of solid bids for Gardens by the Bay project

16 Feb 06

http://www.marina-bay.sg/images/map/garden.jpg

LONDON : A team from Singapore's National Parks Board has just completed a whirlwind tour of major cities in Asia, Europe and the US.

They were on a hunt for ideas and partners to help plan and design three new downtown parks near the waterfront.

The team says it is confident of receiving some serious and imaginative bids for Singapore's Gardens by the Bay project.

The plans for the Marina Bay Gardens have created excitement not only in Singapore, but as far away as Madrid, San Francisco, Tokyo, Munich and other major cities in Europe, the US, and even Australia.

That is because teams from the National Parks Board are on a roadshow to publicise the design competition, which will see the creation of three distinct parks.

It has been a hectic time for the team, which arrived in London fresh from meetings with architects and landscapers in New York and Boston.

But it has been very worthwhile, according to National Parks Board CEO Lawrence Leong.

He said, "We are seeing places or cities that have a tradition of gardens, that have a culture of gardening. And from the expressions of enthusiasm that we have been able to receive, we should be able to close the expression of interest by the end of this month with very, very solid bids."

Dr Leong says NParks has already done a great deal of research, visiting conservatories, gardens and parks around the world.

In particular, he says a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall was very useful.

The two large conservatories, constructed in 2000, house plants including those found in the tropics, as part of a research and educational facility.

Dr Leong hopes the sort of expertise on display at the Eden project, as well the heritage of Europe's formal parks and gardens, will be incorporated into the design plans of those competing from Britain and Europe.

Those landscapers will also have experience with plants from a very different climate to that found in Singapore.

Dr Leong said, "That is precisely why we want to do a two hectare conservatory so that we can have spring under glass where one would be surprised to see tulips growing in Singapore as well. So yes, it will bring the best of East and West together."

At this stage, the identity of companies who have met with the teams from Singapore is being kept confidential, although Dr Leong says many are talking to one another to assemble the best bid for the competition.

Expressions of interest will close at the end of this month; until then, the teams will continue travelling around the globe to ensure the world's best designers are aware of this unique opportunity.

[RafflesCity]

Iconic bridge for Marina Bay

6 Mar 06

http://www.ura.gov.sg/New_Bridge/images/innovative_pic.jpg http://www.ura.gov.sg/New_Bridge/images/innovative_pic2.jpg

http://www.ura.gov.sg/New_Bridge/images/memorable_crossing_experience_pic.jpg
http://www.ura.gov.sg/New_Bridge/images/embracing_the_bay_pic.jpg


MARINA Bay will have a pedestrian bridge with special viewing platforms that offer a panoramic view of the bay by 2009.

The curved structure of twisting steel and glass slopes upwards like a giant ramp. It will have two opposite spiralling structures which resemble the structure of DNA, the basic building block of life.

The bridge will be the latest addition to the city's future skyline and will be linked to a new one for vehicles.

The entire structure will link up future attractions like the integrated resort, a giant observation wheel, and three waterfront gardens.

Unveiling the new bridge design in Parliament on Monday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said: 'It will be more than a bridge...There will be artworks that would be integrated into the design to provide a unique crossing experience.

'The completion of this iconic bridge will complete the loop around the bay area and promises to be another unique attraction.'

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2006-03-05/bridge1.jpg

[Mosaic]

Wow!!! Iconic bridge is absolutely modern and impressive. Good for Singapore's tourism.

[babystan03]

Wow.....so nice.....:eek:

I also heard on the news that URA is amending the lighting of skyscrapers.....expect more lights on UOB.....:D

[redstone]

woah... :eek:

wonder who's the architect

[RafflesCity]

Wow.....so nice.....:eek:

I also heard on the news that URA is amending the lighting of skyscrapers.....expect more lights on UOB.....:D

I dont think UOB needs to change its lighting scheme, but it could stay lighted up more often, and more buildings can be lighted up too!

This is great news...

@redstone...architect is Philip Cox

[RafflesCity]

Singapore's downtown Marina Bay gets another boost with the partial completion of an underground state-of-the-art infrastructure.

16 Jun 06

This includes the $81m phase one of the Common Services Tunnel - only the second of its kind in Asia after Japan - as well as a District Cooling Plant which will help businesses cut cost in the long run.

Like an intricate network of arteries, the common services tunnel feeds important sustenance, like water and electricity, to future developments at Marina Bay.

Some 1.4 kilometres of the tunnel have been completed.

The tunnel will serve the upcoming business and financial centre as well as properties like The Sail and One Raffles Quay.

The system will house telecom cables, power lines, potable water and Newater pipes as well as provision for pneumatic refuse collection pipes.

Touring the facility, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that such infrastructure has helped in the sales of sites in the area.

He said: "It also gives us more flexibility. We can add, we can shift. Unlike many other places, when you start to add services, you have to dig up the roads; it creates mess and confusion, a lot of traffic jams. For this, you can just put it in, put it around, expand without creating any problems for road users. The other one is the cost savings. I think they are quite substantial and energy saving is one of the major objectives of the District Cooling Plant."

When completed, both phases one and two of the tunnel network will free up some 5,466 square metres of land - equivalent to two-thirds of a football field - valued at about S$200 million.

