Design In Print 3.4 Shopping

THE SHOPPING ISSUE

A CONTEXTUAL MALL AS A NEW MODEL OF SUBURBAN MALL

SOHO @ PODOMORO CITY

INDUSTRY DP ARCHITECTS AT

IN DETAIL

I12 KATONG

REINTERPRETING THE MIXED-USE PATTERN OF JAKARTA

WORLD ARCHITECTURE WISMA ATRIA REGENERATION AND RETROFITTING FESTIVAL

VOLUME 3 NUMBER 4 2012 SINGAPORE

www.dpa.com.sg

IN DEPTH

MICA (P) 012/10/2012

IN DEPTH

Vo l u m e 3 N u m b e r 4 , 2 0 1 2 , S i n g a p o re

CONTENTS Letter from the Guest Editor

The latest happenings in DP

Dear Readers, As we head towards the season of year-end shopping and gift-giving, we dedicate this issue of Design in Print to the pleasures of retail and shopping.

This issue covers our recent retail projects in Singapore, Jakarta, Istanbul and Doha, and illustrates how we have contributed to the retail landscape in these cities. The In Person section features eight talented DPians who are behind some of our key retail projects; they share with you their professional and personal views on shopping.

For the cover of this issue, we have chosen to feature Wisma Atria which recently unveiled its new façade in September. We have had the good fortune to design this shopping centre for the third time in 26 years, and with each change, we have spearheaded the evolution and trend of retail design.

Wisma Atria, one of the eight projects documented in our latest book, DP Architects on Orchard Road: Evolution of a Retail Streetscape, brings to mind the many achievements that our Publication Team has made this year. The book on Orchard Road presents our on-going commitment in shaping this renowned shopping street and was launched at the World Architecture Festival in October. Early this year, we released our monograph, The Master Architect Series: DP Architects, putting in perspective over forty years of the firm’s works. This was followed by the June release of our second publication, The Dubai Mall: Sand to Spectacle, which explores the design and construction of our largest and most complex project to date. These three books celebrate the culmination of many years of dedication and hard work by the project teams; we present these works and their efforts with great pride.

We have reached the end of another fulfilling year and we hope you enjoy our final Design in Print for 2012. Here’s wishing you all the blessings of the season and may you enjoy memorable experiences ushering in the New Year.

Angelene Chan, Director, DP Architects Pte Ltd

BluePrint 2012 DP Architects on Orchard Road Book Launch

Short takes on new & notable projects

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09

eCO Jardin The Beverly Floridian Singapore Cruise Centre River Safari The Heeren One Prime Kuningan City

Featured projects

I12 Katong Doha Festival City Mall Boulevardi Mall SOHO @ Podomoro City Design solutions

Wisma Atria Architecture issues

Retail Thinking: A Circular Evolution Awards & events

World Architecture Festival ArchiTours 2012 Fête des Lumières 2012 Newly Registered Architects DP personalities

Chan Hui Min Nartano Lim

Leong Wei Lin Mandy Too Toh Bee Ping Tong Tong

DESIGN IN PRINT TEAM

Celebration of past projects

Tanglin Shopping Centre, 1970/1978

Graphics

Writing

Editorial

Retail Experiences

Loh Yew Cheng Lek Noonchoo Fu Tingting

Additional contributor: Jackie Poh

Cover photo: Wisma Atria, Singapore

| The latest happenings in DP

DP BluePrint 2012

PAST PRESENT PERFECT

Book Launch

DP ARCHITECTS ON ORCHARD ROAD DP Architects launched its latest publication DP Architects on Orchard Road: Evolution of a Retail Streetscape at the recent World Architecture Festival held on 3-5 October 2012. The book documents the history of Orchard Road and presents a selection of retail shopping centres by DP Architects completed between 2003 and 2012.

See page DP25 for more about DPA at WAF.

DP’s annual corporate event, BluePrint, was held at Rock Auditorium on 10 September 2012. Following this year’s theme of Past Present Perfect, the event began with a chronicle of DP’s history by Chairman Mr Chan Sui Him. Mr Chan’s presentation provided a constructive back story to the success of DP today. CEO Francis Lee took on the Present and addressed the achievements of the firm since its 2010 Strategic Plan. With the firm’s 50th year in 2017 in sight, he ended his presentation with an important message – to work with Purpose, Hunger and Drive. Looking forward, directors Ms Angelene Chan, Mr Wu Tzu Chiang and Mr Teoh Hai Pin expanded on the firm’s plans and targets for 2017.

residential

| Short takes on new & notable projects

01

eCO

Singapore

Located along Bedok South Avenue 3, eCO is a residential development that covers an area of 28,644 sqm and offers 748 units with five lifestyle typologies. As one of the largest residential developments since the implementation of the Developer’s Act (Amendment) 2012, its sales gallery and show units are also among the first to be formally audited by URA for compliance.

The five housing alternatives – Condominium, Loft, SOHO, Suite and Townhouse – address a variety of lifestyle needs in a singular development. eCO has several unique site features including a 12m high slope that cuts across the centre of the site and 18 conserved trees that must be maintained as part of the land sales conditions. The townhouses line the site in an east-west orientation, commanding sweeping views of the greenery below, while the rest of the towers are orientated in the north-south direction with extensive pool facilities. All five residential types enjoy the rich tropical landscape and beautiful outdoor environment.

Located at a transitory space in between HDB estates and private landed properties, the project was submitted for Provisional Permission at a time when new strata sales guidelines involving townhouses were being announced. In spite of the ensuing four-week submission delay, this project moved from Provisional to Building Plan submission and Strata Approval within six months. The project was launched twelve hours after strata application was approved.

DP 01

Short takes on new & notable projects

02 Jardin

Singapore

residential

03 The Beverly Singapore

The Beverly is a five-storey residential development comprising two blocks of 118 two to four-bedroom apartments. A modern interpretation of the tropical ambience characterise this development. The elevation’s architectural expression of horizontality and fragmented planes is achieved with planters

Jardin uses the high-rise greenery concept to great effect and bestows a visual treat. A landscaped berm raises the building dramatically, providing a buffer from the main road. The building is also set back by terraces of green, filtering away the noise and view of the main road. Various vertical spaces, such as lift lobby walls and columns are clad with plants to enhance the garden-like quality and reduce building temperatures. At alternate levels, garden projects extending from the loft units serve as communal ‘green balconies’, providing shade as well as connecting the units’ living spaces. The roof top has a clubhouse and recreation garden with a series of event pavilions, providing panoramic views of the surroundings.

residential

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punctuating the vertical elements. The 45m-long façade wall fronting Toh Tuck Road gives the development a definitive identity and unites the facing blocks.

On every floor, a single lift core serves two units; each with a private lobby.

Each unit opens to adjacent living and dining areas that extend into the generous balcony. All units are oriented to capture the best views. Each fifth storey unit has a roof terrace with a raised timber deck and a private swimming pool. The majority of the first storey units enjoy an attached self-sufficient basement unit complete with pantry. residential

04

Floridian Singapore

A condominium along Bukit Timah Road, Floridian recreates the coastal lifestyle of Miami, Florida. The ground level is designed to minimise vehicular traffic and display a rich interplay of lush greenery, recreational landscape and water features. The extensive water bodies along the spine of the development is a key feature, with ground floor units enjoying the luxury of water lapping right outside their living and dining spaces.

