Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) recently completed the Robinson Tower, a contemporary and sculptural high-rise in Singapore that was created in collaboration with Associate Architect A61. Designed with a mix of boutique retail and office spaces, the skyscraper champions the firm’s ideas of “sustainable urbanism” by engaging the public streetscape with floor-to-ceiling glazing and publicly accessible green space. To strengthen Singapore’s new slogan as a “City in a Garden,” the building features an abundance of greenery from an enclosed rooftop garden to the open-air garden atop the retail podium.
The integration of greenery into Robinson Tower was in part because of Singapore’s Landscape Replacement Policy, a 2014 law that requires that any greenery lost to development must be replaced with publicly accessible greenery of equal area. Because the V-shaped site was already constrained by Market Street and Robinson Road, KPF decided to embed greenery inside of and on top of the building in addition to providing streetscape landscaping.
The sculptural tower’s crystalline form takes cues from the angular terracotta roof of Lau Pa Sat, a historic building and food market nearby. The tower features 20 boutique office floors stacked atop a retail podium. Between the retail and office spaces is a manicured rooftop garden with mature trees. An enclosed rooftop garden crowns the building and, like the rest of the building, is wrapped in glass to provide marina views.
“Robinson Tower follows in the footsteps of KPF’s work at Marina Bay Financial Centre, which first introduced the mixed-use model to Singapore,” said Robert Whitlock, design principal of KPF. “Even though that project was massive in scale, with a park integrated in its plan, this distinctive tower similarly embodies the integration of context, culture and sustainability with architecture.” Robinson Tower also houses KPF’s Singapore office, which was founded in 2018.
Sculptural, tree-filled tower supports “sustainable urbanism” in Singapore [Inhabitat]