Lai: For Singapore, tall buildings have their significance
Lai Huen Poh has led RSP Architects Planners & Engineers Pte Ltd as managing director since 2007, having joined the practice in 1984. Since 2013, he has also been executive director of Rowsley Ltd, the listed parent company of RSP.
With more than 40 years’ experience, Lai leads the engineering division of RSP and has steered the architectural practice’s overseas expansion. He also sits on the boards of the Building and Construction Authority and Singapore Land Authority.
“In most cities, there’s this romance where you see buildings over the ages as the city matures,” says Lai. “In Singapore, buildings have to be renewed every now and again. And we’re growing and setting benchmarks within a built environment. For Singapore, therefore, tall buildings have their significance.”
RSP has been behind several landmarks in the CBD. On the corner of Robinson Road and McCallum Street is Oxley Tower, a cylindrical 32-storey commercial development that stands out against the skyline. The top two floors have become the new headquarters of listed property group Oxley Holdings, with its executive chairman and CEO’s office on the penthouse level offering spectacular views of the sea. Typical office units come with direct lift access, attached toilets and ceilings of up to 4.9m. Within the three-storey retail podium of the building are gyms, spas and restaurants.
Another commercial building on Robinson Road that Lai is proud of is the 52-storey Capital Tower, built in 2000 and designed by RSP. Although it is 17 years old, “the building is still valid today”, he says. RSP was the winner in a competition to design Capital Tower. CapitaLand Group’s headquarters are located there, as are those of GIC Pte Ltd and JP Morgan Chase Bank.
The 32-storey, cylindrical Oxley Tower was completed at the end of last year
Even though the 52-storey Capital Tower was completed in 2000, it is still valid today, says Lai
“For the prominence of our landscape here, you still have to refer to the blockbuster projects that made a pivotal change in Singapore,” says Lai. In the 1990s, the three tallest buildings in the country were Republic Plaza, One Raffles Place (formerly known as OUB Centre) and UOB Plaza, which are all 280m tall.
However, the title of Singapore’s tallest building now goes to Tanjong Pagar Centre, GuocoLand’s integrated development in Tanjong Pagar, which is 290m in height.
In Marina Bay, there is the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort by Las Vegas Sands and the Marina Bay Financial Centre, comprising three office towers and two residential towers linked to an underground mall, developed by a consortium made up of Cheung Kong Property Holdings, Hongkong Land and Keppel Land.
“In any urban landscape, you still need the tall buildings to announce your presence,” says Lai. According to him, Singapore’s building quality has improved with the government’s continued emphasis on enhancing productivity, technological innovation and automation in construction. And now there is greater emphasis on Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC) for construction of buildings.
“Over time, with less work done on site, you can achieve better methods of construction and greater quality assurance in a factory environment,” says Lai. “There will also be less impact on the environment in terms of noise, dust and inconvenience to people living in the vicinity.”
A registered Professional Engineer (Civil) and a Chartered Engineer (UK), Lai has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Sheffield. He is also a director of various companies, including Enviro- Hub Holdings Ltd and Chiwayland International Ltd.
Lai is one of the judges for the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2017. He believes such awards play a role in raising the standard of property development in Singapore. “It’s more than just validity through sales, but aspiring to achieve higher standards of quality and creating projects that embrace the community,” he points out.
This article, written by Cecilia Chow, appeared in EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 800 (Oct 9, 2017).