18 Robinson Designed By KPF Is An Eye-Catching Addition To Singapore

Seemingly sandwiched by a sky garden, 18 robinson designed by KPF is an eye-catching addition to Singapore’s high-density CBD.

- Low Shi Ping

A tower with chamfered edges, balancing precariously atop a podium – this is the first impression 18 Robinson gives.

Barely visible from the road are tufts of greenery poking out from the podium’s rooftop.

Behind what are actually trees is a tiered garden anchored by an offset core and two mega aluminum-clad columns, the latter shaped in a loose V, bringing to mind a pair of chopsticks.

Designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates (KPF), the project stands out from among the other skyscrapers in its vicinity and is clearly a story begging to be told.

UNIQUE SKY GARDENS

With the possibility of rising up to 180m, it offered KPF an unusual opportunity: to create voids and recesses within the form, and sky gardens to permeate the tower.

“This allowed it to feel like it is floating above the podium below – almost weightlessly,” says Robert Whitlock, the lead architect of the project and KPF’s Design Principal.

A second motivation for the design was Singapore’s Landscape Replacement Area policy.

While the obvious answer was to have a rooftop garden on the highest floor, it would not fulfil the requirements.

“We had to be inventive and came upon the solution that you see today – smaller, discreet gardens introduced at multiple levels that improve both the workplace but also the overall appearance of the building,” explains Whitlock.