Solaris is an office building located in the Fusionopolis hub of central Singapore's one-north business park. Fusionopolis operates as a research and development hub for the info-comm technology, media, physical sciences and engineering industries. The prime objective of building Solaris is to foster entrepreneurship, research and new discoveries in these fields.
Solaris is the first office building that was completed in phase 2B of Fusionopolis in 2011, built at an estimated cost of £55m. It was shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Lubetkin prize 2012, as well as receiving the BCA green mark platinum rating, the highest certification in green and sustainable building.
The main attraction of Solaris is the 1.5km-long spiral ramp that connects the ground floor of one-north park and the basement eco-cell with the tallest tip of the building. Other unique features of the building are two tower blocks with roof gardens, corner sky terraces, a solar shaft, naturally ventilated atrium, ground level public plaza and wide horizontal sun-shading.
Solaris Design
Architects T.R. Hamzah and Yeang won the Solaris design competition held by the owner of the site, JTC. The design was prepared in collaboration with CPG Consultants, a subsidiary of CPG Corporation. The project contract under concept and fixed-price tender was awarded by JTC to SB (Solaris) Investment P/L, a subsidiary of SoilBuild Group Holdings.
The building sits on a 7,734m² (1.9 acre) site and comprises two tower blocks separated by a glass-roofed public plaza. The first tower block has 15 levels and the second tower nine, while both have landscaped rooftop gardens. The total floor area is 51,282m² (551,995ft²), the landscaped area is 8,363m² (90,018ft²) and the building is 80m high.
The public plaza has a slanted glass operable roof that allows natural ventilation and sunlight to percolate into the interiors. The open space of the plaza provides a good place for gatherings and hosting events, while the two towers are linked by sky bridges over the public plaza on the top floors.
The rooftop garden and the corner sky terraces also provide open space to allow constant interaction with nature and a clear view of the surroundings. The spiral ramp expands into double-volume sky terraces at the building's corners, with the landscaped area increasing the green footprint and controlling temperature.
The solar shaft arranged diagonally juts out of the first tower block and allows sunlight to percolate into the interiors, reducing the need for artificial lights.
The eco-cell is located at the north-east side of the building just where the spiral ramp meets the ground. This sheltered area supports plants and allows cross ventilation to the basement car parking zones. Situated at the lowest floor of the eco-cell are storage tanks and pumps for rain water harvesting.
The pocket park, which functions like an open plaza, is connected to the open-north park next to the building and allows cross-ventilation to the open ground floor plaza.
Solaris Façade
The façade's design is influenced by the tropical climate of Singapore and the sun's movement from east to west, which is reflected in its depth and shape.
The 1.5km-long landscaped ramp that wraps around the building's face like a ribbon, gives Solaris its green title and unique look. This ramp starts at the ground level and ends in the rooftop gardens at the building's topmost level.
A parallel pathway follows the 3m-wide planted ramp, which acts like a social forum for occupants. It allows the maintenance staff to access the planted ramp from outside, while the extensions and presence of plants helps in cooling the façade.
Solaris Sustainability
The building scores high on sustainability; it is equipped with rainwater harvesting, which is collected by the pipes running down the exterior landscaped ramps and roofs of the second tower by siphonic drainage. The water, stored in tanks situated on the roofs and below the eco-cell, is used to irrigate the planted areas, while the integrated fertigated system ensures the retention of organic nutrient levels.
The louvers have a total linear length of more than 10km and function as light shelves, reducing the heat transfer throughout the building's double glazed façade. The glass operable roof works via sensors, protects the tenants from extreme climate and acts as a smoke vent in emergency situations.
The extensive spread of planted area allows rich biodiversity, with the building replacing the green footprint of the original site by 113% by including planted areas inside the building. The interior lighting system works on sensors and switches off automatically when there is adequate daylight, reducing energy consumption by 36%.