Mr Mah added that this concept could be expanded to other parts of Singapore, likely for commercial developments, if there is a match between demand and supply.

The common services tunnel is as wide as two MRT tunnels and about 20 metres underground at its deepest point.

The URA says that it is designed for optimum capacity and new cables and pipes can be added when they are needed.

The tunnel looks empty now but come next year, two huge district cooling pipes will be installed there.

The pipes will supply chilled water from the district cooling plant to new buildings at Marina Bay to be used for air-conditioning.

Singapore's first large-scale District Cooling Plant (costing some $110 million) will be located at the basement of One Raffles Quay, with another planned for the future integrated resort.

When fully operational, the District Cooling Plant will be able to serve 1.25 million square metres of gross floor area or about 8 to 9 times the size of One Raffles Quay.

With this new cooling system, buildings will not need to have separate chiller plants or cooling towers, freeing up space for alternative uses.

Tey Peng Kee, managing director of Singapore District Cooling, said: "There'll be economic saving which we can share with the building users, and for that, we anticipate that building owners, over time, will enjoy at least 15% savings in the economic cost of getting the chill water for their air-conditioning purpose."

Construction of the 1.6-kilometre phase two of the tunnel network has begun and it should be ready in 2009.

The project will cost $137 million and it will serve the Bayfront area including The Marina Bay Sands.

The government is injecting about $2 billion to build the infrastructural base for Marina Bay, to be rolled out in phases over the next 10 to 15 years.

The infrastructure will include the Common Services Tunnel and District Cooling System, the Marina Barrage, a rapid transit system and the new waterfront promenade and bridge.

[RafflesCity]

http://www.ura.gov.sg/pr/graphics/pr06-40a.gif

[Erebus555]

This is a big step. It is a massive development and a great one at that. Singapore is really doing well at the moment.

[RafflesCity]

Its going to get prettier too :)

Creating a multi-sensory environment at Marina Bay

By Goh Kim Chai

URA and National Parks Board have drawn up a Landscape Master Plan to give each district in Marina Bay a different look and feel, with different planting schemes to bring out its distinctive character and identity.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline06/skyline06-03/images/p4_image.jpg
Each district in Marina Bay will have its own colour scheme
under the Landscape Master Plan


IMAGINE WORKING IN a modern city decorated with lush greenery, flowering plants and beautiful landscapes. As you go to work every morning, a canopy of graceful raintrees on the East Coast expressway greets you. When you enter the city, you are further welcomed by formal boulevards with trees of different shapes and forms, and shrubs of vibrant colours. Approaching from Raffles Place, a view of the Integrated Resort is revealed across the glittering bay waters in the morning sun. Next, you travel pass a large linear park carpeted with blossoming flowers and its fragrance envelops you. Upon turning right at Bayfront Avenue, the type of trees and street planting changes to palms. This can well be your daily experience if your workplace or home is at the future Marina Bay.

Distinctive districts
Under the Landscape Master Plan for Marina Bay, trees and shrubs of various shapes and sizes as well as colours and fragrances will be planted along key roads and open spaces to create a sense of place and orientation.

Colours by the Bay
Each district will have its own colour scheme to enhance the visual senses. The Central subzone next to the existing Central Business District will have a yellow/gold theme to reflect the future financial activities there. Yellow raintrees and yellow flowering plants will be a regular feature in this district which will have mostly office and residential developments.

The district where the current Marina Bay MRT Station is located will adopt a different colour theme. Pink flowering trees such as the Frangipani and Pink Poui will be planted here to add to the vibrancy of the place. A formal public plaza about 3.2 ha in size, has been planned as a focal point for this area. This can be a vantage point to experience a flowering festival of blossoms.

Green, a colour that represents ‘harmony’, will distinguish the Bayfront area from the rest of Marina Bay. Palms of various forms will be planted here, extending the botanical planting scheme of the future Garden at Marina South to the district and the waterfront promenade around Marina Bay. This district, which houses the Integrated Resort, will have a more coastal feel.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline06/skyline06-03/images/p5_image.jpg
Different trees, different looks. From left: rain tree, pink poui and palm

Fragrance along the streets
The Landscape Master Plan for Marina Bay goes beyond providing greenery and shades to further enliven your senses. Fragrant plants and flowers will be used to enhance the identity and feel of each district.

From the stunning fragrance of the Wild Water Plum to the pleasant Plumeria rubra cultivar, flowering plants will be used to layer each district with different scents. These plants will heighten the outdoor experience by engaging the most powerful of our senses – the sense of smell.

Multi-level visual experience
What you see as you walk along the street will be different from the view you have as you drive on the road. Similarly, these views will be different from the view you get of the same street from a tall building. In coming up with the landscaping schemes, much effort has been put into providing different spatial experiences for users at different levels. At the city level, the way in which the trees are planted and the colour of the crowns will give the area a unique recognisable image. At the vehicular and pedestrian level, the form of the crown as well as the colour and texture of the foliage will provide a delightful visual and sensory experience.

