Feb 14 2007
Hot finished circular hollow sections, supplied through Corus International’s Singapore office, now play an import role in the realisation of the surfing theme for Singapore’s new harbour-front development, VivoCity.
Created by internationally acclaimed Japanese architect, Toyo Ito, the wave inspired façade and roof for VivoCity uses 280 tonnes of material, sourced from Corus Tubes, and was fabricated by Yongnam Engineering & Construction Pte Ltd at their Singapore and Malaysia yards to provide the development’s supporting structure.
Bernard Chung, structural sales and technical manager at Corus International Asia, comments: “This was a truly international project with Japanese, European and Asian companies all working side-by-side. To minimise cost on project supply, we were able to work closely with Continental Steel Pte Ltd – sole distributor and stockholder of Corus Tubes’ Celsius® structural hollow sections. This enabled us to eliminate double handling by arranging direct delivery from Corby (Corus Tubes UK manufacturing site) to the fabrication yards in full 40 ft container loads”.
VivoCity is Toyo Ito’s first major project in Asia outside of Japan, where he was behind the critically acclaimed Sendai Mediatheque, and is set to become Singapore’s largest and most diverse retail and lifestyle destination. Known for a signature style that focuses on the utilization of nature, climate and open spaces, VivoCity moves away from the traditional box format of many existing and upcoming developments in the region, to take inspiration from the harbour front location to evoke images of waves.
Ito explains: “I wanted to create a fluid shopping enjoyment where one space leads intuitively into another. This structure does not separate the space by floor, but is connected as one continuous experience.”
The development boasts over one million square feet of floor space, in excess of 300 retailers, large event spaces – including an outdoor amphitheatre, a 20,000 square foot open plaza and a 300 metre harbour front boardwalk, with each space leading intuitively to the next to create a fluid, enjoyable shopping experience.