Novel glass-casting process among unique project facets
By Steve Aust
Despite having been a sovereign republic for only slightly more than 50 years, and with only five million inhabitants spread across 63 islands, Singapore has become a powerful player. The city-state proudly stands as the world’s fourth-largest banking and financial center, the second-largest market for casino gaming, and a key international-shipping center and oil-refinery center. In a report published in October, the World Bank lauded Singapore as the easiest place to do business globally. Even amidst global economic chaos, the Far East has maintained strength, with Singapore remaining an essential cog in Asia’s economic engine.
High-rise office towers and high-profile residential buildings are constructed almost daily in Singapore, and opportunities correspondingly abound for signage and environmental-graphic-design (EGD) projects. Calori + Vanden-Eynden (CVE), a NYC-based EGD firm, collaborated with a pair of Singaporean vendors to create a signage and wayfinding program for One Raffles Quay (pronounced “key”), a 2-million-sq.-ft., multi-use development in the heart of Singapore’s central business district. Kohn Pederson Fox Assoc. and Architects 61 (U.S. and Singapore firms, respectively) served as the building’s architect for the clients, a joint venture of Keppel Land Intl., Hongkong Land Ltd. and Chueng Kong Holdings Ltd.
-->
“Singapore’s hustle and bustle, and heat and humidity, are legendary,” David Vanden-Eynden, one of the firm’s co-principals, said. “It’s a formidable urban environment where the skyline seemingly changes every week. Such an environment can be dehumanizing at times. To counter the fast pace of Singapore’s culture, we sought to incorporate humanistic qualities by creating beautiful, simple and approachable signage.”
He said international projects represent approximately half of CVE’s business, although the percentage has slightly declined because of the economic downturn. According to Vanden-Eynden, project development differs slightly from U.S. practices.
“In Singapore, they emulate the British approach to project management,” he said. “It’s not so different [from the U.S.], but it seems there’s not quite the same stress level associated with completing a job. Their construction and safety standards are very high. And, whereas in China, they may bring on a U.S. firm to deliver schematics and nothing else, entities in Singapore tend to take a holistic approach and have one firm manage all pertinent job facets.”
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to subscribe to the magazine.