9 Out Of 10 Tallest Buildings Are In Asia

 

Singapore Office Tower That Looks Like A Crystal

The design intent of 18 Robinson is to create a signature, boutique, sustainable retail and office tower. It is a product inspired by the urban, environmental and cultural context of contemporary Singapore.

Located at the intersection of Market Street and Robinson Road, the form of this building is the result of the odd shaped site. There are two primary volumes ~ a crystalline office tower that appears to be floating in the air and a retail podium below it. 

Singapore’s Landscape Replacement Area policy dictated that the building must offer publicly accessible green space that is equivalent to the site area. The solution to this authority’s requirement is to create a landscaped podium and rooftop Sky Garden featuring planted trees and natural ventilation. These areas also provide stunning views across the city.

The podium is elevated above the street, enhancing the spaciousness and continuity from the ground level entrance into the atrium garden. The angled composition of the tower allows more natural light into the building’s interior and mitigates direct views into adjacent towers.

这座高楼的设计理念是创建一个具有标志性，精品店和环保的办公大楼。设计灵感来自于当代新加坡城市，环境和文化背景。

位于新加坡两条主要大道的交汇处，这座建筑由两个主要部分组成 - 一个似乎漂浮在空中的水晶办公楼和下面的底层建筑。

新加坡政府的政策规定，该建筑物必须提供与场地面积相等的绿色空间。满足此要求的解决方案是创建一个天空花园，其中种植树木促进自然通风。民众还可以在这里观望新加坡市的美丽风景。

Asia Is Now The Skyscraper Epicentre Of The World

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has announced that 2016 saw the completion of a record 128 buildings 200 meters or higher. This is stated in its annual report, the 2016 Tall Building Year in Review. Eighteen of these buildings became the tallest either in their respective cities, countries or regions. Ten of the 128 buildings are 300 meters and above high, earning them the title of supertall buildings.

84% or 107 of these buildings are located in Asia. China topped this list with a record of 84 completions, including the tallest building among those completed in 2015, namely the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre. The 530-meter mixed-use skyscraper, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, now stands the second-tallest building in China and the fifth-tallest building in the world.

Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre

Shenzhen saw the most new 200-meter-plus buildings of any city in 2016 with 11 completions for a total height of 2,608 meters. 

Ningbo Bank of China

Source: ArchDaily

CTBUH 在2016年宣布一共有128座200米或更高的建筑完成。这都记录在其年度报告《 2016年 高层建筑年度回顾》里。 这些建筑中有18座成为了在各自城市，国家或地区中最高的。此外，还有另外10座是超过300米高，因此获得了超高层建筑的称号 。

其中84％或107座建筑物都位于亚洲。中国以84项完工记录创下榜首，其中包括2015年竣工的最高建筑广州周大福金融中心。这座由Kohn Pedersen Fox设计的530米高综合用途摩天大楼现在是中国第二高的建筑，也是世界第五高的建筑。 

Penang's Top 13 Skyscrapers

Out of the 13 tallest buildings in Penang, 8 of them are residential apartments.

 

Maritime Square Penang

It is not the tallest building in the world nor is it cladded with expensive materials. However, its unique form makes it a building to watch out for whenever you are in Penang next time. It is the Maritime Square by IJM, located along the island’s east coast highway.

Penang has never been a favourite place for innovative skyscrapers due to its secondary place in terms of importance in the context of the entire country. It is not the commercial hub of Malaysia and hence there is not much tall office towers being located here. And that is a shame because you would normally find interesting architecture in office buildings thanks to the deep pocket and tall ego of corporate firms. Most high rise buildings in Penang are dominated by residential apartments and there is always a limit of how an architect could push so far in terms of design.

There are currently only two notable tall office buildings that come to mind when I think of Penang. The first one is obviously the 65 storey KOMTAR, the tallest building and the first skyscraper of Penang. It was designed in the modernist language with a pure cylindrical tower. It is still standing tall today and has become the beacon for George Town from as far as Kepala Batas in the mainland. The second building is the UMNO Tower designed by Ken Yeang which antenna collapsed recently and killed one person who was driving below. UMNO Tower is the first Penang’s skyscraper that got the international attention with its innovative wind channeling technology.

Now I could safely say that Penang will soon has its third architecturally unique skyscraper when the Maritime Square is completed. It consists of twin towers service suite housing 240 duplex units with a commercial podium below. Residential buildings are normally designed in a very rigid layout due to the functions that are required in its internal layout. The design of the twin towers of Maritime Square however managed to have an undulating façade with curving lines rising upwards and terminating at the top with vertical elements. The podium façade is also interesting with its dynamic form of mullions and glass panels of different sizes. The design is trendy and sculptural without having a blown out budget.

Penang island’s east coast has managed to rake in an unprecedented investment in recent years thanks to the completion of the highway and reclamation works stretching from the two Penang bridges all the way to the fringe of George Town at Weld Quay. Two of the major projects are the Penang World City (joint venture between Ivory Properties Group and Tropicana Corporation) and The Light by IJM. The Maritime Square is located between The Light and George Town, a strategic location overlooking Penang channel and Butterworth. The twin towers will no doubt add on to the ever changing skyline of Penang and become two prominent structures from the mainland.