The architectural language is one of modern tropical living, characterised by clean, simple lines and a rich palette of materials.

Sleek fenestration pattern mixes with warm textured screens to give different layers of architectural readings.

infrastructure

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Singapore Cruise Centre Singapore

The design of the Singapore Cruise Centre addition and alteration introduces multiple back-lit elements in the column cladding, feature ceilings and feature walls, utilising nature motifs such as leaves, flora and branches. Varying shades of granite create a contemporary character, and the continuity of pattern throughout contributed to the feel of a larger expanse of space. Green elements include a 20-metre long, full-height green wall to separate the arrival immigration and baggage collection area, as well as artificial landscaping in the atrium.

The design catered for a 25% increase in operation space for embarking and disembarking passengers, and consolidated the arrival immigration area for both cruise and ferry passengers. The re-configuration of space allowed for the addition of a secondary cruise check-in, integration of F&B and retail units, and almost doubled the existing waiting hall for ferry passengers.

06

River Safari Singapore

recreational

River Safari is Asia’s first and only river-themed wildlife attraction situated between Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. The wildlife park features flora and fauna from eight famous rivers – Amazon, Mississippi, Congo, Nile, Ganges, Murray, Mekong and Yangtze – in a naturalistic landscape. The park brings together the best in zoological architecture and design, with state-of-the-art exhibit artistry and technology to give visitors an immersive experience.

Rated Green Mark Platinum, the first for a park, River Safari is designed and developed with great concern for the environment, particularly in the Mandai Nature Reserve and Upper Seletar Reservoir area where the park is situated. Exhibit levels are designed to suit the existing terrain profile. Elevated boardwalks serve as connectors between exhibits to minimise the impact to existing grounds while allowing plants under the shade to grow and animals to traverse.

With retailer Robinsons as the new tenant, The Heeren’s facelift will transform the existing urban verandah into an attractive modern departmental store that will significantly enhance the liveliness of the Orchard Road shopping district. The idea and principle of a jewel box as an ‘urban window’ allows an interactive display of merchandise and activities of the store. The urban window is articulated with a series of Mondrian-inspired modern, expressive, transparent pop-out boxes. In contrast to the jewel box approach on Level 3, 4 and 5, Levels 1 and 2 have a seamless clear façade that allows the corridor space on the low levels to blend into the interior space. To celebrate the fashion-oriented departmental store, an abstract red carpet and catwalk gesture connecting the bus stop to the main entrance will be introduced.

08 China

Singapore

One Prime

07

The Heeren

mixed-development

retail

Located at prime location Sichuan North Road in Hongkou District, Shanghai, this project is an addition and alteration of a building comprising an office tower and retail podium. The design provides a new and bold identity to the exterior and interior of both components.

Inspired by the ‘treasure box’ of Qing Dynasty emperors, One Prime employs a lively architectural language and a double-skin fritted glass curtain wall to wrap the retail podium with a jewel-like facade. The façade has over 30,000 LED modules that dramatically transform the retail podium into a highly animated, ever-changing feature at night.

The façade partially wraps over the podium roof and turns the rooftop M&E equipment area into a design feature – an elevated garden that serves to screen the services and provide an urban leisure space.

Indonesia

Kuningan City is an integrated mixed-use development that comprises retail, office and residential components. The long site creates opportunity for maximum exposure of the commercial components. The residential towers are placed on the more tranquil end of the site, facing the low-rise residential areas and giving residents the much needed privacy. The 165m-long mall has been strategically zoned, providing clear circulation and optimum visibility for each retail space. The mall’s continuous four season-themed linear atriums, each with a distinct ambience, are arranged to enhance shoppers’ experience. The 41-storey office tower, standing at 195m, serves as a subtle advertisement for the entire development. The simple shape corresponds to the organic forms of the retail podium.

mixed-development

09

Kuningan City

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Featured projects

I12 KATONG A CONTEXTUAL MALL AS A NEW MODEL OF SUBURBAN MALL

By Tong Tong 1 2 3 4

5

YEAR: 2011

1

2

3

AREA: 26,200 SQM

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SINGAPORE

I12 KATONG IS PERHAPS ONE OF THE FEW SHOPPING MALLS THAT IS SENSITIVE AND RESPONSIVE TO ITS CONTEXT IN SINGAPORE It is essential to judge I12 Katong on its merits by seeing it in a historical context. In 1980, DP Architects designed Katong People’s Complex.

Thirty years later, DPA had an opportunity to revisit the site, and reinterpreted the same idea and transformed the building into a new model of suburban mall. In his discussion of the evolution of I12 Katong, Mr Chan Sui Him, Chairman of DPA, argues that there are three factors which contribute to the success of any shopping centre: location, management strategy and design.

I12 Katong is perhaps one of the few shopping malls that is sensitive and responsive to its context in Singapore. This six-floor revamped project, with new amenities such as a cinema and a roof garden, accommodates a variety of dining, shopping and entertainment choices which were previously found only in the traditional city shopping district. Unlike the conventional modern shopping mall, whose design tends to be inward-facing, I12 Katong is porous to connect with its surroundings. The design team aimed to create a unique addition to the existing vibrant and walkable neighbourhood while respecting its history and character.

4

I12 Katong is sited at the intersection of two primary roads – Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road in the Joo Chiat neighbourhood,

5

the historical centre of Katong. As the first national heritage conservation area, its urban and architectural character traces its origin back to the early 20th century, when significant Peranakan and Eurasian populations moved into Joo Chiat area alongside the Chinese, Malay and Indian communities. The uniqueness and multi-ethnic influences of the Joo Chiat area are expressed in the street life and architecture. It is best known for the colourful rows of traditional Peranakan shophouses with the covered ‘five-foot way’ running continuously along the streets. As the name suggests, the walkways are five feet across, providing not only a covered walkway to shield pedestrians from the sun and the rain, but also functioning as a semi-public permeable space where people gather to eat, drink and chat.

The series of sketches shows how I12 Katong is experienced as visitors approach along Joo Chiat Road.

Far left: Katong People’s Complex, 1980s.

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Right: Longitudinal section.

Below: Elevation along Joo Chiat Road.

Featured projects

Team Members Chan Sui Him, (right to left) James Soo, Pang Mung Ching & Carlo Magallanes Calleja.

Above: Elevation facing East Coast Road.

Left: On the ground level, the recessed façades provide shade and is reminiscent of the ‘five-foot way’.

In keeping with the historical flavour, I12 Katong introduces a series of outdoor dining terraces along the Joo Chiat Road façade as an intermediate space between exterior and interior, where the activities inside spill out onto the sidewalk and become part of the street life and vice versa. On the ground level, the façades along the two main roads are also recessed to provide shade for residents shopping in the afternoons, echoing the ‘five-foot way’ of the surroundings. For the visitor, I12 Katong is first experienced from the intersection of two main roads, where the public transportation networks converge. The new entrance lobby is carved diagonally at the corner of the intersection, permitting the creation of a public square.

