| Category | Civic & Cultural | Institutional |
|---|---|
| Year | 2016 |
| Size | 15,100sqm |
Projects
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
A new old
The Singapore Chinese Culture Centre (SCCC) is a new civic and community institution, promoting traditional and contemporary Chinese arts and culture locally. Contextually sensitive, its design complements the architecturally striking Singapore Conference Hall (SCH) with its coherence and clarity of programme, planning and articulation. Culturally acute, its architectural schematics draw from the historical influences and the beliefs found in Chinese culture. Thus, when conceptualising its various pocket gardens and sky terrace features, each is artfully positioned where the ‘rock’ splits within the podium so as to mimic greenery growing in rock fissures that are found in Chinese landscape paintings.
Details
Besides pocket gardens and a reading garden, there is a pre-function outdoor room with low hedges to define pocket spaces; and simple greenery that does not distract the indoor function area. Various tree species are planted randomly to provide shade, and along the walkway for a gardenesque ambience.
Mimicking greenery growing in rock fissures found in Chinese landscape paintings, the architecture and façade design artfully features ‘rock’ splits that incorporate plants.
Carrying the garden-sque ambience into all its outdoor space, various tree species are planted along the walkway and randomly to provide shade.
Neat and uncluttered, the landscaping elevates the architecture’s larger expression of simplicity and purity.
Planting culture in an urban fabric
Working closely with the architects, we were able to incorporate plants into the landscape of SCCC for both ornamental and practical purposes. This is best encapsulated in the lower-roof sky forest. Its inspiration is distilled from traditional courtyard garden design.
Comprising white cube pavilions and unique red-leaf trees planted in grid patterns, it simultaneously echoes the modular construction of its architecture and expresses the convergence of nature and edifice. When viewed from surrounding high-rise buildings, the trees fulfil its decorative role of enhancing the landscaping within SCCC as a memorable focal point within the city. Experienced from within the premise of the institution, it accomplishes the ‘green’ duty of filtering sunlight and cooling the building.
Neat and uncluttered, the landscaping elevates the architecture’s larger expression of simplicity and purity; an aesthetic effect that was derived from the Chinese principle of order, which forms the foundation of SCCC’s design scheme.