This article was first published on PropertyGuru
SkyTerrace@Dawson, a 758-unit Build-To-Order (BTO) project by the Housing and Development Board (HDB), has received a prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), reported The Straits Times.
Designed by SCDA Architects, the five-block residential development in Queenstown has been named one of the 21 winners of the 2016 RIBA Award for International Excellence.
Other winners include museums, art centres and commercials buildings, such as the Oita Prefectural Art Museum in Japan, and Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Center, whose performance space was designed by the late Zaha Hadid.
These developments are being assessed for the top award, the inaugural RIBA International Prize, and six of them will be shortlisted by the judges. The top winner will be revealed on 24 November.
Notably, the new RIBA International Prize replaces the RIBA Lubetkin Prize, which was previously conferred annually to a RIBA architect for a project outside the EU. It also came with the RIBA Stirling Prize, the most prestigious architecture award in the UK. The new biennial award is open to any qualified architect, regardless of nationality.
While SkyTerrace@Dawson is not among the finalists, SCDA’s principal architect Chan Soo Khian said receiving any type of award from the 182-year-old architecture organisation is already a great honour.
He also applauded the HDB for striving to improve the design of public housing estates.
“Singapore’s public housing has been consistently recognised as one of the best in the world. It seems to me that the Housing Board continually seeks to address and improve amenities for the community within its masterplan,” said Chan, whose firm has also worked on other iconic projects, like the National Design Centre on Middle Road and the Soori High Line condo in New York.
Furthermore, international architecture accolades, such as the RIBA Award for International Excellence, have “helped put Singapore on the global design map”, he added.
Since its completion in 2015, SkyTerrace@Dawson has clinched many awards, including a Design Award from the Singapore Institute of Architects and the top prize at the HDB Design Awards, both of which were given last year.
Text: Cheryl Marie Tay / PropertyGuru