The much improved open, public space is conceived as an outdoor relief space at the road junction and plays a significant role in

the reorganisation of the flow and perception of urban space. Deriving its scale from the existing three-storey shophouses, the building is stepped back as it rises. Visible are only the three-floor transparent curved curtain wall with strips of abstract imprints of Peranakan tiles when the visitor approaches from the road junction. This building is individually articulated towards each side, and the dimensions and scale are tailored to its adjacent buildings. The elevation presents a new identity expressed in glass curtain wall along East Coast Road, while the façade along Joo Chiat Road reflects the characteristic rhythm of existing shophouses, which is modulated into human-scale intervals.

The abstraction of Peranakan pattern is a recurring theme in this project, and the elaborate patterns are also found on the floor finishing and ceilings.

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Right: The introduced diagonal beams eliminate unnecessary columns between the bays above the parking levels, leading to a more open and flexible retail layout.

The escalator provides uninterrupted pedestrian flow from the street level to the upper levels.

Below: The only remaining column in the atrium is reinforced as a

Featured projects

I12 KATONG HAS BECOME MORE THAN A RETAIL PLACE FOR THE LOCAL COMMUNITY – INVITING AND PERMEABLE, BUT WITHOUT LOSING ITS CONNECTION TO THE SURROUNDING

glowing feature ‘tree’.

It is interesting to note that there are many aspects of this project that stem from Centre Pompidou in Paris, designed by Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers in 1977. The original scheme of I12 Katong, completed by DP Architects in 1983 and known then as Katong People’s Complex, was inspired by Centre Pompidou where half of the site was left as an open public square for exhibitions and visual happenings, meetings, etc.

Like that of the famed Parisian gallery, the newly created public square of I12 Katong connects the picturesque street life and culture along Joo Chiat Road, where the dynamic social activities flow into the square.

The second architectural strategy of Centre Pompidou involved the decision to place structure and services on the outside which was driven by the need for internal flexibility, providing huge expanses of uninterrupted space on open floors for exhibitions. In the case of I12 Katong, the architects have reconsidered the solutions to increase the tenantable area, providing maximum internal flexibility and future adaptability. The modified design introduces diagonal beams and eliminates unnecessary columns between the bays above the parking levels, leading to a more open and flexible retail layout. The only remaining column in the atrium is reinforced as a glowing feature ‘tree’, an installation that branches out from the central column with a subdued lighting that echoes daylight shining through foliage. It creates an effect reminiscent of a common tree in a Peranakan house courtyard.

A case could be made that the design of I12 Katong incorporates a contemporary take on the piano nobile, which is the principal floor of a large house in classical renaissance architecture.

The escalator cutting across the front of the curved curtain wall at the entrance provides uninterrupted pedestrian flow from the street level to the atrium at the second level. The continuous escalator that weaves throughout the building facilitates easy access from the street level to the upper levels. Here the piano nobile has been reinterpreted in the scheme to place emphasis on the importance of the second floor, while the entire ground storey is reserved for retail purpose. As a result, even though its gross floor area is relatively unchanged at 282,000 sq ft after redevelopment, its net leasable area rises greatly, from 172,170 sq ft to over 212,600 sq ft.

As a site steeped in history, I12 Katong features two levels of interpretation: an urban space that encourages encounters in an area where various ethnic groups intermingle; a building that responds to the particular features of the site, such as the height, scale, material

and shading requirements, knitting together the interior and exterior.

Top: Third-floor outdoor dining terrace.

Above: First-floor outdoor dining terrace with Peranakan patterns.

As an alternative to the CBD and other concentrations such as Orchard Road and Bugis, I12 Katong has become more than a retail place for the local community – inviting and permeable, but without losing its connection to the surroundings. Devoid of the associated negatives such as traffic congestion and overcrowding, suburban malls like I12 Katong have evolved outside the traditional shopping belts in Singapore to offer shoppers an attractive and unique urban experience closer to home.

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Featured projects

DOHA FESTIVAL CITY MALL RESPONDING TO THE DESERT LANDSCAPE

By Mandy Too

Team Members Top picture: (standing left to right) John Alejandro, Taufiq Rusdi, Alfi Syahrifat,

Bottom picture:

Rahmanto Dharma,

(standing)

Dimas Satria,

Corazon Visayana,

Ahmmad Trisyarahman,

Dettamole Jose,

Toh Sze Chong,

Norazizah Hassein,

Clyde Uriarte,

May Chan,

Dzulkifli Noor,

Tala Kammourieh,

Daniel Floresca,

Sonya Kundi,

Naga P Marimuthu,

Veronica Galleta Antones,

Nugraha Irsan,

(sitting)

(sitting)

Loven Tolentino,

Anna Narciso,

Ramasamy

Maureen Suryani,

Chandrasekaran,

Dania Siska,

Patrick Deno Bonotan

Tan Cheng Pei,

Desamparado,

Anastasia Widyaningsih

Gregorio Mesoga,

& Peach Phiengphis

Satish Rajan &

Phinichrungruengkri

Satrio Utomo Dradjat

Doha Festival City is an up and coming commercial development sitting on some 43 hectares located about 15km north of the downtown district. Doha, much like its wellknown Middle Eastern counterpart Dubai, embodies a mix of traditional Arab customs with modern lifestyle and is slowly evolving into a metropolis of the Arabian Gulf region.

Doha Festival City comprises a retail and entertainment hub complete with hospitality and business facilities, a theme park, and motor showrooms.

The Doha Festival City Mall, with 500 retail stores and a gross floor area of 327,000 sqm, is the largest component of the development.

It houses more than 8,500 car parking lots spread over structured car parks, basement car parks and surface parking spaces. The scale of the project and the immediate surrounds inspired the design concept of creating an extension of the vast desert site. This was also largely a response to the client’s brief of limiting water usage.

It was essential to the concept to have a simple yet provocative exterior which paid homage to the desert and could also complement the more intricately designed interior concourse of the mall. The strategy was to create focal points at each entrance, all of which lie along the westfacing façade. Sand-coloured pre-cast concrete panels constitute the main façade element.

Each entrance is then designed as a prominent

YEAR: 2015

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AREA: 434,000 SQM

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QATAR

THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT AND THE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDS INSPIRED THE DESIGN CONCEPT OF CREATING AN EXTENSION OF THE VAST DESERT SITE

volume extrusion which was envisioned as a structure emerging from the desert land. The design concept extends to the exterior plaza where a sense of arrival and outdoor activities were incorporated with landscaping designed as a structured arid desert.

The interior design challenge was to break down the massive scale of the mall and intrigue the shoppers to keep them moving. Four main zones were created with the intention of characterising specific retail segments of the mall. The largest of the four zones, Luxury Fashion, is designed as a circular atrium with a dome-shaped feature ceiling. The space is accentuated by natural light from high level windows on which the dome is elevated. The other three zones – Centre Court, Entertainment Centre and Market Place – are similarly distinguished by simple geometric shapes and characterised by different themes, making them uniquely identifiable.

