Ardmore Residence, Singapore Residential Development, Southeast Asian Architecture

Ardmore Residence, Singapore

Singaporean Residential Building – design by Ben van Berkel / UNStudio

19 + 18 Jul 2013

Singapore Residential Building

Design: Ben van Berkel / UNStudio

Location: near Orchard Road, Singapore

Web Structures’ innovative inter-locking wall system creates $80m tower

International engineering consultancy Web Structures has worked with acclaimed architectural practice UN Studio to create an exclusive $80million residential development in the heart of Singapore.

The distinctive 36-storey Ardmore Residence, near Orchard Road, was designed by Ben van Berkel, founder of the Dutch-based architectural practice which is behind iconic buildings and urban development across the globe.

images from Web Structures

Web Structures, which has offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London and Shanghai, brought its concept of “Fusion Engineering” to the project to construct one of the most exclusive and sought-after addresses in Singapore.

The Web Structures team developed a new, innovative inter-locking system to create cantilevered shear walls staggered across the height of the tower to produce the distinctive folding and interlocking look designed by UN Studio.

Dr Hossein Rezai, group director of Web Structures, said: “This was a project that posed a number of structural engineering challenges. The structure above the transfer level of the building is made up of an interesting inter-locking system.

“Single storey shear walls cantilever from the inner core walls and support one floor above and one floor below at the same time. “The system used to create this folding and interlocking effect is an innovative one which was developed by Web Structures for the specific design of this project.

“The finished building designed by UN Studios is now one of the most distinctive addresses in Singapore.

“It was a fascinating project to work on and one that brought out all the innovation that exists here at Web Structures to turn the true vision of acclaimed architects into building reality.”

The Ardmore Residence development has been built using reinforced concrete and it involved a substantial amount of prefabrication work. The design of the structural frame of the Pontiac Land Group development, which is on a prime residential site in Singapore, meant it was reduced to four mega columns at its base, with a transfer level at seventh storey height.

Construction took three years from start to finish, with Web Structures’ structural and design engineers involved in the project from concept stage to completion. Apartments in the development are now on the market.

Web Structures has worked on a number of major projects in the Far East with UN Studio, which also has offices in Singapore.

The civil, structural and geotechnical engineering consultancy, works closely with top architectural practices on landmark developments across the globe including Foster and Partners, Kohn Pederson Fox, Hamiltons International, SCDA and Maki and Associates.

The company, which has just moved into new headquarters in Singapore’s business district, has a global staff of 70.

Its diverse portfolio ranges from suspension bridges and luxury resort hotels to residential skyscrapers and complex commercial and industrial projects.

It has engineered more than 52 residential and mixed-use skyscrapers around the world in the past 15 years, including the iconic 50-storey Troika development in Kuala Lumpur the 40-storey Queen’s Condominium in Singapore and 61-storey Northpoint in Thailand.

It is also heavily involved in creating some of the tallest residential tower developments in cities across India including Pune and Kolkata.

Ardmore Residence Singapore images / information from UNStudio

UNStudio

Ardmore Residence Tower : current page with completion photos

Location: Orchard Road, Singapore