The jury of the International Highrise Award 2016 on 2 November endowed the Housing & Development Board (HDB) of Singapore with a Special Recognition Award (SRA) for its exemplary leadership as a public agency realizing innovative high-rise sustainable residential community projects.
The SRA is a branch of the International Highrise Award, which is presented by the culturally rich and diverse City of Frankfurt, the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (German Architecture Museum), and the DekaBank.
HDB’s win is the first time an organisation has been acknowledged for its contributions in providing well-designed, good quality homes in high-rise environments.
On being conferred the Special Recognition Award, HDB’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Building), Mr Fong Chun Wah said, “We are honoured to be the first organization in the world to receive this exclusive award. In land-scarce Singapore, optimising land use to accommodate different needs is a challenge but a necessity. Despite our space constraints, Singapore is among the world’s most livable cities largely due to the safe and stable living environment that our residents enjoy.”
“Our high-rise housing developments all over the island, including SkyVille @ Dawson and SkyTerrace @ Dawson which have been nominated for the International Highrise Award, demonstrate that a good quality of life can be achieved in urban and populated countries like Singapore,” Mr Fong said.
Previous Special Recognition Awards were conferred upon prominent skyscrapers such as the Deutsche Bank Towers in Frankfurt, and the iconic Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
The International Highrise (IHP) Award has been bestowed biannually since 2004 by the City of Frankfurt.
This year IHP Award goes to the residential highrise VIA 57 West in New York, USA. It has won the prize, worth EUR 50,000, for the world’s most innovative highrise.
The IHP was initiated by Deutsches Architekturmuseum and DekaBank in 2003 together with the City of Frankfurt. It is financed by Deutsches Architekturmuseum and DekaBank.
The key criterion is that the building unites sustainability, external shape and interior qualities and social aspects to create a pioneering design. The IHP is open to architects and developers whose building is at least 100 meters tall and was commissioned within the last two years.