Right: The fashion atrium with its dome-shaped feature ceiling; natural light fills the main entrance lobby.

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Featured projects

BOULEVARDI MALL CHOREOGRAPHS A NEW WAY OF ORGANISING THE PARTS OF THE MASTER PLAN INTO A SEAMLESS WHOLE

Right: The large sunken plaza in the centre of Boulevardi Mall.

Far right: The twostorey subsurface gourmet village inspired

by Istanbul’s lively streetscapes.

YEAR: 2015

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AREA: 145,000 SQM

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TURKEY

BOULEVARDI MALL

A CHOREOGRAPHY OF DISTINCTIVE SPATIAL SEQUENCES

By Tong Tong

To experience the real Istanbul, one must not only visit the Byzantine mosaics and colourful bazaars, but also walk its tangled streets. Urban living in Istanbul takes place in its streets. It is the celebrated space of everyday encounters, communal events and social activities which link people together. What makes buildings in Istanbul liveable is its intimate space pattern: the streets, squares and other public spaces. It is perhaps why cities like Istanbul with its vivid street life and meaningful spaces are more stimulating than those that are homogeneous.

The spirit of street life is the source of inspiration for the architecture of Boulevardi Mall, designed

by DP Architects. It choreographs a new way of organising the large-scale built environment which brings the parts of the master plan into a seamless whole. Boulevardi Mall involves over 400 indoor and outdoor shops – 100 of which are restaurants, cafés and entertainment outlets – spanning three levels below the ground and two levels above it. Moving away from the tendency toward introversion of conventional shopping malls, the design team turns the shopping mall inside out and proposes a system of paths as ‘streets’ to connect its ‘plazas’ and ‘public squares’.

Goh Huiwen &

As the name suggests, the circulation route of Boulevardi Mall on the ground is a clear loop which incorporates the main pedestrian boulevard. Walking along it, different public spaces present themselves. The architecture and landscape design integrates contemporary aesthetics with traditional architectural proportions for the comfort of visitors, creating a richly textured and inviting urban environment.

The sequence of activities and details such as skylights, terraces and fountains along the route are carefully arranged for the aesthetic pleasure of the moving observer. There are a series of distinctive nodes in the complex, for example,

Krisnamurti Lumenta

at the core is a two-storey subsurface gourmet

Team Members (left to right) Frederick Chico Estacio, Shiao Lin Liem, Mike Lim, Chan Hui MIn,

village inspired by Istanbul’s lively streetscapes.

The skylights bring natural illumination and reveal the daily weather and seasons of the year. The large sunken plaza located in the centre of the mall operates as a constantly active theatre for people-watching, becoming a focal point of activity. It is a multi-purpose space that has outdoor dining around an interactive water feature, which can be transformed into an iceskating rink in the winter.

Like any good built environment, Boulevardi Mall is richly diverse; every part has an identifiable character that allows choice and exploration.

The design team understands the importance of legibility: to function easily and carry a dialogue with the architecture or space, one must be able to read and identify the environment. Seeking to make the network memorable as a system of clear and coherent sequences, the underground shopping area is organised in a continuous loop that passes through four retail zones themed after the seasons. The Spring Zone features ‘tree-top cafes’ and an open air courtyard for the food court, punctuated by a dramatic 12-metre ‘waterveil’. An aquarium forms the focus of the Summer Court, which takes its inspiration from the colours of the sun and the sea. A forest canopy inspired the spaces in the Autumn Gallery and the design of the Winter Corridor aims to capture the crystalline quality of the winter light.

The essential component of the design involves reinterpreting the local patterns as a spatial sequence with distinct nodes and views. The design team respects the everyday environment in Istanbul and how it shapes lives and activities.

The views from the paths expose the major social areas and their dominant functions. Here, the shopping mall is as meaningful and delightful as the lively streets in Istanbul. The design of Boulevardi Mall inspires visitors to reveal their most interesting activities and rediscover the spirit of exploration and the joy of shopping.

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Featured projects

YEAR: 2012 (DESIGN)

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AREA: 102,800 SQM

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INDONESIA

@ SOHO

PODOMORO CITY REINTERPRETING THE MIXED-USE PATTERN OF JAKARTA

By Tong Tong

SOHO @ PODOMORO CITY AIMS TO BE A VIBRANT MIXED-USE NEIGHBOURHOOD THAT REVITALISES THE DIVERSITY IN A HIGHDENSITY AREA

The history of Jakarta, a spice trade gateway linking the east and west, goes back to the fifth century. Jakarta has become a melting pot of various cultures and people – a cluster of self-sustaining communities of concentrated and diverse use annexed together. Today, Jakarta is not only a city with deep historical roots; it has developed into a massive metropolis of more than 10 million inhabitants. In terms of population size and growth rate, Jakarta can be considered as one of the most important major cities in Southeast Asia. As the most populous city in Southeast Asia, the overall population of Jakarta increased 100 times in the 20th century. The density of Jakarta plays an important role in shaping the city and how it functions. As in the older mixed-use areas in Jakarta, despite high densities, the intensely urbanised areas are vibrant day and night.

Inspired by the tightly knit communities existing for centuries in Jakarta, SOHO @ Podomoro City aims to be a vibrant mixeduse neighbourhood that revitalises the diversity in a high-density area.

This intervention brings together the varied building programmes, public spaces and

natural landscapes, consisting of a sixstorey shopping mall, a ten-storey car park, a 26-storey SOHO tower and a three-storey business school integrated within a 30-storey office tower. It is DP Architects’ second endeavour to regenerate the diversity of this area. It can be considered a continuation of the successful Central Park development (Design in Print, Volume 2, Number 2), which also sits within the Podomoro City master plan and was designed by DP Architects and completed in 2011. On a site of eight hectare, Central Park steps back from the adjacent development, allowing the central space to be a social centre for the surrounding high-density and high-rise areas. It has become one of Jakarta’s most vigorous shopping destinations. Similar to Central Park, consideration has been given to the concentration of the building’s mass, which generates generous public space for interaction and gathering. SOHO @ Podomoro City is conceived as the gateway to a greater metropolitan region along Jalan S Parman Highway in western Jakarta. Adjacent to the important Jalan Tol Pluit-Tomang area connecting the airport to downtown Jakarta, the curved LED media façade of the shopping mall could be visible from the main roads.

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Featured projects

A pedestrian bridge, Eco Sky Walk, connects SOHO @ Podomoro City and Central Park.

PROGRAMMATIC

BUILDING ORIENTATION

MOTION OF VORTEX

It intends to interact with the surroundings and strengthen the formation as a gateway to the city centre by delivering messages through digital displays and visual interfaces.

This development also features SOHO units, a hybrid of residential and commercial office space under one roof. Although SOHO is a relatively new building typology in Jakarta, a large percentage of people in Jakarta actually engaged in small home-based business.

