* DESIGN OF
THE YEAR 2012

Martin Road No. 38 is a residential and commercial development located in a former warehouse area close to the Singapore River and the Central Business District. The building occupies an area in the city where the planning authorities have encouraged the conversion of building use from commercial to residential. The brief was to design a building providing loft-type spaces for young professionals who seek to live close to the heart of the city, the river, and to a nearby entertainment enclave, yet who desire to have a refuge from their busy working lives.

Low maintenance, off-formed concrete is used for the main wall elements, both for the exterior and interior. Fundamental to the design is the response to location, climate and local construction methods. With this in mind, a series of passive systems was employed to reduce energy consumption. The building faces the south allowing maximum daylight penetration, thus reducing the dependence on artificial lighting. In conjunction with the extensive façade of operable aluminium sun louvers, the internal spaces are kept cool with big open windows. All units are naturally cross-ventilated, thus reducing the desire to turn on the air-conditioning.

A two-storey café and restaurant on the ground floor facing Martin Road, makes up the commercial component of this project. On the second level is a gymnasium, a sky terrace with a 33m-long swimming pool, sundeck and other communal facilities. The residential part of the building is arranged in three, nine-storey towers and one 15-storey block. The apartments offer open floor plan layouts, permitting alternative space usage and internal flexibility. There are pied-à-terre units stacked in the 9-storey towers at the rear, and larger two- and three-bedroom apartments with balconies that look out into the city. Penthouses with private roof terraces and swimming pools offer views from a higher perspective.