Marina One

10-Dec-2017 International "role model“ for living and working in megacities Marina One in the centre of Singapore is ingenhoven architects largest project and will open early 2018. As an international role model for living and working, Marina One makes an innovative contribution to the discourse on mega-cities, especially in tropical regions, which, in the context of increasing population and climate change, face enormous challenges. The high-density building complex with its mix of uses extends to over 400,000 square meters and, with its group of four high-rise buildings, defines the „Green Heart“—a public space extending over several stories. This three-dimensional green oasis reflects the diversity of tropical flora.

Today, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in cities. This number will increase to 70 percent in the next three decades. By 2050, the world’s population will increase to nine or ten billion. In urban agglomerations, this growth cannot be accommodated without high-rise buildings. The core concept for „Marina One“, which consists of a group of four high-rise buildings, is based on a shared central space—the „Green Heart“—which was designed by ingenhoven architects in close.

cooperation with landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman. The interaction between the geometry of the buildings and the garden facilitates natural ventilation and generates an agreeable microclimate. The largest public landscaped area in the Marina Bay Central Business District of Singapore provides living space close to nature, the usable area of which is 125 percent of the original site surface area. Marina One comprises four high-rise buildings which accommodate office, residential and retail functions and have been rated under the Green Mark Platinum and LEED Platinum schemes. The two office towers each have a usable floor area of 175,000 square meters; the two residential towers provide 1,042 city apartments and penthouses for about 3,000 residents.

The organic shape of the building complex with its iconic louvres, and the generous planting, contribute to an improvement of the microclimate and increase biodiversity. Inspired by Asian paddy field terraces, the green center formed by the four towers—with its multi-story three-dimensional gardens—reflects the diversity of tropical flora and creates a new habitat. This „Green Heart“ comprises over 350 different types of trees and plants, including 700 trees, on a landscaped area of 37,000 square meters. Various types of animal become part of this biological diversity. Inspired by the natural climate changes at the different vertical levels of a rainforest, the landscape architecture mimics a green valley with its variations in climate according to level. Restaurants and cafés, retail areas, a fitness club, pool, supermarket, food court, and events areas on the different open terraces not only provide products and services to the residents, office workers, and visitors—they also create a place for social interaction.

The compact and efficient layout design is complemented by energy-saving ventilation systems, highly effective external solar screening devices, and glazing that reduces solar radiation into the building. Direct connections to four of Singapore’s six mass rapid transport lines, bus stops, bicycle parking facilities, and electro-mobile charging stations ensure that exhaust emissions caused by private transport are significantly reduced. The color scheme of the interior and the building facade features calm and earthy bronze shades in order to support the harmonious atmosphere.

2-Nov-2017 "Marina One" comprises four high-rise buildings which accommodate office, residential and retail functions and have been rated under the Green Mark Platinum and LEED Platinum schemes. The two office towers each have a usable floor area of 175,000 square meters; the two residential towers provide 1,042 city apartments and penthouses for about 3,000 residents.

The organic shape of the building complex with its iconic louvres, and the generous planting, contribute to an improvement of the microclimate and increase biodiversity. Inspired by Asian paddy field terraces, the green center formed by the four towers—with its multi-story three-dimensional gardens—reflects the diversity of tropical flora and creates a new habitat. This "Green Heart" comprises over 350 different types of trees and plants, including 700 trees, on a landscaped area of 37,000 square meters. Various types of animal become part of this biological diversity.

Inspired by the natural climate changes at the different vertical levels of a rainforest, the landscape architecture mimics a green valley with its variations in climate according to level.
Restaurants and cafés, retail areas, a fitness club, pool, supermarket, food court, and events areas on the different open terraces not only provide products and services to the residents, office workers, and visitors—they also create a place for social interaction.

The compact and efficient layout design is complemented by energy-saving ventilation systems, highly effective external solar screening devices, and glazing that reduces solar radiation into the building. Direct connections to four of Singapore’s six mass rapid transport lines, bus stops, bicycle parking facilities, and electro-mobile charging stations ensure that exhaust emissions caused by private transport are significantly reduced. The color scheme of the interior and the building facade features calm and earthy bronze shades in order to support the harmonious atmosphere.

A space-filling sculpture is the central exhibit in the Aedes Architectural Forum; it models the deliberate design of the building shape so that it can be fully appreciated. A documentary film of the building by architectural photographer HG Esch, interviews with project participants, and explanatory diagrams of the project provide visitors with new ideas for architecture in mega-cities.