A great number of buildings in Jakarta were developed as mixed-use structures, and most neighbourhoods contain a diversity of uses.

This prevalent existing historical mixed-used pattern has been reinterpreted in SOHO @

Team Members (standing left to right) Rida Sobana, Andi Anggoro, Wu Tzu Chiang, Dadi Surya, (sitting) Noer Ucen Hong, Daisy Layadi, Fransiska Wongso, Andria D Adiputra, (other members) Krisnamurti Lumenta, Iman Ashar, Lee Chung Hong & Stephanie Lie.

Left: The profile of a dynamic vortex responds to the arch of Central Park.

CONTINUOUS PARK

Right: The vortex inspired atrium of the retail podium.

Podomoro City, thus establishing a link with the history of Jakarta.

Seeking to establish a visual relationship between the Central Park development and SOHO@ Podomoro City, the profile of a dynamic vortex responds to the elegant arch of Central Park. The landscape on the ground is complemented by green spaces surrounding and penetrating the whole complex. The curtain wall façade of the SOHO tower continues the arch and integrates the downward tiered green terraces. It breaks the two-dimensional and closed appearance of a typical tower façade and softens the sheer mass of the buildings.

The roof garden on top of the shopping mall offers tranquil green spaces, accessible to surrounding neighbourhoods. A pedestrian bridge, named Eco Sky Walk, stretches 210m across Podomoro Avenue with enhanced interconnectivity and pedestrian flow between these two developments. The entire complex is a three-dimensional urban space, in which buildings both under and above the ground, central public spaces, green terraces and roof gardens are fused together.

Undeniably, the diversity and complexity of the city is vital to the life of Jakarta. In the response to the city’s historical heritage, DP Architects preserves the mixed-use

pattern of the city and builds a local sense of belonging. The introduced SOHO units may be seen as a contemporary complement to the small home-based businesses in Jakarta.

Along with Central Park, this area creates connected urban spaces that are inviting and open to the public, providing an engaging place that complements and supports adjacent neighbourhoods. The design team also recognises the importance of public space in Jakarta, promoting interactions within a diversity of spaces, which vary from commercial, residential, recreational to educational, while providing the complex with an unmistakable identity within the greater urban context.

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Design solutions

WISMA AT R I A

REGENERATION & RETROFITTING – A FRESH AND DISTINCTIVE RETAIL EXPERIENCE

By Leong Wei Lin

Originally where the Indonesian embassy was

reinterpretation of Wisma Atria where the

located, the site was redeveloped in 1986 into Wisma Atria and designed by DP Architects as a 22-storey office tower with a 5-storey commercial podium. The original architecture of Wisma Atria was an introverted atriumcentric, ‘rectilinear-formed’ mall which aligned with contemporary global design patterns for retail buildings of its time and scale.

constant renewal allows the mall to respond to changing societal trends and remain relevant as the definition of retail experience is refined over the years. The practice of retrofitting not only introduces new uses to the building and generates activities suitable to the unban context, it is also a sustainable form of development which gives a building a new lease of life without extensive demolishment and rebuilding.

Over the span of the last 26 years, DP Architects has been involved in the

YEAR: 2012

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AREA: 41,300 SQM

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SINGAPORE

Wisma Atria’s 2004 facelift can be considered the transition point for DP Architects’ retail design direction towards the extroverted urban mall typology found in Orchard Road today. A façade expansion created new visual and functional links between the interior retail space and exterior promenade; the use of glass increased transparency and an external escalator connected upper retail storeys directly to the street – design moves that comprehensively resituated a 1980s retail mall as a street-integrated shopping mall.

Top: Wisma Atria’s new crystalline façade.

Middle: Design sketches showing the evolution of the Wisma Atria façade from 2004 to present.

Left: Wisma Atria 1986 & 2004.

The 2012 transformation of Wisma Atria is designed to further augment street visibility and respond to the patterns of human movement through the site. Strategically located between and linking two of Orchard Road’s most prominent corner developments, the new Wisma Atria façade strongly asserts its own unique character and presence. The façade enhancement is also in line with the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s on-going effort to enhance pedestrian connectivity, attractiveness and vibrancy in the Orchard Road Planning Area.

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Design solutions

Team Members (left to right) Mike Lim, Edwin Tong, Jane Han, Elsie Ong, Tan Ting Chun, Alvin Arre,

In the new façade design, a high-visibility, faceted glass enclosure performs as a dynamic envelope, articulated to extend 7.5 metres from the original structure at its furthest point. The mall’s architectural progression, like many retail developments on Orchard Road, continues to take place within the contours of the building’s original structure.

Angelene Chan, Chai Ming Kuang, Claudia Sonia Nam & Syahirah Binte Abbas.

The materiality of the new façade is a dialogue between triangulated, faceted glass storefronts and a matte-aluminium finish for the cladding of structure and mechanical systems. To further engage the heavy pedestrian flow generated by the adjacent MRT station, the main entrance was realigned on-centre with the interior circulation and the sunken basement-level programming was sealed off to create a uniform podium linking the street to the mall via a set of grand stairs, which also doubles as a multi-purpose event area.

Left: Approaching from street level, the distinctive new frontage draws the passerby’s attention.

The new stairs where the new frontage is raised upon like on a pedestal, serves the double purpose of a permanent flood barrier and as a direct pedestrian link to the mall’s new main entrances at the second storey. New ramps were also designed to facilitate movement for the less mobile and to channel pedestrians arriving from the MRT station and flanking malls directly into Wisma Atria’s retail spaces.

PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIVITY – BLURRING THE LINES BETWEEN THE SIDEWALK AND COMMERCIAL SPACE

Right: DP Architects has designed the façade of Wisma Atria three times since 1986, each reincarnation further increasing the connectivity between the activities of the pedestrian promenade and the internal retail shops.

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2004

2012

Panoramic view of the new Wisma Atria façade.

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Design solutions

Left: Structural study diagram showing goal post framing concept; Lighting concept study; Diagrammatic section of staircase nosing with recessed LED fixture.

Drawings courtesy of ARUP Singapore Pte Ltd.

The structural concept was based on the goal-post frame structure – with two main support columns spanning across a longer distance, thereby freeing up the intermediate space where the faceted glass façade would be created. This allowed for the faceted glass façade to become the focal point and also maximises the visual porosity to the interior by ridding the main shopfronts of any structural obstruction. Coupled with the use of ultraclear glass, activities taking place within the mall are clearly visible from street level, which adds an inviting element to the mall frontage.

The intention of the lighting design was to highlight the crystalline structure of the new façade in an elegant and timeless manner.

Alluding to the crystal-like form of the façade, some studies of light reflection in gems and crystals were conducted. Careful consideration was given to the mounting locations and beam angles of the light fixtures were varied such that the light was focused effectively along the surface of the glass facets. Together with the internal lighting, the overall lighting solution emphasised the crystalline structure of the glass envelope as well as the aluminium façade, and created a visual sense of depth as one walks down the street.

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Below: Night view of faceted glass enclosure with lit grand stairs.

