The Star Centre, Singapore
Stunning Architecture-Matchless Experience
Situated in the heart of Vista Exchange, Buona Vista, "The Star Centre" is one more feather in the cap of Singapore with its award winning architecture and vivid lush indoor greenery- An iconic structure of yet another engineering marvel.
The state-of-the-art complex features a collection of performance and event spaces, including a 5,000 seat theatre, a multi-purpose hall, an outdoor amphitheatre, a rooftop reception area, function rooms and supporting spaces of various sizes. This unique venue complete with stunning architecture and design provides a suite of performance spaces for a wide range of events from top concerts to intimate community events. Equipped with cutting - edge acoustic technology, The Star Centre promises a unique experience.
The Star Centre of Singapore which is known for its opulent design and multipurpose use and is designed by Ar. Andrew Bromberg of Aedas. The design for the STAR does not present one singular expression to describe the project; instead it celebrates the rich and diverse happenings inside the building with a multi-faceted, permeable and dynamic design, blurring the boundaries between public and private realms as well as retail and cultural components. The transitions are soft and flowing to encourage discovery and therefore make it a highly engaging and energetic attraction for the city. The 62,000m2 development comprises the STAR Performing Arts Centre, a Cultural Zone owned and managed by Rock Productions Pte Ltd; and the STAR Vista, a Retail and Entertainment Zone owned and managed by Capita Malls Asia Limited. The development provides a premier entertainment, lifestyle and retail experience not only for one-north but also the wider Singapore community.
The site is located within the larger one - north master plan at Buona Vista, Singapore, which was established to create a regional centre for a wide variety of civic and cultural activities and promote innovation and creativity. In keeping with one-north’s bold vision it was paramount that the architectural response to the client's brief married the functional and technical requirements of an iconic architectural form. In addition, the master plan sets out detailed planning constraints in terms of pedestrian connectivity, building envelope, height control, retaining of site topography and key site features, as well as retaining/transplanting of mature trees of significance.
• Retention of the Natural Site Topography - The Urban Planning Guidelines required that the original topographical levels were to be retained and certain significant site features were to be emphasized. The building responds to the variance in levels (from +118.50 FFL to +111.00 FFL) by splitting the ground floor into Level 1 (accessing from the south, southeast and west) and Level 2 (accessing from the north and northeast).
• The varying access and drop - off points that range from +111.0 FFL to +115.0 FFL are integrated into the open plaza, welcoming visitors from all major connection points.
• The hilltop feature that rises from a ground level of +111.00 FFL to +118.50 FFL is re - created by a series of stepped terraces, housing also the VIP drop-off point at the STAR Performing Arts Centre.
• Pedestrian Connectivity - A naturally ventilated porous ground plate with a 35m high grand plaza at its core opens up to the main pedestrian flows from the MRT, one-north Park and other future developments.
• Integration of Civic Spaces - Informal civic spaces are thoughtfully integrated into the lower floors of the building at Basement 1, Level 2 and Level 3, creating several landscaped communal zones where performances, exhibitions, gatherings and other civic activities can be hold. Constraints on gross floor area (GFA) available for the Civic and Cultural Zone also required MEP arrangements to be optimized and stacked to free up GFA for the more critical performances, lobby and circulation spaces within.
Design Concept
The Star Centre is a multi- purpose structure, so it was designed very appropriately to meet entertainment and shopping requirements. Even materials are chosen in a meticulous manner to erect this massive domicile. The design for The Star Vista responds to the challenging site topography as the zone spirals inwards to address the major entry points and culminate in an open amphitheatre. The complex allows an array of rich and varying activities to take place inside the building whilst maintaining functionality. Faceted glass fissures dissolve big masses and create a dynamic composition of positive and negative spaces as well as a sense of balance. The south elevation is completely opened up and its facilities are clearly visible from outside. The building is an organic object opening to public discovery. One can crawl under, move through, transverse around and climb onto the complex via a series of ramps, escalators, terraces and public gardens. All circulations, movements and internal forms are soft and sinuous as if the civic activities have shaped the inside of the complex.
Sustainability
"Since it's a huge structure we had to pay more attention to energy efficiency, regulation of water, waste management etc. The building is designed to receive natural breeze from the open areas and pass through the outdoor seating place to provide a natural environment to the visitors. Canopies are installed to provide shade to the people from direct sun," says Ar. Andrew Bromberg of Aedas.
Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to optimize natural and physiological ventilation effects and create comfortable thermal conditions in the common and circulation areas that would otherwise have to be air conditioned. A hybrid ventilation strategy is also implemented to maximize comfort in areas where comfortable conditions cannot be achieved by natural ventilation alone. A mechanically assisted evaporative cooling system which employs high volume, low speed fans is deployed in the basement civic plaza, providing air movement that is required for outdoor thermal comfort while avoiding mechanical refrigeration.
