One Raffles Link

I attended a talk by Eugene Kohn of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates this afternoon at URA Centre. They are the architects behind such familiar buildings as the new Hong Kong Financial Centre and One Raffles Link.

Kohn actually revealed that the inspiration for One Raffles Link comes from the ornate classical facade of the other revered landmark of Singapore - Raffles Hotel.





In fact, from the colonade at the ground level to the lattice work on the facade and the stone work, the building details are all reminiscient of the European-style colonial buildings of Singapore.

One Raffles Link is a well designed building, even though it has not been given as much attention as the other more "iconic" towers that have been sprouting up. With its massive footprint, One Raffles Link is indicative of a possible shift in contemporary architect to meet the pragmatic market demands for large floor plates for office uses. Would other buildings follow suit even in land scarce Singapore?

As for the intricate facade details, too much has been ignored and forgotten, mostly due to the runaway success of its complementary development - CityLink Mall. By creating a comfortable retail space that is sheltered and air-conditioned, Singaporeans have been avoiding the street level for the underground. So, who else is there to appreciate Kohn's building details from the street?

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Cathay

Whoa, it has been a long time since I last blogged. I had been real busy at work, putting in ridiculous 13-14 hour work days for two consecutive weeks. Lots had happened too. Here's a summary...

I was on an in-house course the past week which was great. There were lots of project work and countless site visits. Met a lot of people, including my other agencies' counterparts. Think the senior transport planner has a better impression of me now than before. Got to hang out with some of them after work too. Unfortunately, the course ends this Monday, and we have this mega presentation project on Collyer Quay. My team has been meeting up after work twice the past week, and we intend to meet again on Sunday. So before that, I would have to be slaving away on my part of the project today. another bummer.

Been telling myself to keep my movie schedule going, especially with all the oscar films coming out this few weeks, but I doubt I can get much of that in this weekend. Went to Dbl-O last week. Managed to watch Brokeback Mountain at 3am after the clubbing. I was so sleepy throughout the show.

Hung out with some colleagues after work yesterday - left the office at 8pm on a Friday night :( Was at Union Bar, then later we crashed the Cathay party at Red Dot, before going to Relations for dinner / late supper. Had tons of drinks, both free and paid. Got reminded to check out Blinkymummy's blog.

Hope the next few weeks would be on a slower pace. Looking forward to taking my first day of Vacation Leave soon!

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