The lighting design also called for the monolithic grand stairs to be used as a canvas for the play of light. Together with the lighting consultant, moiré patterns were studied, and through the use of scripting software, patterns were generated by overlaying layers of lines extracted from the stair and façade geometry, resulting in a logical and beautiful pattern which achieved some element of perceptive illusion. The final design delivered an intriguing animated ‘light tapestry’ that directs people toward the central Wisma Atria entrance and complements the vibrant Orchard Road nightscape.

The combined redevelopment measures for the mall have been conceived to strongly reposition the Wisma Atria mall in the increasingly competitive Orchard Road retail environment.

With the latest iteration of the façade articulation for the mall, it further increases the connectivity between the pedestrian promenade and the internal retail spaces. By manipulating the same structure as a host to a variety of frontages, the mall’s personality has been periodically refreshed to retain a strong customer draw over the span of the last 26 years.

YEAR: 2014

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AREA: 327.183 M²

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QATAR

1 Faceted glazing opens up the existing curtain wall further to permit greater internal visibility and a focal point for the new façade juxtaposed against the solidity of the aluminium cladding.

2 A blue backdrop façade retains the signature colour of Wisma Atria and the horizontality of the pattern creates an ordered background to the dynamic lines of the façade.

3 Double-storey shop fronts framed by the façade articulation provide pedestrians with a clear uninterrupted view of the retail tenants.

4 Grand stairs with a raised podium affords opportunities for active urban spaces. Ramps also enhance accessibility from street level and neighbouring buildings to the mall, especially for the elderly, less mobile, and parents with prams.

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Architecture Issues

Retail Thinking:

A Circular Evolution

By Nartano Lim

THESE ‘NEW’ MALLS HAVE A POROSITY THAT ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES A DIALOGUE BETWEEN INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR – BETWEEN CONTENT AND CONTEXT

Above: myVillage at Serangoon Garden represents the new evolution of intermediatescaled malls that bridge the context of the suburb and the city, the mundane and the aspirational.

At the advent of the indoor shopping mall in 1956, Victor Gruen, widely considered the father of the shopping mall, saw the mall as a replacement for the traditional European pedestrianised shopping boulevards and American urban downtowns, replete with public squares and non-commercial areas of contemplation. The environment would control more than just the climate, but also offer safety, security and a condensed simulacrum of the varied urban condition. For decades, this concept continued to be adapted, some would say mutated, into nondescript developments surrounded by a moat of open car parks (or massive multi-storey car parks in Asia), devoid of any contextual or urban response, with the sole aim to generate the highest amount of revenue with the least amount of inefficiency in cost or space.

While mall development remains commercially driven, savvy developers and retailers realise that the environment created needs to be more than just a concentration of retail options. One could also argue that the role of the shopping mall in today’s society has greatly evolved.

In a country such as Singapore where the climate is inhospitable, the shopping mall offers a respite and a common collection point.

Moreover, Singapore, due to high density and land costs, has long had a history of mixeduse developments such that the lines between commercial, infrastructure, residential and leisure are often blurred. The shopping mall has evolved to hold great importance as a space in modern society that – beyond commerce and Gruen’s original aims of comfort, security, familiarity – start to approximate civic space. Many people may never go to the traditional prescribed sites of congregation – town hall, library, places of

worship, but visit shopping malls and use the space for social purposes beyond retail therapy.

The latest evolution of the shopping mall – decentralised shopping centres that sit in the middle-ground in terms of both scale and retail offerings – perhaps return closer to the original aims of Gruen. These decentralised malls – myVillage at Serangoon Garden and Katong I12 are perfect examples – combine the comforts of a controlled environment and the density of retail and food outlets with a scale and approach specific to the context of the neighbourhood they are sited in. Moreover, these ‘new’ malls have a porosity that actively encourages a dialogue between interior and exterior – between content and context. This occurs both physically, through the allowance of large span transparent curtain walls and naturally lit atriums, and programmatically, by creating internal gathering spaces, landscaped zones and cues from the local neighbourhood.

Both projects actively engage the local context in such a way that they become a specific product that addresses the programmatic need to offer everyday retail such as grocery stores and pharmacies as well as branded offerings typically found in the larger malls in traditional shopping districts such as Orchard Road.

In a sense, Gruen’s original intention of having all the benefits of the traditional shopping street within an idealised, conditioned indoor space have now mutated again, but perhaps closer to Gruen’s ideals. Realising that the site context can be an important catalyst for the design of the shopping mall, today’s decentralised offerings build on Gruen’s core tenets while further exploring issues of congregation, occupation and contextualisation.

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Awards & events

DP Architects at

World Architecture Festival DP Architects director Ms Angelene Chan was an invited speaker and judge at the renowned World Architecture Festival held at Marina Bay Sands from 3-5 October 2012. Speaking on the theme Renewing the City: Regeneration, Reuse, Retrofit, Ms Chan discussed the renewal of Orchard Road and spoke on DP Architect’s role in shaping the shopping strip’s present form.

Courtesy of World Architecture Festival

DP Architects also launched its latest publication, DP Architects on Orchard Road, at WAF. To commemorate the launch, DP designers Ms Fu Tingting, Ms Leong Wei Lin and Mr Nartano Lim created a unique three-dimensional display. Made of laminated plywood sheets, the display featured a grid of over 20,000 screws which were painstakingly adjusted by hand to form a map graphic of DP’s projects on Orchard Road. The heights of the screws were manipulated to create a three-dimensional surface, utilising the painted screw heads as pixels to form a larger image. Cyan, magenta, yellow and black – the colours used in four-colour process printing – were chosen to signify DP’s foray into publishing. The design manually recreated the printing process where an image is reproduced with dots of ink of the four CMYK colours.

Above: (left to right) Mr Patrick Bellew of Atelier Ten, Mr Donald Bates of Lab Architecture Studio, Ms Angelene Chan of DP Architects and Mr Emre Arolat of Emre Arolat Architects.

Left: Calibrating the WAF book launch display.

Playing tour guide

ArchiTours 2012

ArchiTours 2012, the popular anchor event of ArchiFest, organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects to showcase Singapore architecture, was held on the Friday evenings and weekends of October and included four projects by DP Architects. ITE College West and myVillage at Serangoon Garden were stops on the Rethink Landscape tours, while Wanderlust and Fullerton Heritage, including Fullerton Bay Hotel, Clifford Pier and Customs House, were part of the Rethink Hospitality programme. Architects of the projects played tour guide to participants who included design professionals and students, and members of the public.

Courtesy of ArchiTours Team 2012

DPians to participate in

Fête des Lumières 2012 DPians Mervin Tan and Huang Jiahui, founding members of MINUS – a student interest group established in the National University of Singapore – together with three other members will be participating in Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights) 2012 in Lyon, France in November. From their installation at Luminance! 2012, a light art festival, MINUS and two other artists were chosen to create a collaboration piece for Fête des Lumières. MINUS’s piece, titled ‘If you please – draw me a sheep’ and inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s story of The Little Prince, takes the form of an opaque white cube that houses the ephemeral quality of light at the core and explores the book’s theme of loss of imagination as one enters adulthood.