Former feel for boulevards
Large and wide-canopied trees will line the main boulevards such as the Marina Boulevard and Central Boulevard to create a distinctively formal feel. The Sepetir, which has a dome shaped crown capable of achieving spreads of up to 12 metres and heights of up to 30 metres, will be a regular feature on these roads. The walkways along these roads are also wider to create a sense of space and provide for street-based activities such as ‘al fresco dining’ and kiosks.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline06/skyline06-03/images/p6_image.jpg
Artist’s impression of Marina and Central Boulevards

Signature streets
Bayfront Avenue will be a signature street lined with columnar-shaped trees such as the Jelutong and Chengal Pasir. The trees have been chosen to enhance the street’s north-south orientation and allow more sunlight to filter down to the street level. To create a ‘reddish carpet effect’, Pseuderanthemum Pink shrubs will be planted at this level. Side streets off Bayfront Avenue will be planted with palms.

Iconic gateway
To make driving in Marina Bay a memorable experience, the signature wide-canopied raintrees along the East Coast Parkway will be extended along Sheares Avenue. They will be complemented by brightly coloured flowering shrubs, such as Crinum spp. and Hippeastrum spp marking the gateway into Marina Bay.

When completed, a multicoloured, multi-sensory environment will be created at Marina Bay. It will reinforce its sense of place and further enhance its image as a “City-in-a-Garden”.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/skyline/skyline06/skyline06-03/images/p6_image2.jpg

[oriental_horizon]

i like the new MRT plans for the new downtown. should help link all the CDB into one seamless network.

[RafflesCity]

More random shots of activity (there are specific threads for some of the projects) :

Taken on 19/5/06

The Central & Bayfront subzones:

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/6224/ndt19058vf.jpg

Works for the underground utilities (Phase 2)

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1686/ndt1905b7cq.jpg

Taken on 8/7/06

Construction of seating gallery for future floating platform - where events and water-based activities will be hosted on the bay

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/platform0807.jpg

[Gid]

Taken on 8/7/06

Construction of seating gallery for future floating platform - where events and water-based activities will be hosted on the bay

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/platform0807.jpg

Hey Raf, so this is the floating platform project that was mentioned many months back? The one where they say it's gonna hold future National Day Parades? Great! The project is materialising after all! ive come across this construction site b4 and always wondered what exactly it was.

Hmm, but the seating gallery seems kindda small isn't it? And not sure if Marina Bay is big enough to accomodate a football field-sized floating platform.

[Toronto06]

ok

but i still would never visit singapore

[RafflesCity]

Hey Raf, so this is the floating platform project that was mentioned many months back? The one where they say it's gonna hold future National Day Parades? Great! The project is materialising after all! ive come across this construction site b4 and always wondered what exactly it was.

Hmm, but the seating gallery seems kindda small isn't it? And not sure if Marina Bay is big enough to accomodate a football field-sized floating platform.

yes this is the one indeed.

The seating gallery is definitely smaller than the National Stadium simply because its not meant to be a replacement for the stadium. It will only hold the parades until the new one is built.

Well in the rendering below you can get a rough idea of the size of the floating platform :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/mbrender2.jpg

[classhopper]

^^ :OMG: Singapore Eye?

[delahaye]

no, the singapore flyer ...

[RafflesCity]

Three sites at Marina Bay for sale

27 Jul 06

By Bernice Bong, Straits Times Interactive

http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20060727/ln-wakeboardingt.jpg

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will put up for sale the promontory site in front of the Business and Financial Centre in the Marina Bay.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced the URA's plan on Thursday when he revealed investment opportunities in the Bay at the Singapore Institute of Architects' 45th annual dinner.

Mr Mah said the site is 'intended for a low-rise, iconic structure for use as a public attraction' such as a gallery or aquarium.

He also said that another site next to the new Garden at Marina South would be sold.

'This site is ideal for a boutique hotel set within extensive lush greenery.'

Mr Mah disclosed the URA and the Singapore Tourism Board are studying a site at the southern coast of Marina South for an international passenger terminal.

He said the URA is working with relevant agencies to seek investors' feedback and garner interesting business concepts and ideas.

'We will also identify other sites in the Marina Bay area for office and housing development and release them over time to meed demand.'

http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/STI/STIMEDIA/sp/PLAN/PLAN.jpg

Details for water-based activities

The minister also said the URA wanted to bring more activity and vibrancy to the Greater Marina Bay, comprising Marina Bay, Marina Channel, Kallang Basin/Kallang River and the Singapore River.

The Bay will host the inaugural International Pink Dragon Boat Council World Championships in September.

It will also be the place for high-speed sporting events such as jet-ski, wakeboarding and water-ski championships. A 2.5 km long power-sporting circuit has been earmarked for these races.

At the Kallang Basin, a 35 hectare zone of water has been earmarked for non-motorised sports such as canoeing and dragon boating. Nearby, a 5 ha zone at the Kallang River will be used for motorised water sports.

Over at the Marina Channel, there will be a new 1 km race course for dragon boat, canoeing and rowing competitions, in a 30 ha water sports zone.

Mr Mah added that to enhance the accessibility to and in the Bay, water taxi services will be extended with 13 new stops to the various attractions and water bodies.

[csn830422]

exciting

[Gerardtam]

cant wait for the design of the promontory site in front of the Business and Financial Centre in the Marina Bay

[jason poon]

As a HKer, I really enjoy what's happening in Singapore,
we are similar while we are competitors,
sincerely wish every success and brilliance in the Marina Bay and same brightness in our West Kowloon.