Marina One in Singapore is a special building complex: Four skyscrapers form the frame of a central three-dimensional garden – to create a better combination of working, living and living. Glass, steel and certified green concrete were used for the construction. Guaranteeing the durability of the concrete in the humid tropical climates is a challenge for large-scale projects of this kind.

A location with special conditions
The tropical city state of Singapore is situated on the southern tip of the Malay peninsula between Malaysia and Indonesia. With a total area of about 720 square kilometres, the island republic is about the size of Hamburg and the smallest state in Southeast Asia in terms of area. However, with about 5.6 million inhabitants, three times as many people live here as in Germany’s biggest commercial port. As a result, living space is scarce and expensive. For this reason, land reclamation plays a crucial role in Singapore, and skyscrapers complete the architectural mix that also includes mosques and historic buildings.

A lot of residential space at a great height...
The exhibition text for "Green Heart Marina One Singapore - Architecture for Tropical Cities" of the Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin stated that "Today more than 50 per cent of the world's population is already living in cities. In the next three decades it will be 70 per cent. This growth can no longer be sustained in metropolitan areas without skyscrapers. At the same time, the interplay of building geometry and garden design must be organized in such a way that natural ventilation can take place and a healthy, pleasant microclimate is ensured." Marina One, a major project that opened in Singapore at the beginning of 2018, is a role model in addressing issues such as overpopulation and climate change. The Düsseldorf architects' office ingenhoven architects designed the building complex of around 400,000 square metres, which stands on a plot of land created by new land reclamation. The complex consists of two 30-storey office block with city apartments and penthouses for around 3,000 residents as well as two 34-storey residential blocks including a shared basement with space for retail units. These four skyscrapers form the frame of a central three-dimensional garden.

... with lots of green for a brighter environment
This shared central feature - the "Green Heart" - is the core concept of Marina One, which was realized by ingenhoven architects in close cooperation with the landscape architects Gustafson Porter + Bowman. The three-dimensional green oasis stretches over several floors, it includes 350 different tree, plant and animal species over an area of 37,000 square meters and contributes to improving the microclimate and increasing biodiversity. The architects also integrated a waterfall and sky gardens on different levels. 

The striking, stepped slat structure serves as an aesthetically pleasing sun protection system that blocks tropical heat over 35,000 meters before it enters the building. The Singapore government generally pursues the urban planning objective of becoming a "city in a garden". Greened facades, roofs and terraces have to be integrated into every new building as far as possible. The Marina One project has already been LEED platinum certified - LEED evaluates buildings in terms of extremely high environmentally-friendly performance. For example, Marina One reduces carbon dioxide emissions through excellent transport connections and has below-average water and electricity consumption - also thanks to a clever sun protection system, natural ventilation and the use of rainwater. In addition, the greenery helps to reduce heat and improve air quality.

The use of glass and concrete as materials
The exterior façade is marked in particular by a combination of highly transparent glass and horizontal louvers. Certified green concrete was used for the design of the courtyard and the green centre: For example, large, striking columns in the interior as well as the various green terraces are made of this material. - Today, concrete is the trending material among building materials, and the special aesthetics of exposed concrete are equally appreciated by planners, designers and building owners.

Protecting concrete...
"Often the concrete dries out differently, which means that it becomes stained, sometimes lighter, sometimes darker. With a mineral product such as concrete, this is just what happens," explains Antje Bensch, Export Manager at KEIMFARBEN. In addition, concrete is attacked by the weather over time, so that water and pollutants can penetrate. Moss and algae growth lead to visual defects and intensify the damaging effect. Mineral products help to protect the concrete. Unlike synthetic-based coatings, silicate materials do not form a film on the concrete surface. The binding agent potassium water glass reacts chemically with the surface underneath and bonds inseparably with it through what is known as silicification. This strengthens the concrete surface and provides increased protection against weathering and wear. In addition, mineral coatings do not cover the natural concrete structure, they emphasize it. This is particularly true when the coating is applied as semitransparent finish. Mineral paints and glazes retain the character of the material even in the case of colour design and offer considerably more flexibility than the colouring of concrete.

