LaSalle campus’ ‘glass gem’ bags top building award

THE new LaSalle campus complex, a striking array of glass and stone facades linked by bridges, scooped top honours at the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) awards ceremony last night.

A panel of five named the complex as Building of the Year and made its designers, RSP Architects Planners and Engineers, the stars of the show at the Suntec Convention Centre ceremony.

‘We wanted the LaSalle building to integrate with the grain of the city and be dynamic; we accomplished this and we are very happy about the win,’ said company director Pok Siew Fatt.

SIA handed out 21 awards – selected from 157 submissions – including two key awards for Building of the Year and the best project below $1m in construction cost.

The judging panel included SIA president Tai Lee Siang; the head of National University of Singapore’s architecture department, Professor Wong Yunn Chii; and renowned architect Mok Wei Wei.

They evaluated submissions on points such as sustainability, elegance of construction and attention to detail.

Mr Tai told the ceremony last night: ‘The LaSalle building is an example of how we are moving towards an architectural capital, which needs the major city buildings to meet high architectural standards.’

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told the dinner guests that the architecture fraternity was a key partner of his ministry and its agencies.

‘While we set out the plans to guide the growth and development of Singapore, it is you [the architects] who actually come up with the designs that shape our landscape,’ said Mr Mah, who also unveiled a new Urban Redevelopment Authority plan centred on recreational infrastructure.

Source : Straits Times – 22 May 2008