AWARDS: Martin Modern bags four titles at EdgeProp Excellence Awards

By Charlene Chin

/ EdgeProp |

October 12, 2018 3:00 PM SGT

Martin Modern clinched four awards at the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2018. The development emerged winner for Design Excellence, Landscape Excellence, Innovation Excellence and Top Development.

Martin Modern is a 450-unit luxury condominium currently under development and situated on a sloped 171,535 sq ft plot at Martin Place. “What we like about the area is that it’s very quiet and exclusive,” says Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of GuocoLand Singapore. “And yet, it’s very connected just a stone’s throw from the restaurants at Robertson Quay and the Singapore River.”

As the site is large and undulating, Cheng was convinced that the developer could “create something special”, he says. “When we bought the land, we had a strong conviction of its future. Prior to the site, there had not been a launch of a government land parcel in that area of District 9 in years.”

‘A sanctuary of greenery in the city’

View of the greenery outside the clubhouse

While prestigious, the District 9 neighbourhood is densely built. “What’s most difficult to find is space and greenery, and if you could live in a Botanic Garden right in the heart of District 9, how nice would that be?”

That was the premise that led to the creation of “a sanctuary of greenery in the city”, he adds. The appointed design architects for Martin Modern were four-time President’s Design Award winner Yip Yuen Hong from ip:li architects in collaboration with Tang Kok Thye, senior principal architect of ADDP Architects. Meanwhile, ICN Design was the appointed landscape architect. “We were very careful in who we selected as the architects because we wanted to bring something new to the market,” says Cheng.

The architects managed to utilise the undulating site to create an experiential landscape in the development. According to ADDP’s Tang, the main challenge for the architects was to construct a development on land with “so much character”.

Over 200 species of trees and plants

The 50m lap pool

Two 30-storey, high-rise towers occupy a footprint of just over 20% of the site area, freeing the remaining 80% for greenery. Over 200 species of tropical trees and plants have been selected, and there will be 15 distinct gardens. Native tree species such as jelutong, meranti and chengal will be grown on the grounds. The ficus variegata, which towers 30m when mature, will also be planted.

Green features include a forest trail; a maze that opens to a fitness court; a shallow bio pond, next to a lawn surrounded by trees; an aquatic garden between the two residential blocks; and a bamboo grove path sitting next to the tennis court.On the rooftop of both towers are two exclusive gardens which the developer terms “Secret Gardens”. The plants selected for the “Secret Gardens” will be those that are able to thrive in high altitudes, says Simon Morrison, director of ICN Design.

Residents will also be able to host private parties at the dining pavilions on the roof terraces. Other facilities in the development include a dining and club lounge that overlooks a 50m lap pool; barbecue pits at the two ends of an expansive party lawn; a dipping pool and Jacuzzi; as well as two fitness courts.

Each unit has a view

The crown of one of the two towers where the 'Secret Garden' is located

The unit mix at Martin Modern ranges from two- to four-bedroom units of 764 to 1,798 sq ft. Ceiling heights for the ground and top-floor units reach up to 4.2m, offering extensive views of the landscaped scenery. GuocoLand wants to ensure that each of the 450 units has a view of the gardens, city skyline or Singapore River, says Cheng. As a result, two balconies are included in the three- and four-bedroom premium units, one each in the dining and living areas. The floor-to-ceiling sliding grilles — made of perforated aluminium — at the balconies let natural light into the rooms and allow better ventilation.

The developer also made sure that the unit interiors come with top-range fittings. These include Miele kitchen appliances, SMEG refrigerators, Laufen sanitaryware and AXOR bathroom accessories. The bathrooms also come with full marble walls and flooring.

Dearth of new launches

A dining and club lounge that overlooks a 50m lap pool

The market is also in Martin Modern’s favour, says Dominic Lee, PropNex Realty’s head of luxury team. There has not been a new launch in that area since 2012, when UP@Robertson was launched, he points out.

Since Martin Modern’s launch in July last year, the project is more than 64% sold. The average price achieved is $2,366 psf. The most expensive unit sold — in terms of both absolute and psf price — at Martin Modern was for a 1,798 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 28th floor of one of the towers. It achieved a price of $5.64 million ($3,138 psf), according to caveats lodged in August. This July, GuocoLand released some of its ground floor units for sale. PropNex’s Lee sees “real demand” for such units, which have views of the pools and curated gardens.

The project is slated for completion in 2021.

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EdgeProp Excellence Awards 2018

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