London-based Serie Architects and Singapore-based Multiply Architects have designed 5 Science Park Drive (SPD) project, the latest building in the Lion City’s Science Park complex, Asia’s leading R&D and technology location by developer Capitaland. Officially opened by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat 5 SPD re-imagines the model for a tech-focused building to reflect the needs of emerging e-commerce and research organisations. This flagship 26,000m² building will form the basis of the re-development of the Science Park.
Christopher Lee, Principal of Serie Architects explains: “The Science Park model of the 1990s, with buildings isolated from one another by unutilised landscape is no longer adequate for today’s workspaces that are more social in nature. The first of more than five buildings in the cluster, 5 Science Park Drive is designed to ensure that common spaces are visible, accessible and nourished with amenities.”
The building features a three-storey extended lobby or ‘city room’ that incorporates a series of cascading platforms integrated with a café, break-out spaces and a small auditorium. This space is focused on collaboration, discussion and networking.
The floor plans are designed to maximise flexibility. A typical floorplate has over 4,000m² in open-plan space and column-free spans of 20 metres. Centralised circulation with highly efficient double-loaded corridors allows the building to be configured for single or multi-tenant use.
The façade features high-performance glazing set into an alternating ‘accordion’ design that is animated at night with a re-programmable LED light system. The design combines vision and spandrel glazing to maximise views while mitigating solar gain.
The adjacent carpark has been covered with extensive landscaping and feature such amenities as exercise pavilions. This will eventually form a shared park for a cluster of six massive new technology buildings.
The building has been fully let to e-commerce start-up Shopee and will eventually house 3,000 staff across the 26,000m² of space.
Photo credits: Finbarr Fallon
