Marina one is a mixed-use building including residential and office located in the financial district of Singapore, close to the Marina Bay. It is one of two projects that Malaysia and Singapore governments decided to exchange to developed. Designed by the German architecture firm – Ingenhoven.
In the context of population growth and climate change, sustainable green buildings are becoming the mainstream of Singapore’s building. Marina one is surrounded by four high-rise buildings. In order to improve air mobility and increase sunshine, Marina one has an atrium with waterfall views and pedestrian walks. The iconic blinds bring a dynamic look to the complex while expending space for landscape design, and large areas of vertical greening contributes biodiversity to the building. By adopting a variety of sustainable approaches, marina one received LEED Platinum certified.
I visited marina one once out of interest. First of all, in order to achieve the dynamic style of the building elevation, the curved frame on the low level has limited the visual field, resulting in no completely atrium view available on the five-story commercial area which is at the bottom of the building. Secondly, the internal space is surrounded by four high-rise buildings and most of the natural light is blocked. Although the atrium increased some lighting and ventilation, the building still felt dim and depress. Finally, the regional location of the marina one and public transportation are not as convenient as in the publicity. The land in front of the marina one is still a wasteland. The subway station is close but there are not many subway routes and it is not an important stop.
It is undeniable that marina one is still a representative sustainable green building, but I also found that many green buildings have the same common problems as marina one. Although the various standards for green building ratings were obtained, the actual use was not as good as expected. Is this also a universal problem facing green buildings? It worth further researches.
Reference
https://www.ingenhovenarchitects.com/projects/more-projects/marina-one-singapore/
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