Broadway Malyan wins project for Nexus campus

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nexusartBroadway Malyan has won the commission to design a new international school in the heart of Singapore for one of Asia’s largest education organisations.

The architecture, design and urbanism practice was selected to design the new Nexus International School (Singapore) campus along the Pan Island Expressway, the main arterial route between Changi Airport, the island’s Downtown Core and the planned Jurong district in west Singapore.

Broadway Malyan director Harry Hoodless, who has been involved in developing international schools across Asia, said the facility will set new benchmarks for sustainability and innovation. He said: “This is an incredibly exciting project for Broadway Malyan where we have the opportunity to create what will not only be a major landmark in Singapore but will help develop the template for the school of the future. Singapore already boasts a reputation for educational excellence and Nexus’s vision is to create a campus that will be Singapore’s flagship learning environment for the next generation and help secure its position as the region’s leader for innovation and technology.”

“The new campus design will be unique in terms of its response to environmental context and we believe it exemplifies our forward thinking approach to education space, while also embracing the needs of the local community. Broadway Malyan has been involved in the wider Smart City agenda, particularly in Singapore and Malaysia, and we looked at visions for our cities of the future and miniaturised them to help design this school. The result is a project that will be ecologically and socio-culturally in tune with its surroundings and technically meets the needs of an evolving economy.”He added.

Facilities at the 2,000 student campus – which will also be open to the local community outside school hours and at weekends – will include a 50m indoor pool, a full size astro-turf sports field, recording studios, a library, auditorium, two sports halls as well as a raft of flexible learning spaces.

At the heart of the campus and in keeping with the philosophy of the new development will be the Innovation Hub. Through collaboration with the leading minds in their fields, it will be a showcase space dedicated to the development of new pedagogic ideas. A range of initiatives will work towards a design ambition of ‘zero waste, zero water, zero energy’ with technologies that will see the pool heated through waste heat from learning spaces, smart shading operated by sunlight sensors and rainwater management enhanced to deal with local climatic conditions.

T.Y.Lin bags top honours for VTVCH restoration works

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The firm received top honours for its role in restoring the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. Image courtesy of T.Y. Lin Internatinoal.

The firm received top honours for its role in restoring the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall. Image courtesy of T.Y. Lin Internatinoal.

T.Y. Lin International Pte Ltd (TYLI) received the 2015 Structural Award (Structural Heritage Category) of The Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) for their role in the restoration of Victoria Theatre and Victoria Concert Hall (VTVCH). Dr. Tan Guan, TYLI’s Director of Building Structures, Qualified Person (QP) and Project Manager for the project accepted the award at the recent 2015 Structural Awards ceremony held on 13th November 2015 in London.

Judges from the Structural Awards 2015 called the restoration project a “bold structural undertaking,” and noted that “the structural work was carried out with sensitivity and great care for the historical features, further enhancing the building.” They were impressed with the structural interventions of the project in restoring an intricate 150-year-old concert hall and upgrading it to modern times. The 2015 judging panel was comprised of some of the industry’s finest and their collective knowledge spans a variety of disciplines including academia, architecture, construction, sustainability, innovation and research.

TYLI provided civil, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering services for the restoration of VTVCH. The structural challenges managed by TYLI included: reinforcing and strengthening the Theatre’s footings and foundations, to create two new underground basements; replace the Concert Hall’s timber floor with a concrete surface, to achieve the acoustic requirements of a 21st century performing arts venue; removal of the non-original columns from the foyer to create an open, welcoming space.

Further, a key element of the works was the restoration of the façade walls, which had deteriorated over time. The beams were exposed for structural strengthening with steel plates and the application of protective coatings. A new steel beam was installed where no lintel beam was provided.

The facade wall at the loading bay area was also strengthened by the installation of new steel beams and columns to allow the door openings to be enlarged for direct access to the new service lifts. In providing access for irregular shaped and large objects, the access at the loading bay area was enlarged and new service lifts were constructed.

In ensuring the safety and the preservation of the conserved structures & façade walls, TYLI stipulated several measures for the construction phase including: acontrolled demolition methodology and work sequence that was carefully planned, controlled pilling workforthe basement construction and extensive monitoring to manage any potential displacements of the conserved structures during the basement excavation, underpinning and construction.

Dr. Tan Guan, commented, “We are honoured to receive such a prestigious international award and to have our work recognised by international industry experts is extremely rewarding.” He continued, “Delivering the project was challenging, working in conjunction with the National Arts Council (NAC), we developed a preservation scheme to overcome many structural challenges while protecting the integrity of the sensitive structure.

For more information, visit www.tylin.com

Al-Ansar Mosque / ONG&ONG Pte Ltd

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The Al-Ansar Mosque prides itself as a community mosque located along Green Link, between Bedok Reservoir and East Coast Park. The design of the mosque is focused on creating an open and inclusive atmosphere, which is inviting to worshippers and the community at large.

The mosque also embodies the idea of embracing both the new and the old in one vessel. Elements like the minaret and main prayer hall’s dome are retained from the past and integrated with new structures like the floating podium, which will house classrooms and auditoriums. With a 300-seater capacity, the auditorium can be used as an extended prayer space, as well as a multi-purpose venue for events like weddings.

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A mosque has to embody particular symbolic elements that represent the core beliefs and values of the Muslim community, while at the same time taking account of the multi-cultural environment in which it exists. For that reason, the mosque had to be designed so that it appeared open and inclusive. Furthermore, it has to reach out to the community at large and the design had to embody those values.

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The main design feature devised by the architects was a large covered community plaza at the front o the site, crated by a podium consisting of a cantilevered steel girder box. It embraces the existing prayer hall and minaret, which appears to float above the plaza and surrounding streets. The plaza has been conceived so that it may serve multiple functions, an is envisioned as providing for the many facets of Malay life: an informal gathering space to encourage togetherness, extended worship as well as social events.

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The new volume floats above the plaza and houses new programmes, including a new multi-purpose 300-seat auditorium and function rooms that may also be used as an extended prayer space for up to 460 people.

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The steel frame facade is articulated into an intricate pattern inspired by the arabesque. By taking the simple geometry of the rotated square and layering it upon secondary structures and external screening, a delicate pattern is created so that the mosque has a distinctive face to show the community. The facade has been designed to allow natural daylight to filter into inner space, while also enabling air flow to naturally ventilate the building like a porous, open volume.

The existing minaret is celebrated as a focal point, and the blue dome is given aesthetic lines on the exterior, while the ceiling was modified to express the eight-cornered star generated by the juxtaposition of two geometries. This was inspired by the arabesque and these two structures will serve as an important link to the past as the updated design forges a chapter for the Al-Ansar Mosque.

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The new structure opens up the area and provides an improved visual connectivity, as well as physical accessibility to the surrounding community. It is designed to be inviting and to encourage people to enter and join in the activities taking place there. The covered plaza will serve a multitude of functions, ranging from informal gatherings to an extended area for prayer and worship.

The space available also offers infinite possibilities for interactions between the people, as it constitutes and ‘urban room’ where the Muslim community can come together. Other key features in the mosque’s redesign include a second block that houses classrooms and offices, as well as religious classrooms and a kindergarten.

The ‘Old and New’ will be expressed independently whilst being experienced collectively as an integral whole. A series of skylight mediate the interfaces between the two states and a visitor moving through the building will constantly experience the presence of both – akin to a continuous dialogue between tradition and modernity.