The Pinnacle@Duxton

Pinnacle@Duxton
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Public Housing
Architectural style	High-rise
Location	Cantonment Road, Singapore
Coordinates	1°16′36″N 103°50′29″E
Construction started	April 2005
Completed	2009
Cost	S$279 million
Height
Roof	156 m (512 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	50 storeys & basement carpark
Elevator count	35
Design and construction
Main contractor	Chip Eng Seng Corporation
Architect	Khoo Peng Beng, Belinda Huang, Sandy Ng, Lim Khim Guan and ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism in Collaboration with RSP Architects, Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd
Developer	Housing and Development Board

The Pinnacle@Duxton (previously known as Duxton Plain Public Housing) is a 2.5 hectare residential complex located at 1 Cantonment Road, Singapore.

The project consists of seven 50-storey connected towers, labelled 1A to 1G, with a total of 1,848 units. Unique amongst Housing and Development Board (HDB) developments, these units are designated as special types, S1 and S2, having altogether 35 different unit variations for buyers to choose from - with dissimilar combination of features such as extended bays, balconies, bay windows or planter areas.

Pinnacle@Duxton features the world's two longest sky gardens of 500m each, on both the 26th & 50th floor; and all seven towers represent the world's tallest Public Housing buildings.

In June 2010, Pinnacle@Duxton was the recipient of the 2010 Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia award by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.

On 8 August 2010, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered his annual National Day message at the 51st floor viewing gallery of Pinnacle@Duxton. Also, owing to the sky gardens popularity as an elevated viewing location for 9 August National Day firework displays, entry for the day were publicly balloted.

History

The Duxton Plain site is historically significant as the site of the first two ten-storey HDB blocks in the Tanjong Pagar area and amongst the oldest built by HDB in the country. The idea to redevelop Duxton Plain was put forward by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew in August 2001, to commemorate the historical significance of the previous blocks.

Design

An International Architectural Design Competition was conducted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority on behalf of the Ministry of National Development between 8 August 2001 and 21 September 2001.

The following features were required for entry into the competition:

• to accommodate the adjacent Community Club, which was built by the People's Association in 1960 as part of the first batch of community centres, so that it formed part of the housing community.
• landscaping strategies that seamlessly extended the adjacent Duxton Plain Park horizontally and vertically into the development by incorporating rooftop and high-level sky gardens.
• environmentally appropriate and able of creating a strong sense of ownership, the mature trees around the perimeter of the site, together with the Jambu Ayer and Nutmeg trees planted by MM Lee in November 1984 and 1989, were also required to be retained and integrated into the landscaped areas.
• to accommodate re-siting of plaques commemorating the laying of the foundation stone on 15 March 1963, and the opening ceremony, on 10 April 1964 by the then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
• as a form of subsidised housing, proposals had to be cost-effective.

In order to maximise innovation, the design brief and technical requirements were kept to a minimum, with mainly the mandatory requirements specified.

Winning design

The competition was keenly contested with 202 entries submitted by design agencies around the world.

It was eventually won by a Singapore architecture companies, ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism, in collaboration with RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd. The winning architects called their design 'sky houses, flying green' with a goal of giving residents simple and elegant solutions from necessarily low-cost materials. The design (which differed from what was actually constructed) consisted of seven 48-storey tower blocks laid out in the shape of a hook on a 2.5ha site and linked by skybridges on the 26th and 50th storeys.

The HDB did expressed concern about several features of the original design:

• boulevards of trees along its skybridges (fear of falling branches)
• glass panels, instead of steel railings, for unimpeded views (some might faint)
• publicly accessible skybridges linking its seven tower blocks (security threats to residents)

Eventually, some features were modified. Notably, one additional elevated observation and event room was added on the 52nd floor at tower 1C, likely catering to visiting VIPs.

HDB set stringent standards for the construction, the design and finishes required for the tender veered towards private housing standards. Units at Pinnacle@Duxton were also more fully furnished than the average HDB project. The design exceeded standards of private condominiums so much that it caused concern amongst private developers regarding their future if public housing was developed in a similar manner. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) had to reassure them that this project was a one-off special residential development. Pinnacle@Duxton received high publicity by the media when it was launched in May 2004.

Subsequently, the S$279 million construction contract was awarded to Chip Eng Seng Corporation, the lowest of the bids submitted. The foundation was laid by MM Lee. Fully pre-cast methods were used during construction, which could be 10-15 per cent more expensive than the traditional way of pumping wet concrete all the way to the top. Pre-cast methods involve transporting moulded components to the site and hoisting them up onto the structure.

Sales Launch

The showflat was launched on 29 May 2004 when HDB released 528 units under phase 1 of its Build-To-Order (HDB) system. Units quickly became oversubscribed with the HDB receiving more than 100 enquiries by telephone and e-mail even before sales began. Originally set to be launched in phases, the HDB subsequently decided to release all the units for sale due to overwhelming response.

Pinnacle@Duxton project holds the record for the highest average price of new flats purchased directly from HDB, as well as the most expensive unit offered and purchased at S$646,000.

Block no	No of units	Floor Area (sqm)	Internal Floor Area (sqm)	Initial launched price ranges	Remarks
Phase 1 - May 2004 1C, 1D	352 176	93–97 m² 105–108 m²	90–93 m² 101–103 m²	$289,200 - $380,900 $345,100 - $439,400	During phase 1 & 2, a total of 616 five-room flats with a floor area of 105–108 m² and 1,232 four-room flats with a floor area of 93–97 m² were offered for sale. 79% of the units were sold by 14 September 2004.
Phase 2 - Jun 2004 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G	1,232 616	93–97 m² 105–108 m²	90–93 m² 101–103 m²	$288,400 - $392,100 $343,100 - $451,500
Balloting Ex. - Sep 2008 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G	317 111	93–97 m² 105–108 m²	90–93 m² 101–103 m²	$457,000 - $555,000 $545,000 - $646,000	428 units were offered for balloting during the September 2008 HDB balloting exercise.

The key handing over ceremony was held on 13 December 2009, marking the completion of the project.

Features

All seven buildings are linked at the 26th and 50th floors by sky bridges forming a jogging track and sky garden, a feature that is unique for public housing in Singapore. Other facilities include a food centre, daycare centre, underground carpark and other sports and recreational facilities.

Buyers are able to choose their flat's layout from combinations of balconies, planter boxes and/or bay windows. Also, the internal lightweight concrete walls can be easily removed and reconfigured by owners.

New fire-safety regulations were also drawn up by the Singapore Civil Defence Force which involved the use of elevators during any evacuation. Pinnacle@Duxton is the first development to be affected by these regulations. Refugee floors and special firefighting points were also provided for under the new code.

Gallery

• 

  A model on display at the URA Singapore City Gallery

• 

  Picture taken near intersection of South Bridge Road and Cross Street on April 1

• 

  Picture taken near intersection of South Bridge Road and Maxwell Road on April 1

• 

  Construction Progress of the towers.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Singapore
• Housing and Development Board
• PM Lee Singapore National Day Message 2010 - 8 August 2010

External links

• The Pinnacle@Duxton website
• The Pinnacle@Duxton Visitors' Info Site
• The Pinnacle@Duxton forum at phpBBserver
• The Pinnacle@Duxton 360 X 360 Virtual Tour
• The Pinnacle@Duxton thread at SkyScraperCity