[Monkey]

Marina Bay is really cool. I know a Singaporean girl who works for Las Vegas Sands and was involved in the bid for the Marina Bay "integrated resort" (but why didn't they just call it a casino? :dunno: ).

[Monkey]

It's slightly strange that all of this land, in such a prime location right next to the CBD, was not developed before. Why is that? What was the land used for before?

[ignoramus]

Marina Bay is really cool. I know a Singaporean girl who works for Las Vegas Sands and was involved in the bid for the Marina Bay "integrated resort" (but why didn't they just call it a casino? :dunno: ).

1. They called it an integrated resort because the gaming or casino component only makes up a small percentage of the resort.

2. And for a country known for its rules, it certainly doesn't want to be associated with the bad image of gambling and casinos.

[ignoramus]

It's slightly strange that all of this land, in such a prime location right next to the CBD, was not developed before. Why is that? What was the land used for before?

1. The land was reclaimed from the sea only a decade or two ago, so it has seen little developments (an under-utilised subway station, some roads and low rise buildings) in order to allow for the reclaimed land to settle before high rise developments are built on it.

2. By the time the land was absolutely right for development, land prices fell as the recession struck. The government slowed down/stopped the sale of land parcels for development.

But since now the economy's doing really fine and the land's settled enough already, its a really boom time for this HUGE PIECE OF LAND.

[RafflesCity]

@Monkey....informally, most people refer to it as a casino...although calling it an "Integrated Resort" sounds like a typically bureaucratic term to package it....that said both the future resorts have to provide more than just gaming components :yes:

more details of the next 3 parcels:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/mb3sites.jpg

[RafflesCity]

1. The land was reclaimed from the sea only a decade or two ago, so it has seen little developments (an under-utilised subway station, some roads and low rise buildings) in order to allow for the reclaimed land to settle before high rise developments are built on it.

2. By the time the land was absolutely right for development, land prices fell as the recession struck. The government slowed down/stopped the sale of land parcels for development.

But since now the economy's doing really fine and the land's settled enough already, its a really boom time for this HUGE PIECE OF LAND.

True...but in any case, the land reclaimed at Marina Centre was the first to be utilised, and built upon from the 80s:

1982:

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980006806-8262-3202-1349/img0041.jpg

Marina Centre:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/nitez4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/mbdarksky.jpg

view from one of the hotels at Marina Centre (by encon):

http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/774/pagipanos1lg.jpg


a large part of Marina East is set aside as a golf course and future park space:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/SB5.jpg

[Mosaic]

Singapore will be changed a lot when those project completed

[ncon]

^^ yes :D

and I can't wait for those project to be completed

[Monkey]

@Raffles and Ignoramus
Thanks for the replies. I will be back in Singapore soon.... :okay:

[JoSin]

Update of The Sail by Rafflescity:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/sail0807.jpg

[RafflesCity]

BFC developer to market first Marina South apartments soon

Consultants say sale could set new benchmark price

3 Aug 06


(SINGAPORE) The first residential development at Marina South will go on sale soon, making it possible to actually 'live, work and play' there.


The development's general manager David Martin said yesterday sales of units will start in the fourth quarter of this year. Sizes will range from one-bedroom to penthouses, with a range in between.

The sizes and mix of units will be disclosed later, Mr Martin said. 'We are continuing to monitor the market while we finalise the specifications of the apartments.' And as for price: 'Clearly, this will depend to some extent on the final offering.'

The site for the Business & Financial Centre at Marina Bay (BFC) was bought in July 2005 by a consortium comprising Cheung Kong Holdings, Hongkong Land and Keppel Land.

The BFC is envisioned as the financial centre of Singapore's new downtown but will have a substantial residential component, estimated to be about a third of the total gross floor area.

The BFC will be built in phases, and in the first phase there will be two office towers and a 428-unit high-end residential block 55-storeys high.

Using the current resale prices for nearby The Sail @ Marina Bay by City Developments Ltd (CDL), the average price for BFC's residential units could be around $1,500 psf, although its developers are likely to want to add a premium because of proximity to the upcoming Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

Mr Martin said there has been plenty of interest. 'The level of enquiry received to date reflects strong demand from international retail buyers and investors who want to share in the expected strong rental and capital appreciation of this development.'

Other developments in the downtown area include The Lumiere by BS Capital on the site of the former HMC Building, The Clift at the Natwest Centre site by Far East Organization and the redeveloped No 1 Shenton Way by CDL.

At BFC, the units will either face Marina Bay or the Singapore Straits.

Savills Singapore head of research Wallace Chu said the BFC units could set a new benchmark price.

On whether the inclusion of one-bedroom units is any indication of the target market, Mr Chu said The Sail also has small units and sold well.

The BFC's owners could also be looking to break the record for most expensive leasehold condominium. So far, Draycott 8 by Wing Tai Holdings is said to be the most expensive at around $1,800 psf.

On price expectations by the BFC owners, a property consultant told BT a new benchmark could be set. 'It depends on how fast you want to sell the units. If you set it too high, you will take a longer time to sell the units.' He also noted that being a 'mixed development', the BFC may not appeal to all buyers.

[RafflesCity]

some information on the upcoming Gardens by the Bay project.


A green spot close to our hearts

10 Aug 06

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpdj6EAD.jpg

SINGAPORE: You might never have guessed it - but there could be a tree-hugger in every Singaporean.

