NOMU

NOMU – North of the Museum and University – is an adaptive re-use of an existing 1970s apartment block into a mixed-use development with shops, offices and residential apartments. By exposing the original concrete frame, the interplay of solid and selectively demolished voids serves to carve new, interesting volumes out of the existing structure.

The façade is wrapped in a gauze-like layer of silver screens which alternately conceal and reveal the underlying structure. Elements such as stairs and service enclosures are picked out in striking rust-red metal as functional “sculptures” that punctuate the old grid.

The project is notable for proposing that the commercial quantum be sleeved along Handy Road to enliven the street level. NOMU is an example of how obsolete inner-city structures can be utilised to make the city an exciting place to live and work.

Client
-
Location
20 Handy Road
See on Google Maps
Status
Built
Design Inception
December 2003
Completion
March 2009
Type
Adaptive Re-Use, Commercial, Mixed-Use, Offices, Residential Mid-Rise
Gross Floor Area
5576.84m²
E-brochure Download

Odeon Towers Extension

This commercial project was designed in 2001 and involves making use of spare floor area created in an existing building by changes in area calculation methods of the planning regulations. A new low-rise showroom and retail element is constructed on an existing open space that is currently under-utilised.

A signage wall wraps the party wall of an adjoining development and creates an eye-catching entry statement that evokes memories of the Odeon cinema that used to occupy the site. A rooftop garden provides a place for product launches for the showroom and gives greenery and shade to this inner-city site.

Client
-
Location
331 North Bridge Road
See on Google Maps
Status
Built
Design Inception
January 2002
Completion
November 2003
Type
Commercial, Interiors, Mixed-Use, Offices
Gross Floor Area
22,989m²
E-brochure Download

NS Square

NS Square will replace the existing Float @ Marina Bay as an event venue featuring a National Service-themed gallery, community sports facilities and a public waterfront promenade.

A new permanent stage deck will replace the existing floating platform, with a grandstand of 30,000 seats curving around the stage to provide an uninterrupted line-of-sight as well as bring spectators closer to the ‘action’. The space can be configured for events of different scales and types, such as concerts, performances, sporting activities and competitions. When not in use for events, the stage will be transformed into multi-purpose space for community activities. The public can enjoy a new waterfront promenade in front of the stage that will form part of the continuous loop around Marina Bay.

Leveraging on the unique waterfront location, NS Square will feature a water sports facility to support dragon boating, canoeing and kayaking. There will also be a swimming pool and water play areas for the public to enjoy. The development will incorporate a gallery that showcases Singapore’s National Service story in a mix of open and enclosed exhibition spaces.

NS Square will be the central focus Singapore’s new downtown and reinforces its identity as a vibrant, resilient and sustainable city state.

Video
NS Square: Flythrough

Client
Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF)
Location
Marina Bay, Singapore
See on Google Maps
Status
Under construction
Design Inception
January 2020
Type
Civic / Institutional, Commercial, Cultural, Exhibition, Interiors, Masterplan / Conceptual, Mixed-Use
System
Ecological, Economic, Social
E-brochure Download

OCT Kunming

Scheme for a mixed-use headquarters complex with office, residential, hospitality and commercial components.

Client
-
Location
Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
May 2019
Type
Commercial, Hospitality, Masterplan / Conceptual, Mixed-Use, Offices, Residential High-Rise
System
Ecological, Economic, Social
Gross Floor Area
95,900m²

Shenzhen Qian Hai

This schematic design for a large mixed-use development in a prominent new site at the centre of Shenzhen’s Qian Hai Bay CBD envisions what future city centres could be.

Housing cultural spaces, expo and conference centres as well as hotels, retail and offices, the design takes a holistic approach by integrating the different programmes 3-dimensionally.

A lush, subtropical urban oasis rises up on the seafront, bringing nature back into the city that is dominated by concrete, glass and steel. The green oculus of the scheme represents a new typology that was designed for the projects geographical, climatic and cultural context.

To capitalise on the subtropical climate, the oculus is green and porous, offering users a biophilic, naturally ventilated, yet sheltered environment.

It brings nature back into the lives of city-dwellers and by offering landscaped, comfortable, breezy, naturally lit common spaces. The phytoremediation that is performed by the integrated vertical greenery, absorbs pollutants in the water and air, contributing to a healthier environment for all.

These spaces significantly reduce the need for artificial lighting and air-conditioning, which reduces the scheme’s energy consumption considerably.

