breaking down barriers

SJ Campus, designed by Safdie Architects in collaboration with Surbana Jurong, is an exemplary case study in working with the site to create a new context for both the community and company

- Luo Jingmei

In the western part of Singapore is the new 742,000-square-foot SJ (Surbana Jurong) Campus, designed by Safdie Architects in collaboration with Surbana Jurong. The latter is a well-respected consultancy in the building industry, whose expertise extends to the fields of urban planning, architecture, mechanical engineering, civil and structural engineering, infrastructure, environment and sustainability, and landscape design.

The estimated S$400-million-dollar project anchoring the emerging Jurong Innovation District business park is the new workplace of 4,000 on-site employees. Due to its proximity to the Western Water Catchment, the architecture focuses on incorporating sustainability and nature. It is poised on sloped land, edged by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) on the west and Jurong Eco-Garden towards the east; both feature lush environments. On the southern side is the on-going construction of the future Tawas MRT train station, presenting the opportunity to create a neighbourhood nexus.

Safdie Architects’ design team had two main goals. “First: to design for the Surbana Jurong community and the community-at-large. Secondly, to integrate nature and the urban street life in a ‘campus’ design,” says Charu Kokate, who leads Safdie Architects’ efforts in Asia. The Campus consists of 10 six- to seven-storey office blocks spread across the site, connected by a ‘spine’ – a pedestrian street open to the public for 24 hours that forms a direct connection between the public transport and the larger neighbourhood.