In a National Day survey conducted by Today, the upcoming Garden City by the Bay - incorporating three gardens that make up the National Parks Board's (NParks) Gardens by the Bay project, water sports, a reservoir and a giant Ferris wheel - was rated as the project Singaporeans were most excited about.

It even ranked ahead of the likes of the multi-billion dollar Integrated Resorts, the Sports Hub and the plan to make Orchard Road pedestrian friendly.

Asked for his response to the survey, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said: "The Gardens will be for all Singaporeans to own, to enjoy, and to share with our family and friends. I am delighted by the positive feedback from the public. It shows that Singaporeans appreciate and have developed a bond with our parks and gardens and our greenery."

Other than giving each Singaporean shared ownership of a 94-ha prime property, the Gardens by the Bay is also meant to project Singapore as a truly global city in a global garden.

Last week, an international jury of 11 reviewed submissions from eight world-class bidders - selected from an initial pool of 70 interested entrants - depicting their vision of the Garden at Marina South, Garden at Marina East and Garden at Marina Centre.

A winner will be announced in September, and the masterplan will then be the canvas upon which another competition of detailed designs will be held.

The three distinctly themed yet interconnected waterfront gardens will form the Gardens by the Bay, with phase one due for completion between 2009 and 2010.

According to Dr Tan Wee Kiat, NParks advisor and former chief executive, the final list of participants comprise internationally-renowned firms from the UK, US, Japan, Australia and Singapore.

Explained Dr Tan: "A key mission of the Gardens is to project the image of a modern Singapore to the world, to express to the rest of the world why Singapore is a contender as a global city."

The best team for the job will be the one best representing the context of the Gardens - such as Singapore's uniqueness as one of the largest cities on the equator, its position on the confluence of trade routes, and its role as a tropical garden with global ambitions.

Indeed, a cool conservatory showcasing plants from temperate climates will be part of the 54-ha garden in the heart of Marina South. It will also be home to the Singapore Garden Festival - which will be held for the first time this December - and other horticultural events.

Said Dr Tan: "Beyond transforming Singapore from a Garden City into a City in a Garden, we are also developing software that is needed to sustain our City in a Garden by involving the participation of the living communities in Singapore and nurturing a culture of gardening. One way to do this is to showcase examples of tropical gardens in this part of the world."

To be held at Suntec City Convention Centre in the ten days before Christmas, the exhibition will be on a scale equivalent to some of the established festivals in temperate cities, such as the famous Chelsea Flower Show.

Other than being Singapore's inaugural Garden Festival, it will also be the first show to bring together the best garden designers from around the world to create gardens and compete for top honours.

"This show will allow our locals to build up their expertise, confidence and provides a chance to practise their art," said Dr Tan.

NParks plans to make the Singapore Garden Festival a biennial show. Tickets are already available at Sistic outlets starting from $6.

By Tor Ching Li, TODAY

[JoSin]

business and financial centre renderings by charging bull.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4342/bfcxi1.jpg[/

[european]

^^wow such an amazing developement.

[Manu84]

wonderful proyect

[pimvdh]

wow that's cool

[Very Controversial]

Great project.

[RafflesCity]

construction activity is set to increase

$25m to reduce jams and dust in Marina building zone


31 Aug 06

Internal road system, barge terminals for ferrying of debris and construction materials

THE Government is spending $25 million to minimise the traffic and environmental impact of Singapore's biggest concentration of construction works - in Marina Bay.
Between next year and 2012, mega projects like the integrated resort, the Business and Financial Centre and the downtown MRT extension will come up there.

An internal road system will be built to provide direct access to the East Coast Parkway and enhance connectivity within the building zone. The network is seven lane- km long in total.

Two barge terminals will also be constructed by the sea - one to transport dumped materials such as earth and debris to a landfill to be determined by the Maritime and Port Authority, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA).

The other terminal will receive construction materials from the west and east of Singapore.

These facilities are the efforts of a task force initiated by the LTA. It comprises members from various government agencies, including the Urban Redevelopment Autho- rity and the National Environment Agency.

The measures are necessary because up to 21 million tonnes of construction materials and exca- vated earth are expected to be transported to and from the site over the next three years.

Mr Chuai Chip Tiong, deputy chairman of the Inter-Agency Task Force, estimates that up to 5,000 truck trips could be made per day if the barge terminals were not provided.

'If nothing is done, we will expect a very high volume and frequency of trucks laden with construction material, travelling into and out of the Marina Bay area,' he said. 'These could bring about adverse traffic and environmental impact on public roads, especially in the city area.'

With the measures, only a fraction of the anticipated truck traffic will go on public roads. The builders will also need far fewer trucks, since the barge terminals are nearby and turnaround time is shortened.

The task force expects the internal road system to be completed by next March. Come 2012, part of this network will form permanent roads in the new downtown.

Meanwhile, before the downtown MRT extension is built, the LTA will construct a $6.4 million Common Utility Trench to house utilities that are currently in the path of the new MRT line.