DP Architects’

Newly Registered Architects Six DPians, the most number from one firm, received their practising certificate for registered architects at the 2012 Board of Architects (BOA) Presentation Ceremony. The six are Mr Goh Wei Kiat, Ms Lau Su Leen, Mr Lionel Leow, Ms Wang Ying, Mr Matthew Yeo and Ms Yvonne Yeo. Ms Yeo was also named the Best Candidate in the Professional Practice Examination.

Registrar of BOA Mr Larry Ng singled out DP Architects and the firm’s chairman, Mr Chan Sui Him, in his speech for the exemplary effort over the years in encouraging Continuing Professional Development and grooming new generations of architects.

At the same event, DP directors Ms Angelene Chan, Mr Teoh Hai Pin and Mr Wu Tzu Chiang received their ASEAN Architects registration certificates. The presentation ceremony was held on 3 November 2012 at Marina Mandarin Singapore.

From lett to right: Lionel Leow, Goh Wei Kiat, Yvonne Yeo, Wang Ying & Lau Su Leen

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DP personalities

Mike Lim Interview with

Niew Pey Ran Rida Sobana Edwin Arokiyam Chai Ming Kuang Ng San Son Ng Swee Hong Toh Li Chuin

retail experiences Interview by Toh Bee Ping

(Clockwise from top left) Tokyo Midtown; La Rambla in Barcelona; a shopping street in Milan; Ssamzie Market in Insadong, Seoul; resting between shopping in Barcelona; Nicholas G Hayek Center in Tokyo; MegaBox mall in Hong Kong; and Milan’s Quadrilatero della Moda.

Design in Print invites eight DPians behind some of our key retail projects to share their thoughts on retail – from their shopping habits, favourite retail spaces, to what makes a successful mall.

In dense, developed cities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, malls are everywhere.

The mall has become an important element in family life. At a mall, you can perform all kinds of activities – banking, have meals, send your child to school, see the dentist; it is no longer a place to just buy. If a mall can become the heart of a locale, the focal point that community life revolves around – much like in ancient times, where the souk or trading place was the heart of a city – it will be successful.

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increasingly affluent middle class still streaked in conservatism where grandness and pomp is still paramount; and a vast majority where shopping has only just been elevated above a chore. To cater to the general has become increasingly difficult as the entire shopping culture is being developed at such a condensed space of time.

In the end, all you have are themes layered on artifice pitched in hyperbole, signifying nothing.

Therein lies the challenge and all the fun.

Associate Director

Niew Pey Ran Guoson Centre, Shanghai Joy City, Shanghai

When I visit a mall, I look for something unique about the place, be it the shopfront design or layout. I look for ideas and inspiration. Most of the projects I work on are commercial; after a while, you ask yourself “What can I do here to not only make it different, but better?” People go to malls to shop, I go to learn something new.

Senior Associate Director

Mike Lim

Doha Festival City, Doha The Dubai Mall, Dubai What I consider the ideal shopping experience has evolved. From the pure utility of daily subsistence to the headiness of splurging on something which is just that bit more than you should spend, my haunts have veered from neighbourhood malls to that really kooky shop hidden in a tiny street off the mainstream.

Some people see shopping as retail therapy, but I find it stressful. Christmas shopping is the ultimate stress! I may do a bit of shopping when I travel, but I prefer street shopping to mall shopping because its more relaxed with less pressure to buy. The truly enjoyable shopping experience is incidental shopping. When you find what you like by chance, it makes you happy.

In Singapore, people no longer shop out of necessity; they shop for ‘wants’. Mall merchandise is largely the same from Orchard Road to Tampines to Jurong. It is the shopper’s experience that makes a successful mall. I find that true shoppers don’t like to think, they want to enjoy the experience. If a shopper has to figure out how to get to certain places or worry about carpark, they will not go to that mall.

Similarly, if they think too hard, they won’t buy.

Spontaneity is an important element.

Kemang Village, Jakarta Senayan City, Jakarta

3 CITIES AND 3 EXPERIENCES Harbour City, Hong Kong: The tendency to impulse buy in Hong Kong is overwhelming.

Within walking distance, numerous shops vie for one’s attention. There is an almost egalitarian ethos, a classless vibe which facilitates purchase. We overspend tragically.

Quadrilatero della Moda, Milan: The difference is in the ambience. Though these are the same brands, the entire district exudes an understated elegant charm.

Block Arcade, Melbourne: To wander the streets and chance upon that small hidden bistro you were brought to three years ago, to find a little gem of a store tucked in a small lane.

Serendipitous shopping and a great flat white.

In China, there now exist three diverging group of consumers: The internet-savvy and welltraveled who will have a weekend jaunt in Hong Kong just to get that latest Chanel bag; an

I visited Barcelona last year and La Rambla, a tree-lined shopping street, made an impression. It is about 1.5km long, around the same as Orchard Road, and is filled with vendors, kiosks and street artists. Many side streets lead to more shops and markets. In comparison, the street scene on Orchard Road could be more happening.

I’ve worked on several malls in Jakarta. Because they are scattered around the city, Jakarta malls need to be of a certain size to be a magnet.

The average Jakarta mall is easily two to three times bigger than the ones in Singapore. Also because of the traffic condition, it makes sense for the people to go to one place for everything.

In a saturated market, malls need to differentiate themselves. Clients look to designers for inspiration to market their mall. A successful example is the large external park at Central Park in Jakarta. Having a large outdoor landscaped civic space is quite a new thing for the city.

The client organises activities at the park during Christmas, Hari Raya and such occasions, and it has become a draw for the development.

Associate Director

Rida Sobana DP 27

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DP personalities has a unique identity. The interior design is tastefully done, not kitschy as one might expect of a fengshui-themed mall. It is a very big mall integrated with a transportation hub, but surprisingly easy to navigate. The concept of using the five elements of nature as identity markers for the various zones is a great way to give a sense of orientation in a large space.

Senior Associate

Ng San Son

Senior Associate

Orchard Central, Singapore myVillage at Serangoon Garden, Singapore

Edwin Arokiyam

Ascendas Park Square, Bangalore MG One Mall, Bangalore

Senior Associate

Chai Ming Kuang Wisma Atria 2012, Singapore Noon Square, Seoul

I like malls with huge open spaces, atriums and courtyards that create a sense of openness and give a feeling of space and light. Wider aisle space, bigger volumes and bright lighting make the shopping experience more enjoyable.

I find inward-looking malls with lesser number of floors much easier to navigate and make the shopping experience more worthwhile.

An exception is MegaBox in Hongkong.

Standing at an impressive 19 floors, the design is eye-catching with its bold form and vivid colours; direct access to certain intermediate floors makes it easier to reach the desired destinations. In general, a façade with visual interest, transparency and F&B decks make a mall livelier and form a good visual connection to the interior.

Singapore has a wide variety of malls that cater to the cosmopolitan mix of shoppers on the island and also respond to the context of the location. Though overseas malls respond to a wide variety of local requirements, most often they fail due to lack of constant upgrading to meet the changing requirements of shoppers.