The orientation of the development was optimized by using building physics techniques. Daylight, solar heat gain, glare, and thermal comfort were all analyzed. East and west exposure was reduced to minimize the overall solar heat gain. The design, performance and window to wall ratio of the facade were optimized to maximize daylight in occupied areas and also further control solar heat gain. In addition to this energy efficient lifts, motion sensored lights, an under floor displacement ventilation system in the auditorium reduces cooling requirements and energy consumption at the Centre. The current savings in air conditioning systems, air conditioning pumps and cooling tower for the development are 20%, 39.1% and 29% respectively.
The overall energy saving is currently estimated at 15% compared to a non-sustainably designed development, and it is estimated to operate at about 499kWh/m2/annum. These figures meet the requirements of the BCA Green Mark Gold rating. The design of the development also focuses on reducing potable water consumption and water pollution. Rain water and air conditioning condensate water is collected and used as alternative water source to irrigate site planting. This alternative water source is also used for the cooling tower, which is supplemented by the city's NEWater (treated unused water) without the need for potable water. Additional initiatives were implemented within the site to make more eco friendly like recycling horticulture waste, recycling bins, promoting the use of public transport, recharging stations for hybrid and electric cars at parking lots of the centre, refrigerant leak detection system, less power consumption by tenants through tenancy agreements etc.
Materials and Method of Construction
The entire development utilizes a high performance triple glazed glass system with a fiberglass interlay to significantly reduce solar heating and provide a translucent appearance, allowing external expression of internal experience. The retail zone and external zones of the project use recycled no-slip granite pavers. The flooring of the pre-function spaces of the theater is locally procured bamboo. Hypoallergenic carpet is used for the theater with the internal theater cladding utilizing light weight zinc aluminum perforated panels with simple acoustical absorptive felt behind.
The main method used was top-down construction. With this special technique, the basement and superstructure were constructed concurrently. In other words, while one team was working downwards to construct the balance of the four basements, another team was working on constructing the building upwards. The structure from Level 3 onwards consists of about 11,000 tons of structural steel. Due to the irregular shapes, long spans and high floor to floor heights, lifting of large beam and truss assemblies was envisaged and planned for.
Three heavy duty tower cranes were erected by the contractors; and each crane could take a tip load of 7-8 tons when fully outstretched at 50m and up to 24 tons when closer to the center. Mobile cranes were also brought in the handle some of the heavy lifts of up to 25 tons which occurred near the building edge. BIM was employed extensively throughout the steel structure process, from design, setting out, and factory and installation shop drawings to creating input for the factory's CNC machines.
The façade materials were fabricated in China and shipped to the site for installation. Given the complex geometry of the façade, it required tremendous planning, coordination and close supervision.
Fluid Dynamics
"The Center is a 62000m2 massive body, so we had to make a thorough research on fluid dynamics to make it a freshening environment to the public. The building was studied in many ways: as a free-form structure, as a circulation system without bottlenecks, as light modulator and wind sculpture," he says. Computational Fluid Dynamics is used to optimize natural and physiological ventilation effects and create comfortable thermal conditions in the common and circulation areas that would otherwise have to be air conditioned. The Star is first and foremost a social building. Its design aims to provide an active and welcoming social interface for the local neighborhood through the publicly accessible forecourt and retail areas.
A series of climate ameliorated outdoor spaces that accentuate natural air movement has been created to protect visitors against Singapore's tropical rain and sun while at the same time providing outdoor patrons physiological cooling. Together with heat flow modeling, they allow the interactions of form and environment to be predicted and modified. This is about tapping into the nature of things not just materials but also circulation systems, air and heat flows and light. Findings on air flows and rain penetration prompted local adjustments, additions of canopies and landscape components.
Multi Purpose Edifice
The structure comprises of a Star Performing Arts Centre, a cultural zone and the Star Vista a retail and entertainment zone, so the design was conceptualized accordingly for its various purposes. The Star is structured like a layer cake, an extrapolation of a podium building where the transfer structure is broadened into a desk sufficient to carry a tiered auditorium, foyers and ancillary spaces. All components are equally important to the building to blur the boundaries between retail and cultural zones and indoor and outdoor spaces. The theatre contains over 5,000 seats with two balconies, by far the largest venue of its kind in Singapore and is capable of staging musicals, concerts and other large scale performances. A cavity wall system prevents sound and vibrations coming in from the lobbies and external environment. The entire steel structure of the theatre is contained in a traditional 'box within a box' approach.