By Christopher Tan, Senior Correspondent

[RafflesCity]

http://files.photojerk.com/RafflesCity/marinanetwork.JPG

[RafflesCity]

Two international designers picked to develop master plan for Gardens by the Bay

6 Sep 06

By Amy Yeong

Two international landscape design teams have been named joint winners of an international master plan competition to conceptualise and create the master plan for Gardens by the Bay, which is set to be the crown jewel of Singapore's Garden City.

The winning entries are for Marina East and Marina South Gardens. No winner was chosen for the Garden at Marina Centre as NParks will be seeking public feedback on this.

The competition, organised by the National Parks Board and launched in January, attracted over 70 entries from 170 firms from 24 countries. Of these, eight were shortlisted and they presented their submissions to an 11-member international jury.

http://www.asia1.com.sg/a1news/pics/20060906_bay1.jpg
Winning design by Grant Associates, a landscape architecture consultancy based in Bath, England

The team that created the winning design for the Garden at Marina South is Grant Associates, a landscape architecture consultancy based in Bath, England. Grant Associates' recent projects include the Chongqing Botanical Garden in China and the New Islington Millennium Village in Manchester. It collaborated with several other design companies such as Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Atelier One, Atelier Ten, Land Design Studios and Meinhardt Infrastructure on the winning design.

Grant Associates' design philosophy for the Gardens sees the Marina South Garden as an "intelligent" space, which will have "Edutainment Gardens" as well as event spaces, show gardens and a conservatory.

The judges say Grant Associate's design "captures the essence of a Garden in a downtown setting - the experience of colour and vibrancy all year round. This was achieved by the strategic location of display gardens and activity spaces, with careful consideration given to day and night programming."

The team that created the winning design for the Garden at Marina East is Gustafson Porter, an international landscape design practice based in London. Its recent projects include the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London's Hyde Park, and the Great Glasshouse at the National Botanical Garden of Wales.

http://www.asia1.com.sg/a1news/pics/20060906_bay2.jpg
Winning design by Gustafson Porter, an international landscape design practice based in London

The judges say that Gustafson Porter's design concept for the Garden at Marina East "positioned it as a key Garden, leveraging off the attractive views it offers of the city skyline, looking across the water." The design's strength lies in "the way it addressed the site conditions, thereby bringing forth the essence of Marina Bay in a subtle and elegant manner."

Both winning teams also collaborated with Davis Langdon & Seah Singapore, which provided cost and management services.

Mr Mah Bow Tan, Minister for National Development, said the Gardens by the Bay would "exemplify the Garden in our Garden City", by adding colour and vibrancy through flowers and coloured foliage.

"It will showcase the best of tropical horticulture and floral displays. It will be a central park for all residents and visitors alike," said the minister at the launch of the Gardens by the Bay Master Plan exhibition at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, and the official opening of the redeveloped Tanglin Core this morning.

He said that the judges were impressed with how the designers pushed the envelope of design, while taking into account the climate, culture and context of Singapore.

"They strived to come up with something iconic and innovative, and at the same time ensuring that their designs would blend in well with the surrounding developments at Marina Bay," added Mr Mah.

On the two winning designs, he said both teams had very unique design concepts that encompassed aesthetic elements that were "implementable and flexible."

"Grant Associates' strength showed in their design for the garden at Marina South, while Gustafson Porter excelled in their design for Marina East," he added.

But the Minister emphasised that the designs were not the final blueprints, and both teams would continue to work with NParks to develop the details of the designs.

Members of the public can view an exhibition of the winning designs and scale models at the Function Hall in the new Botany Centre, Tanglin Core, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens from now to Sept 24, from 7am to 8pm daily. The winning designs can also be viewed on the Gardens by the Bay website ( http://www.gardensbythebay.org.sg).

The exibition also serves to canvas feedback from the public, and their ideas and views would be taken into account in the detailed design stage.

[satit28]

another great development worth waitin for.............

[RafflesCity]

^^

more details...the new gardens will themselves become a Singapore attraction by themselves :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gbtb-1.jpg

[european]

^^Looks nice.

[RafflesCity]

yup here is a larger rendering of one of the features within the Marina South portion of the park.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gbtb2.jpg

You can visit this website for more details on the Gardens:

http://www.gardensbythebay.org.sg

[SaiGoNeseKiD]

^^ :eek2:

[ncon]

amazing :drool:

too good to be true :okay:!

[PeterSmith]

That is really cool. It reminds me a little of Parc Guell in Barcelona, only with a very modern and definitely Singapore feel.

[RafflesCity]

amazing :drool:

too good to be true :okay:!

Well...I cant wait for the renderings to be put into reality in a few years time :)

Somebody should make a trip down to the Botanic Gardens to take pics of the masterplan models and exhibits :cool:

[ncon]

oh they display it in Botanic Garden??

[Dallas star]

Ya me to this will be great for singapore

[oriental_horizon]

this is the sort of development singapore needs to compete for tourism dollars coming to the Asian region. it will an exciting time for singapore. this will bring competition to nearby destinations like Hong Kong which they have Disneyland, Genting in Malaysia and Bangkok.

I think Genting in Malaysia will be feeling the heat, hence they will have to offer new development to become competitive and attract tourism dollars. There have been rumours that Shanghai might be getting a disneyland to better compete with all these asian destinations with strong economic development and projects.

[RafflesCity]

oh they display it in Botanic Garden??

yup :yes:

at the Function Hall in the new Botany Centre, Tanglin Core, at the Singapore Botanic Gardens from now to Sept 24, from 7am to 8pm daily.