Malls need to be designed to be adaptable to constant change, yet retain a unique identity.

A recent trip to Hanoi provided a memorable shopping experience. After the big modern malls in Japan, US and UK, shopping in Hanoi was like going back to basics. It was memorable because the whole experience was different – narrow streets, outdoor shopping, the personal interaction, the way the wares were displayed at the shop front, and the merchandise comprising mostly handicrafts and local designs. South Korea was also eye-opening in terms of how the retailers sold their goods at places like Ssamzie Market in Insadong and the 24-hour Dongdaemun Market. I was at Dongdaemun around midnight and the street was filled with people. It’s different from the conventional shopping malls we are used to.

I am an incidental shopper. If I don’t see it, I won’t look for it. I like to wander around places on foot and discover what is different from other places I’ve been to. The way I shop helped me understand circulation and the importance of having a presence. Malls that aren’t too complex are usually more successful. Mall planning is pretty similar everywhere, but malls need the x-factor to make it exciting. Elements mall in Hong Kong

Shopping spaces that have daylight infiltration, indoor landscape and orchestrated views of the external environment always leave a deep impression. Such spaces invigorate my senses in an otherwise mundane shopping experience.

Frankly, and strictly my personal opinion, shopping malls in the past are meant to dumb one’s senses to just shop, especially so for internalised shopping malls with a monotonous horseshoe layout.

Times have changed. Shopping spaces have become more intimate with the clever use of details, daylight and hue. Thomas Heatherwick skilfully transformed, in 2011, the once kitsch Pacific Place in Hong Kong with innovatively detailed glass lifts, floor finish, signages, ceilings, even toilet cubicles and a calming hue that totally refreshed the utilitarian spaces. Lighting levels and detailing are also skilfully controlled as opposed to Singapore shopping spaces that tend to be over-zealous with internal lighting levels and cookie-cutter detailing. Tokyo Midtown, completed back in 2007 by SOM, utilises a mixture of high and low, day-lit and enclosed space, and subtle detailing.

It remains refreshing and timeless five years later. The harmonious amalgamation of the different elements in both projects advanced my understanding of not over-designing a shopping space and the necessity to vary proportion of spaces to sustain a shopper’s interest in an otherwise predictable environment.

Senior Associate

Ng Swee Hong Mandarin Gallery, Singapore One Prime, Shanghai

I prefer street shopping; it allows shoppers to move in and out of individual shops to enjoy the exterior streetscape and environment.

Street shopping is a fluid experience; there are always multiple permutations to the routes and entries, and the experience is always intertwined with the seasons and climate, whereas mall shopping provides a controlled circulation and environment. When I was working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, my favourite shopping street was a cosy, 400m stretch in an up-market suburban district called Shadyside. That little street provided almost everything I needed, from groceries, clothing to a wide variety of restaurants and bars offering American and international cuisines.

Street shopping is best enjoyed in the temperate climate. In a tropical climate like Singapore, the high humidity can be a deterrent to street shopping, except perhaps during the evenings. However, Bugis Junction stands out as a mall in Singapore that offers street shopping within an indoor environment. For indoor malls, I prefer those with a simple and clear layout, where I can explore and compare the options in the shortest time possible. I enjoy indoor malls that offer plenty of natural daylight and, most importantly, generous circulation and public spaces. Additional amenities such as seating and free wifi are definitely a bonus, as it allows us guys to have something to do while our wives happily shop away.

Marina Square 2012, Singapore Paragon 2009, Singapore When traveling abroad, I tend to look for malls with the wow factor that stand out from the rest while maintaining a connection to the streetscape. Shopping in precincts that give a sense of time, culture and context is also an added bonus. An example is Nicolas G Hayek Center in Ginza, Tokyo. The first storey opens up to the street, with full-height greenery that stretches from the ground floor up to the roof. The shopping experience starts with the hydraulic elevators which also serve as dedicated entrances to each boutique at different levels. One of the most memorable experiences was stepping into the hydraulic elevator and being greeted with a 360° display of watches of all colours and sizes. Shopping begins before the doorstep!

When shopping in Singapore, I tend to be more ‘product-oriented’. Apart from highend merchandise, mall products tend to be similar, with the same stores in both suburban and downtown shopping malls. Hence, as a local shopper, the software of a mall – visual branding, tenancy mix, ambiance, upkeep of the mall, and even carpark rates, etc – are more important considerations in the choice of destination than its hardware at times, i.e. architecture and interior design. To quote A Alfred Taubman, “architecture is only the beginning”. Here, there seems to be a greater need to refine and choreograph the shopper’s experience which cannot be determined by architecture alone. It must be orchestrated together with the soft elements.

Senior Associate

Toh Li Chuin

DP ARCHITECTS ON

ORCHARD ROAD EVOLUTION OF A RETAIL STREETSCAPE

DP Architects on Orchard Road is a record of the design process that has greatly contributed to one of the world’s most celebrated shopping streetscapes. The book documents Orchard Road’s evolution and its transformation into a world-class public space, and includes contributions from Mr Fumihiko Maki of Maki and Associates, and Mr Kenneth Frampton of Columbia University.

Available at bookstores and online.

All Rights Reserved. No material may be reproduced without prior permission. DP Architects accepts no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in Design in Print.

Any opinions in Design in Print are solely those of the named authors of the article in which they appear.

Unless named as author, DP Architects, Editorial Panel and other Contributors do not endorse any such views and disclaim all liability from their publication.

Copyright © DP Architects Pte Ltd MICA (P) 012/10/2012 Printed by SC (Sang Choy) International Pte Ltd L028/03/2012 Published by DP Architects Pte Ltd 6 Raffles Boulevard #04-100 Marina Square Singapore 039594 T: +65 6338 3988 F: +65 6337 9989 E: ask_corpcomm@dpa.com.sg W: www.dpa.com.sg Photo Contributors: Edwin Arokiyam, Chai Ming Kuang, Rory Daniel, Noel C Evardone, Mori Hidetaka, Wellington Kuswanto, Mike Lim, Loh Yew Cheng, Niew Pey Ran, Ng San Son, Ng Swee Hong, Shogo Oizumi, Jackie Poh, Jeremy San, Rida Sobana & Toh Li Chuin.

All photos are credited to the mentioned photographers unless otherwise stated.

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Tanglin Shopping Centre is the first building in Singapore to use off-form concrete and timber as an architectural expression. It is also the first shopping complex here to incorporate a spilt-level first storey to provide two apparent ground floors of shops accessible from the road.

The second phase of the building, commenced in 1978, added extra amenities including a large storage space for store-owners, a circular concourse for exhibitions and displays, an antique art gallery and a landscaped pedestrian mall linking the Orchard Road and Tanglin Road walkway systems.

Project Team: 1970 – Tay Kheng Soon, William SW Lim & Tony Blackard 1978 – William SW Lim, Chan Sui Him, Manop Phakinsri & Low Boon Liang

Tanglin Shopping Centre

1970/1978