In an effort to raise employee productivity and happiness, a growing number of companies are incorporating greenery into their workplace designs.
In Singapore, a new office tower that will feature thousands of plants follows the trend.
Architects from Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) are billing the 51-story skyscraper as “the office of the future” due to its focus on flora.
The tower, which broke ground this week, will sit on the site of a formerly abandoned parking lot.
Take a look at the tower below.
Set to open in 2021, the green tower will sit in the center of Singapore’s Central Business District.
CapitaLand Limited, CapitaLand Commercial Trust and Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. are funding the development.
At 920 feet tall, it will be one of the tallest towers in the city. Plants will poke out on the bottom floors of the steel-and-glass facade and the rooftop.
The 1 million-square-foot interior will feature thousands of plants.
At the ground level, visitors will see a public “rainforest plaza,” which will have several retail stores and eateries.
In addition to offices, the building will include 290 hotel units, which will look more like apartments than standard hotel rooms, on the first eight floors.
Guests will have access to a swimming pool, a Jacuzzi, a jogging track, a gym, a communal kitchen, a lounge, and barbecue pits.
The top 29 floors will include offices.
In the center, tropical vegetation will grow on four connected levels of what the architects call the “Green Oasis.”
Visitors will work, attend events, or relax here. Or they could hang out in its jungle gym, treetop cocoons, hammocks, or cafe.
The indoor garden features a spiraling botanical promenade as well.
The tower’s design reflects the growing architectural trend of green workplaces. According to some research, looking at trees or plants can make employees more patient, healthier, and more focused.
Source:Harvard University, SUNY Upstate Medical Center, and Syracuse University
Another recent example of this trend is Amazon's new glassy office space, dubbed the Spheres, that opened in January in Seattle. Corporate employees work alongside 40,000 plants of 400 species there.
Source:Business Insider
CRA and BIG’s tower will add a bit more greenery to Singapore’s skyline.