[ncon]

^^ thanks :D

[RafflesCity]

Future urban density simulations and the 3 future gardens (to be ready around 2010).

light brown = existing areas
purple = immediate future extension (developments will encircle the bay)
white = long-term extension

SCROLL --->

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/gbtbpano.jpg

[RafflesCity]

Masterplan model for the gardens:

1.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gb1.jpg

2.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gb2.jpg

3.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gb3.jpg

4.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/rotpics03/gb4.jpg

[babystan03]

Looks exciting......:yes:

[Elsongs]

yeah but singapore is so small that a "Distance" isn't even that far. the airport is about 12 miles away from the city centeer. 12 miles wont even get you from LA to pasadena.


The entire island of Singapore is the same size as the San Fernando Valley.

Another reason why there probably will not be a supertall in Singapore is that it's in an earthquake-prone area. The faults and volcanoes of Indonesia are not very far away. The Banda Acheh quake of December 2004 caused the skycrapers in Singapore to sway.
The Marina Bay area is a reclamation zone, right? Probably dangerous because of the threat of liquefaction.

[Cliff]

Nah, it's not that bad, I have never felt the shake before. And besides, if Taipei can do it, anything is possible:D

The problem is actually not Changi Aiport, but Paya Leber airbase(Millitary Airbase), which is much closer.

[RafflesCity]

@Elsongs

If that was indeed the case, then you probably wouldnt see the Petronas supertalls in KL either, nor the supertall proposals of Jakarta.

It is also not unheard of to have supertalls built on reclaimed land.

The main determinant of height in Singapore are aviation restrictions.

There are 5 airports/airbases on this tiny island.

[RafflesCity]

18 November 2006

An overview of the area. All that green is reclaimed land.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/ttpano6.jpg

[redstone]

Great shot! I can see the old concrete wharf beside Conference Hall

[glitz_boy]

Well wat Elsongs said is true in the engineering point of view tho. Taipei 101 is using 2 big giant ball as the damper to the earthquake. But maybe Singapore is not yet ready as the normal concrete grade used is still very low unlike Japan.

[RafflesCity]

Well wat Elsongs said is true in the engineering point of view tho. Taipei 101 is using 2 big giant ball as the damper to the earthquake. But maybe Singapore is not yet ready as the normal concrete grade used is still very low unlike Japan.

Actually unlike Japan, Singapore is blessed to be not sitting on a fault line. Thats why Japan cannot build supertall although they are so advanced. :yes:

As already mentioned, building heights here are determined by aviation requirements for military & civilian aircraft.

[RafflesCity]

Singapore has drawn up a masterplan to enhance its city centre through lighting. There will be 4 distinct zones:

Get ready to see the city in a new light


22 Nov 06

SINGAPORE may soon get a special glow about it at night.
If all goes according to a plan already on the table, lights will show off Singapore's lush greenery to best advantage after sundown.

Bodies of water will be lit from below the surface, and the undersides of bridges will be festooned with lights.

There's more.

Taking a leaf from the original City of Light - Paris - walkways will be lit subtly to evoke the magic of being out at night, while Central Business District (CBD) streets will be cast in a blue-white glow to cool down this tropical island's ambience.

For those who prefer to be hit between the eyes with light instead of a soft glow, the Bras Basah-Bugis area is the place to be - it has been earmarked as a round-the-clock entertainment zone emblazoned with creative neon signs and advertising panels.

All in, four downtown areas have been identified for light-ups - each to project its own look and feel solely through lighting design.

The four areas identified by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) are the Orchard Road belt, the Bras Basah and Bugis area, the CBD and Marina Bay, and the Singapore River.

A Japanese lighting expert has been hired, and he has identified some of Singapore's features which can be enhanced through lights.

The expert, Mr Kaoru Mende of Lighting Planners Associates, is behind the idea to change the CBD's streetlights to bluish-white ones.

He also recommended playing up the Garden City's greenery and its bodies of water, and said the Bras Basah-Bugis area was the best place to show Singapore's cultural vibrancy through lights.

The URA, meanwhile, is reviewing advertisement guidelines for the area to encourage more creative use of signs and media panels.

Proposals aside, one light-up idea has already been confirmed for the Orchard Road strip by year's end.

Traffic at the Orchard and Bideford road junction in front of the Paragon shopping mall will be halted at fixed times nightly, when lights will flash and dance there.

In those precious few minutes, pedestrians will be free to make their way across that junction in any direction they please.

Views from the public on these proposals will also be canvassed. The ideas are showcased in an exhibition at the URA Centre which was opened last night by Minister of State (National Development) Grace Fu.

The exhibition will be open every day, except Sundays, until Feb 28.

URA's acting head of urban design, Ms Yap Lay Bee, said the exhibition aimed to show the public the immense potential of lighting to create a signature skyline.

The URA also hopes to drum up the private sector's interest in the effort, she added.

As an incentive to light up, businesses can apply for government funds that were set up earlier this year.

Those in the Orchard Road area can tap into the $40 million mall-enhancement fund; those in the CBD will have access to $10 million. The URA will also nudge government agencies into lighting up public areas.

