Designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and CRA (Carlo Ratti Associati), CapitaSpring is Singapore’s 280-meter-tall high-rise biophilic skyscraper, considered among the city’s tallest structures completed after 4 years of construction. The building is a mixed-use high-rise with large sky gardens and a rooftop park.
Bjarke Ingels Group and Carlo Ratti Associati collaborated on architecture, public space, and digital user experience for the project. They tried to create a 93,000-square-metre mixed-use high-rise building centered on greenery.
The building is located at the center of the financial zone (Market Street). It took an important place among Singapore’s garden skyscrapers. There are 80,000 plants inside the building, and it appears as a structure that “creates a breathing space” in its region. The building also has aim to support the sustainable transport vision in the Singapore Green Plan 2030.
CapitaSpring includes four connected floors of the open-air garden at the center of the project, blending nature seamlessly into the architecture, and has been awarded Green Mark Platinum and Universal Design GoldPLUS certifications by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore.
In fact, the vertical soft scape of the Green Oasis mimics the plant hierarchy of tropical rainforests, with shade-tolerant plants with large leaves found on the “rainforest floor,” requiring the least amount of direct light, and trees defined by their smaller leaf structure on the “roof” of the rainforest. Furthermore, the tower’s rooftop garden is home to Singapore’s highest urban farm, which grows over 150 different types of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.
Brian Yang, Partner in Charge, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG): “As someone with Singaporean heritage, I have been honored and humbled by the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing evolution of architecture in Singapore as a distinct blending between the contemporary and the tropical. In our design, this manifests as a seamless transition between the garden and the city, articulated in the facades and a series of lush spiraling gardens connecting between various programs and filled with amenities representing a spectrum of use.”
Carlo Ratti, Founding Partner, CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Director, MIT Senseable City Lab: “When we first got invited to join the architectural competition, we saw a great opportunity to team up and join forces with BIG to achieve a uniquely bold result together. It has been enriching to combine our approach with design and innovation with BIG’s skill in architectural scale. As CapitaSpring is open to the public today, I am proud of how we enhanced the public spaces across the building, creating the best experience for all users, leveraging both technology and unprecedented integration with natural elements.”
Project Info
Area: 93,000 square meters
Location: Singapore
Client: CapitaLand Development, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
Partners-in-charge: Bjarke Ingels, Brian Yang
Project Leader: Gorka Calzada Medina, Martino Hutz, Song He
Project Manager: Eric Li, Günther Weber
BIG Sustainability: Tore Banke, Anders Holden Deleuran
BIG Landscape: Dina Brændstrup, Kirsty Badenoch, Ulla Hornsyld
Collabrators: RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd, ARUP Singapore Pte Ltd, Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner (S.E.Asia) Pte Ltd, Arcadis Singapore Pte Ltd, COEN Design International Pte Ltd, Takenouchi Webb Pte Ltd, Nipek Pte Ltd, Asylum Creative Ptd Ltd, Jacobs International Consultants Pte Ltd, Ignesis Consultants Pte Ltd, PH Consulting Pte Ltd, TSM Consultancy Pte Ltd, Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd, Meinhardt Singapore Pte Ltd, Squire Mech Pte Ltd.
CRA Team: Carlo Ratti, Monika Löve, Antonio Atripaldi, Gary di Silvio, Gianluca Zimbardi, Saverio Panata, Alberto Bottero, Chiara de Grandi, Giovanni de Niederhausern, Andrea Giordano, Damiano Gui, Mariachiara Mondini, Andrea Pedrina, Andrea Riva
