An article in the International Herald Tribune talks about the variety of ‘modern luxury condos’ that have been developed in Singapore. Whilst good workmanship and quality of materials have been cited as factors that make Singapore’s condominiums desirable and have allowed its property market to be categorized as aspirational , the rush to tap into the renewed interest in private properties and the craze for ‘modern’ design has spawned varying interpretations of modern, contemporary architecture.
Following the early entries into modern development projects(The Loft on Nassim, Paterson Edge) came a slew of less distinguished developments. The progenitor of luxury living and sophisticated, boutique developments, SCGlobal has added BLVD to its luxurious troika of urbane, uptown developments.
Even more mainstream developers, more known for generic housing projects have incorporated more edgy design elements to stand out from the rest of the developments. The efforts seem to have paid out- Far east Organization’s ‘Icon’ sold out in an otherwise dreary property market. Located close to the CBD area and next to an MRT station, these loft apartments which afforded buyers a more customized, tailor made package by allowing buyers to choose from a different combination of finishes, this development made headlines when the better units were bought and ‘flipped’- reminiscent of the pre-1996 property boom years. The Central at SOHO similarly employs a more experimental approach towards showflat design and marketing- spiral staircases connected by strings of thick rope and a showflat that opens beyond 10pm on weekend nights.
Whilst there are projects that continue to try to distinguish itself by employing radical design ideas(a la the all glass fa