A huge "living organism" has grown on 8 hectares in the heart of the green South Ridges in Singapore. Unlike isolated vertical dominants, this horizontally laid-out structure, with its impressive dimensions, seeks to endlessly link architecture, surroundings and people. The network of private and public spaces seems to be able to continue to grow - both upward and sideways.
The expressive spatial composition consists of 31 modular blocks, each of which is 70 meters long and 6 floors high. The complex consists of 8 hexagonal open courtyards and 4 main "hyper levels". With a relatively small number of floors - 24 in total - the total building area reaches 170,000 m2. The blocks intertwine with each other, then leaning on each other, then overhanging, which creates many intermediate spaces at different heights. Thanks to them, all 1,040 apartments have access to the ubiquitous and inclusive life of the community, while maintaining the function of private housing. The complex includes 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom apartments, penthouses and duplexes with roof gardens, as well as an extensive list of modern “community” club amenities such as 4 swimming pools, theater, entertainment pavilions, spa, children's playgrounds etc.
A comfortable living environment is formed by a carefully developed strategy for the design of enclosing structures and landscape design. It is based on an analysis of the features of the place, including wind and sun indicators. For example, reservoirs are located in "wind corridors", which naturally cool the air around them. The facades are shaded by balconies and boxes with plants planted in them. The underground parking is illuminated by light wells "cut" in the ceilings.
The architects' unique yet comfortable living environment earned The Interlace the newly created Urban Habitat Award from the Council for Tall Buildings and the Urban Environment (CTBUH). Also, the complex was awarded two Singapore government awards in the field of "green" architecture and universal design.
Blocks piled on top of each other sink into greenery, solder and separate, letting in sunlight on all levels and opening up impressive views of downtown Singapore, on the one hand, and the sea and Sentosa Island, on the other. In this orderly chaos, one can see shots of films about the future, the horizontal skyscrapers of El Lissitzky, the City of Space (or the building of the Ministry of Highways) in Georgia, Habitat-67 in Montreal: the feeling that all this is already familiar to us does not leave. However, it is in this completed project that the ideas of key trends in modern architecture, including the metabolism and organic architecture of Sullivan and Wright, can be seen as appropriate and hopefully effectively embodied.