The Star vista a retail sector was developed to add more availability to the visitors of the Centre in terms of food and consumer products. The design for the retail space responds to the challenging site topography as the zone spirals inwards to address the major entry points and culminate in an open amphitheatre. The complex allows an array of rich and varying activities to take place inside the building whilst maintaining functionality. Faceted glass fissures dissolve big masses and create a dynamic composition of positive and negative spaces as well as a sense of balance. The south elevation is completely opened up and its facilities are clearly visible from outside. The building is an organic object opening to public discovery. One can crawl under, move through, transverse around and climb onto the complex via a series of ramps, escalators, terraces and public gardens. All circulations, movements and internal forms are soft and sinuous as if the civic activities have shaped the inside of the complex. Soft transition occurs vertically from the public, open retail to the private, enclosed theatre. The entire sequence and transition is linked visually and spatially to the 33m high grand foyer, connecting the below-ground retail and the top glass floor of the theatre's main lobby and exposing the
Prime Constraints
The center is located in one of the busiest part of the city, so we had to make sure that the work doesn't interrupt the daily routine of the surrounding locality. The site is located within the larger one-north master plan at Buona Vista, Singapore, which was established to create a regional centre for a wide variety of civic and cultural activities and promote innovation and creativity. In keeping with one-north's bold vision it was paramount that the architectural response to the client's brief married the functional and technical requirements of an iconic architectural form. In addition, the master plan sets out detailed planning constraints in terms of pedestrian connectivity, building envelope, height control, retaining of site topography and key site features, as well as retaining/transplanting of mature trees of significance. Original trees on site were removed during construction and restored post construction. Constraints on gross floor area available for the Civic and Cultural Zone also required MEP arrangements to be optimized and stacked to free up GFA for the more critical performances, lobby and circulation spaces within.
Accessibility
The architectural design of the Centre portrays the accessibility to the public in many ways. It opens up south elevation, allowing the inner workings of the facility to be visible from and to the outdoor landscaped areas. The mass of the upper cultural component is faceted with intersecting glass fissures to reduce the visual impact of the overall volume, playing with a composition of positive and negative readings of the theatre in balance with the use of solid and void in the retail component. Family friendly restrooms, baby changing facilities and nursing rooms are available throughout the commercial and cultural areas. Intermediate landscaped sky terraces on Level 2, Level 3 and the rooftop promote airflow and greening of the building interior. Landscaped civic plaza activity space at the heart of the retail zone with 24-hour accessibility for communal use. Thus the Centre is very much friendly to its visitors and to the Singapore community.
The Star center is real time entertainment for the people of Singapore present in one of the prime locations of the city providing leisure to everyone. The theater design portrays the excellent work of the architect, which can accommodate 5000 audiences providing complete entertainment for a large section of artistic interested minds. And it is conveniently reachable to everyone in terms of transportation, pedestrian connectivity etc. The Centre provides entertainment, lifestyle and retail in one complete structure thereby influencing more people of the Singapore community to visit it. Thus this Centre is genuinely a dominant appeal in Singapore.
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Sustainable Methods Executed
• Original trees on site were removed during construction and restored post construction.
• Recycled horticultural waste is used for compost.
• Recycling bins are provided for operational waste diversion.
• The building is located in close proximity to the Buona Vista MRT station and public bus stations, promoting the use of public transport.
• Bicycle parking lots and associated facilities are provided.
• Recharging stations for hybrid and electric vehicles are available in car parks.
• A car park guidance system is installed to facilitate zoning and temporary closure of unoccupied areas when necessary.
• A refrigerant leak detection system is installed to avoid leaking of refrigerants.
• Low VOC paints and low formaldehyde adhesives were used to protect internal air quality.
• Environmental programmes were adopted during construction to minimize the overall environmental impact.
• Tenancy agreements limit tenants' power consumption.
Design Team
Architect: Andrew Bromberg of Aedas
Civil & Structural Engineer: Parsons Brinckerhoff
Civil & Structural Engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Environmental Engineer: Arup Singapore Pte Ltd
Fire Engineer: Arup Singapore Pte Ltd
Facade: Alt Limited
Mep: Mott Macdonald
Interior Design: Andrew Bromberg of Aedas
Theater &Acoustic Consultant: Artec Consultants Inc
Qs: Langdon & Seah Singapore Pte Ltd
Lighting: Lighting Planners Associates (S) Pte Ltd
Landscape: Icn Design International Pte ltd
Completion Date: October 2012
Project Facts
Program : Mixed-use
Site Area : 19,200 M2
Total GFA : 62,000m2, 24,000 M2 (Retail) / 38,000 M2 (Civic)
Build Height : 75m
Andrew Bromberg
Member of the Board
Aedas International
Central to Andrew Bromberg's works is an underlying philosophy valuing ‘human sustainability, which is vital to the success of a project and important as an extension of the public realm. Andrew aspires toward 'enrichment', recognising it as fundamental to the viability of a project and its influence to its surroundings.
Educated with degrees in Environmental Design, Architecture and Cultural Geography, Andrew's passion toward how men and nature co-exist took him on a journey of significant travels and attracted him to Asia. The densities of Asian cities offer conditions in which he could strike a balance between the environment and the people by responding to the projects' surroundings from where he draws inspiration.
Without compromising the altruistic and unconventional qualities, Andrew's projects are always optimised to ensure viability. His works have a strong civic ambition and a true aspiration to make positive contributions to the world.