Continuous Perimeter Landscaped Ramp – An uninterrupted 1.5 kilometer long ecological armature connects the adjacent one-north Park at ground level and the basement Eco-cell with the cascading sequence of roof-gardens at the building’s highest levels. The ramp has a minimum width of 3 meters. Maintenance of the spiral landscaped ramp is achieved via a parallel pathway which allows for servicing of the continuous planters without requiring access from internal tenanted spaces. The pathway also serves as a linear park in future that stretches all the way from the ground plane to the uppermost roof areas. The continuity of the landscaping is a key component of the project’s ecological design concept as it allows for fluid movement of organisms and plant species between all vegetated areas within the building, enhancing biodiversity and contributing to the overall health of these ecosystems. The ramp, with its deep overhangs and large concentrations of shade plants, is also one element in a comprehensive strategy for the ambient cooling of the building facade. This eco-infrastructure provides social, interactive and creative environments for the occupants of the building’s upper floors while balancing the inherent inorganicness of the built-form with a more organic mass.
Solar Shaft – A diagonal shaft that cuts through the upper floors of Tower A allows day-light to penetrate deep into the building’s interior. Internal lighting operates on a system of sensors which reduces energy use by automatically turning-off lights when adequate day-lighting is available. Landscaped Terraces within the solar shaft bring added quality to adjacent spaces and enhance views up into the building from the street below.
Eco-cell – Located at the building’s north-east corner where the spiral ramp meets the ground, the Eco-cell allows vegetation, daylight and natural ventilation to extend into the car-park levels below. The lowest level of the Eco-cellcontains the storage tank and pump room of the rainwater recycling system.
Naturally Ventilated and Day Lit Grand Atrium – A public plaza between the two tower blocks provides a space for communal activities and creative performances. This naturally-ventilated ground floor operates as a mixed-mode (non-air conditioned) zone with an operable glass-louvered roof over the atrium providing protection from the elements while enabling full ventilation when needed. CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations were used to analyse thermal conditions and wind-speed within the atrium. The results of these studies were used to optimize the atrium facade design to improve air flow and enhance comfort levels.
Pocket Park / Plaza – Ground level landscaping, linking to one-north Park across the street, allows for cross ventilation of the ground-floor plaza and provides a venue for social/interactive events.
Extensive Sun-Shading Louvers – The project’s climate-responsive façade design originated with analysis of the local sun-path. Singapore is at the equator and the sun-path is almost exactly east-west. Facade studies analyzing the solar-path determined the shape and depth of the sunshade louvers, which also double as light-shelves. This solar shading strategy further reduces heat transfer across the building’s low-e double-glazed perimeter facade, contributing to an extremely low External Thermal Transfer Value (ETTV) of 39 W/m2. In conjunction with the spiral landscaped ramp, sky gardens, and deep overhangs, the sunshade louvers also assist in establishing comfortable micro-climates in habitable spaces along the building’s exterior. The combined linear length of the building’s sun-shade louvers exceeds 10km.
Roof Gardens and Corner Sky Terraces – Vertical landscaping acts as a thermal buffer and creates areas for relaxation and event spaces. These extensive gardens allow building occupants to interact with nature and also offers opportunities to experience the external environment and enjoy views of the treetops of one-north Park. As it reaches each corner of the building the spiral ramp expands into generous double-volume sky terraces. Upon completion, the sum of the project’s vegetated areas will exceed the footprint of the site on which the building sits.
Rainwater Harvesting/Recycling – The building’s extensive landscaped areas are irrigated via a large-scale rainwater recycling system. Rainwater is collected from the drainage downpipes of the perimeter landscaped ramp and from the roof of tower B via Siphonic drainage. It is stored in rooftop tanks and at the lowest basement level, beneath the Eco-cell. A storage capacity of over 700 m3 allows for over five days of irrigation via recycled water between rainfalls.
GreenMark Platinum Rating – In September 2009, Solaris was awarded a Green Mark Platinum rating, the highest level of certification granted by BCA’s Green Mark, Singapore’s sustainable building benchmark.
Awards & Publications
First Prize – Skyrise Greenery Awards 2009
– Singapore Institute of Architects & Singapore National Parks
GreenSource Magazine – May 2009 “Ramping Up Green”
Time Based Architecture International – June 2009 “Continuous Green”
FutureArc – 1st Quarter 2010, Vol 16 ‘Solaris”
Sources
DesignBuild Network. Solaris Fusionopolis, Singapore
e-architect. Solaris Singapore Development. 2 June 2008