By Lim Wei Chean


http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20061121/ST_IMAGES_NDWCLIGHT-O4Ct.jpg

http://straitstimes.asiaone.com/STI/STIMEDIA/image/20061121/ST_IMAGES_NDWCLIGHTt.jpg

Orchard Road belt

By year's end, lights will flash and dance at fixed times nightly at the Orchard and Bideford road junction in front of the Paragon shopping mall.


Central Business District and Marina Bay

Streets will be cast in a blue-white glow.


Bras Basah and Bugis area

Earmarked as a round-the-clock entertainment zone emblazoned with creative neon signs and advertising panels.


Singapore River

Proposed jelly-fish lights in the river will add more colour and charm to the otherwise quiet stretch opposite Boat Quay.

[RafflesCity]

http://www.ura.gov.sg/lightingplan/images/cbd_12.jpg

For more information on the other zones, visit this site:

http://www.ura.gov.sg/lightingplan/

[Avatar]

The gardens and the new lighting plans for the city look spectacular, and a very welcome change to the city.

However... I just feel like this whole marina bay development makes everything feel a bit claustrophobic. I liked the idea of being able to look out into the straits from suntec city etc, but with these new buildings, there will be a definite 'closing in' of the entire city. Right now it feels open with so much flat reclaimed land sitting out there, once its built upon, it will dramatically change Singapore forever. I wish they had thought of another way, one which keeps the existing CBDs open and not so shut off.

[RafflesCity]

The gardens and the new lighting plans for the city look spectacular, and a very welcome change to the city.

However... I just feel like this whole marina bay development makes everything feel a bit clostrophobic. I liked the idea of being able to look out into the straits from suntec city etc, but with these new buildings, there will be a definite 'closing in' of the entire city. Right now it feels open with so much flat reclaimed land sitting out there, once its built upon, it will dramatically change Singapore forever. I wish they had thought of another way, one which keeps the existing CBDs open and not so shut off.

The layout of buildings in the new downtown is unlikely to create a claustrophobic feel, as urban design requirements will ensure sufficiently wide roads and open plazas, as well as greenery provisions on the ground and encouragement of skygardens in buildings.

The new park is quite substantial, and expansive sea, park and bay views will be a feature of the CBD, not surprisingly, there is likely to be a high demand for residential apartments and hotels in the new downtown:

Lounging on the skypark of Marina Bay Sands
http://www.msafdie.com/images/1171
http://www.msafdie.com/images/1169

Singapore's skyline will change dramatically, and will utilise the reclaimed land, as growth elsewhere is constrained by the existing port and conservation areas like Chinatown (as seen in this pano by aloyteo):

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/5950/chinatownhdbviewpanosmallku7.jpg

More so than ever, the new downtown will showcase Singapore as a premier waterfront metropolis of tropical character.

[babystan03]

Marina Bay Financial Centre Apartment reports:

The apartment model in Lianhe Zaobao (12/12/06):
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2404/dscf1114dx7.jpg

How it looks with the rest of the skyline (also from zaobao 12/12/06):
http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9456/dscf1113jm8.jpg

[RafflesCity]

The historical Clifford Pier will be restored and integrated into a new luxury waterfront hotel.

Sino Land bags Collyer Quay site for $166m

19 Dec 06

FEO's sister firm aims to integrate plot with its One Fullerton site and Fullerton Hotel

http://business-times.asiaone.com/mnt/media/image/launched/2006-12-19/BT_5343116_18_12_2006.jpg

A HOTLY contested site at Collyer Quay has been awarded to Hong Kong's Sino Land, the sister company of Singapore property giant Far East Organization (FEO).
Sino Land, controlled by the family of property magnate Ng Teng Fong, turned in the two highest bids out of three shortlisted offers.

Its winning tender, which topped the shortlist at $165.8 million, is anchored by a luxury boutique hotel featuring about 120 rooms with 'full sea views' that will take up almost half the floor area of the landmark plot.

The rest of the site, comprising Clifford Pier and the former Customs Harbour Branch Building, will also be transformed into a 'hip and trendy Fisherman's Wharf', said Sino Land executive director Daryl Ng yesterday.

The project's entire development cost is expected to be about $150 million, he added.

Clinching the Collyer Quay site will enable Sino Land to consolidate its hold over the waterfront area, as the plot is right next to Sino Land's commercial and retail development One Fullerton and is across the road from the group's The Fullerton Hotel.

In fact, the possibility of an integrated waterfront development was what led Sino Land to put in its bullish 60-year tenders for the 2.67ha plot, said Mr Ng.

'Because we already own the waterfront of One Fullerton and The Fullerton Hotel, we believe that with this site we can provide an even better integrated and attractive waterfront,' he told The Straits Times by telephone from Hong Kong.

'We hope to create a holistic approach to our design so that tourists can walk along the water from the Merlion Park all the way past One Fullerton and our Collyer Quay site, then on to the Business and Financial Centre and Marina Bay integrated resort - a whole waterfront walkway that should be very pleasant.'

Sino Land's vision for the site is a 'prestigious world-class landmark' and vibrant tourist destination for Singapore, added Mr Ng.

'We want to turn this into a must-visit destination, so we're trying to create new and innovative waterfront leisure uses for Singaporeans and overseas tourists,' he said.

Some unique features include a floating public plaza and discotheque within the water space