Client
-
Location
Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
March 2018
Type
Commercial, Cultural, Exhibition, Hospitality, Mixed-Use, Offices, Residential High-Rise
Gross Floor Area
322,000m²
E-brochure Download

Shenzhen ZTE

Scheme for a mixed-use development in Shenzhen with office, commercial and hospitality components.

Client
-
Location
Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
September 2019
Type
Commercial, Hospitality, Mixed-Use, Offices
Gross Floor Area
189,890m²

Shanghai Qingpu

Scheme for a mixed-use development in Shanghai that includes commercial, residential and office components.

Client
-
Location
Shanghai, China
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
May 2019
Type
Commercial, Masterplan / Conceptual, Mixed-Use, Offices, Residential High-Rise
Gross Floor Area
143,285m²

Prince Bay Shenzhen

Scheme for a residential project with commercial components in Shenzhen.

Client
-
Location
Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
October 2018
Type
Commercial, Mixed-Use, Residential High-Rise
Gross Floor Area
13,945m²

Vanke HQ

This schematic design for a mixed-use development in Shenzhen brings back nature and a human scale to the dense urban district in the form of a new vertical regenerative campus headquarters typology.

Designed for a unique site consisting of two adjacent plots in Shenzhen, the scheme looks out onto the water towards Hong Kong.

Its outer, sleek, angular envelope contrasts with its inner, lush urban oasis that brings nature back into a dense city environment. Reminiscent of a “slice” of a mountain it provides ecosystem services like sequestering carbon, phytoremediation of acidic rain, reducing pollutants in the air and turning carbon dioxide to oxygen.

The holistic design fully integrates the different programs of this mixed-use development, creating connections, and community spaces for all users.

The towers respond to each other, facing each other to create beautiful green views for the spaces that do not face the sea. They sit on an elevated podium that gives the development a new ground level and connects the different programs to each other.

Waterfalls and greenery turn the podium into a lush public space, refuge floors are turned into landscaped parks in the sky.

In order to foster community in a large development, plenty of sociable common spaces, both within the buildings and in the publicly accessible areas, have been included in the design. Recreational amenities like running and hiking tracks amongst the ‘mountains’ are woven into the design. The multi-functional spaces provide friendly, biophilic environments for users and passers-by alike.

Client
-
Location
Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
February 2018
Type
Commercial, Competition, Hospitality, Mixed-Use
System
Ecological, Economic, Social
Gross Floor Area
167,000m²
E-brochure Download

Community Town Hub

A public design competition was called for a large-scale community town hub within a major public housing estate. This ‘one-stop community service centre’ involved the integration of community, sports, civic and commercial facilities within a 5.7Ha site.

WOHA’s key strategy was to approach the site with a club sandwich multi-zoning approach, by lifting the large footprint of the sports stadium and recreational facilities to the top and placing the commercial and civic facilities below. This approach not only minimised the building’s footprint and maximised space for facilities but also formed a giant urban umbrella over the entire development while opening up the ground level space to activity generating uses and effective additional park land. The layering arrangement also generated multiple ground levels of covered tropical outdoor spaces and provided dynamic visual links between the facilities/blocks.

The ground level was proposed to be a physical extension of the adjacent existing linear park, forming the Community Town Green – an uninterrupted pedestrianised ground plane that is fully open, physically connected and visually porous. The linear arrangement of the buildings were designed to act as wind funnels, assisted further by aerodynamically shaped block ends. This active combination of “Breezeway” + “Canopy” + Event Space” + “Atrium” collectively made up the comfortable tropical “Breezeway Atriums” at ground level, which served as the alternative sheltered tropical town square designed with a street-like quality and bazaar atmosphere.

At roof level, the 5,000 capacity outdoor stadium doubles up as the open air town square/community event space. This is supported by a concourse level directly below serving as a crowd holding area and the central zone where all common facilities are consolidated and shared. Hanging from this stadium roof are the indoor sports and recreational facilities, which are designed with a porous louvred facade for natural ventilation.

Client
-
Location
Regional Town Centre, Singapore
Status
Unbuilt
Design Inception
October 2010
Type
Civic / Institutional, Commercial, Masterplan / Conceptual, Mixed-Use
System
Ecological, Economic, Social
Gross Floor Area
107,582m²
E-brochure Download

Ratings

Food

Water

70%

Food

Water

70%

Typology: Mixed-Use

NOMU

Odeon Towers Extension

Shenzhen Qian Hai

Shenzhen ZTE

Shanghai Qingpu

Prince Bay Shenzhen

Green Plot Ratio

Civic Generosity Index

Community Plot Ratio

Ecosystem Contribution Index

Self Sufficiency Index