... with the right product
KEIM Concretal-Lasur (also called mineral stain), which is a sol-silicate based, thin layer coating for concrete emphasizes the natural character of the concrete and at the same time provides additional weathering protection, was used to protect the concrete parts of Marina One, on the large columns and walls inside the building as well as on all visible concrete surfaces in the inner courtyard. "We are unique worldwide with this product and achieve with the right mixing ratio that the concrete looks much more uniform, but still natural, a little cloudy so that the concrete does not look painted," explains Antje Bensch and continues: 

"Architects want to preserve the aesthetics, the look of the concrete as much as possible, because anyone could just paint over it. The craftsmen diluted the Concretal-Lasur with Concretal-Fixativ dilution at a ratio of one to eight. "The result looks transparent, but more uniform. The nice thing is that you can play with the product, it provides many design options - from highly translucent to covering. The glaze serves as a colour shade and the KEIM Concretal-Fixativ as a thinner," Mrs. Bensch explains, drawing attention to the fact that due to the high humidity in Singapore, processors have also applied KEIM Silan 100, a hydrophobic coating under the grey-black mixture of Concretal-Lasur and dilution.

Mastering great challenges
This kind of big project is usually a time-consuming process. After the idea for this building was first dicussed in 2013, the tender took place at the end of 2013," Bensch recalls, adding that the products were applied between the end of 2015 and January 2018. A good two years were spent only painting sections. The craftsmen applied a total of 2,000 litres of Silan 100 as a hydrophobing agent and 12,000 litres of Concretal-Lasur with small rollers and in some cases even worked with a natural sponge. This was done floor by floor and on small scaffolds. "This was a big challenge, because the coating took place during the construction phase and we often had to interrupt the work until the next section was finished. Some of the minor damages that had occurred during construction had to be repaired. A reliable local partner who looked after everything helped us a lot. This is a major factor in being able to complete such a large project successfully," Mrs. Bensch sums up the situation.

Consistency as Times Change
“In Singapore backfilling will continue, the harbour will also be relocated once again to provide more land. One can assume that in ten, twenty, maybe even 25 years our project will have been pushed into the middle of the then new, expanded Central Business District or that it will then be located there," says the Düsseldorf architect Marina One, Christoph Ingenhoven on Deutschlandfunk radio. - Only then, in about twenty years' time, may it be necessary to repeat the coating of the concrete, because the KEIMFARBEN paint systems are very durable and maintenance is not necessary.

Text
Dr. Alexandra Nyseth

This prestigious mixed-use development at the centre of Singapore’s business district designed by Ingenhoven Architects aims to become its signature real estate development. Its brief is to define new standards of luxury urban living and to create an international benchmark for design and sustainability excellence.

Understanding how public space is used in Singapore is fundamental to our landscape design approach. There is often a preconception that the climate is too hot and humid to make active use of outdoor space. But by breaking down the barriers between air conditioned interior space and exterior shaded space, we can still create spaces to dwell which are softened by plants, with a light breeze and the sound of water movement. With a positive attitude, one can enhance the quality of experience and make better use of the public realm within this development and the surrounding city.

Marina One is one of the first developments of its type to integrate soft landscape into the fabric of the building. Called the ‘Green Heart’, Marina One’s elevated public garden sits between its four high-rise towers, creating a seamless transition between a sculptural, planted landscape and architecture.

The vertical garden is designed with lower and mid-level ‘sky terraces’ offering lush vegetation, spectacular waterfalls and calm reflecting pools. The planting is designed to create inspiring and multi-functional urban spaces to be enjoyed by all in Singapore. The ‘Green Heart’ at the heart of the Marina South towers evokes a rice paddy field, terraced into steep hillsides and made arable for the cultivation of rice, an essential crop of the East Asia. Visitors and inhabitants ascend skywards from the Green Heart into ‘Strata Terraces’, ‘Cloud Garden’, ‘Green Screens’ and ‘Rooftop Gardens’ that allude to the changing environments and habitats that one might experience whilst climbing a mountain.

The public enter from the commercial promenade into the lush vegetation of the Green Heart. At ground level in the centre of the Green Heart, water descends from above in vertical columns of light that fall into a large reflecting pool, before disappearing underground. A shallow ramp creates both a visual and physical connection between the shopping centre’s most important levels. It rises through the abundant vegetation surrounding the pool and then passes over the pool between columns of water as it connects to the first Strata Terrace. On special occasions, people can gather on each terrace around the pool’s perimeter to enjoy the performance held at the heart of the space. In the Cloud Garden, one can escape the activity and movement of people at the base of the Green Heart and find a relaxed setting for daytime and evening socialising.

At the mountain’s peak are the Green Screens and Rooftop Gardens. Filled with climbing vegetation, they screen service facilities from view and provide habitats for insects and birds.