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With a global network and talent pool spanning 15 cities, design and consulting studio Woods Bagot has their finger on the pulse of the latest architectural trends. Founded in Australia, the practice has tackled large-scale projects across international borders, becoming one of the largest architecture firms in the world. Their work is taking them to where the action is — the dense megacities of Asia — particularly Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, each with their own local team of experts. When clients from Southeast Asia began flooding Woods Bagot with projects, a registered business in Singapore was created, with help brought in from their Hong Kong and Australian sectors. It was only a matter of time before the company opened its own brick and mortar office in Singapore to closely serve the burgeoning number of clients.
Matthew Gaal, Ken Anderson and Justin Szeremeta are leading Woods Bagot's nascent Singapore studio. Gaal has worked in senior positions on high-profile projects across the globe, including the United States, the Middle East and Malaysia. Szeremeta helped build Woods Bagot's North American presence with its studio in San Francisco before working on the design and delivery of several developments in Shanghai. And Anderson's resume contains 32 years of hands-on experience in Australia, the United Kingdom, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It's this diverse team — supported by a local army of architects and designers — that Woods Bagot sees as integral to expanding their reach in the region.
SkyriseCities recently sat down with the team to discuss the firm's past, present and future projects, both in Singapore and elsewhere on the continent. The discussion comes at a particularly busy time for the company, which recently celebrated the completion of Sunshine Insurance Financial Plaza in Sanya, located on the southern tip of China's Hainan Island. The 157-metre-tall tower is a paragon of the mixed-use diversity that Woods Bagot employs in its projects. It contains 18 levels of office space and a 270-key hotel component, with a strong commercial base defined by its tiered geometry and distinct podium islands.
China's infatuation with supertall towers has also given Woods Bagot the opportunity to design a new landmark for Chongqing in southwestern China. The firm's tallest building currently under construction, the 431-metre Chongqing Tall Tower will have a dominating presence on the fast-growing city. Not only does it introduce a multifarious program of apartments, offices, retail and hotel rooms within a single tower, but it converts an existing hotel tower into a 240-unit apartment building.
Woods Bagot is using its past experience in China to inform its strategies and approach in Singapore. "The urban condition, scarcity of land, and growing population requires you to build at a greater density so I'm interested to see how some of the strategies we used in China can be adopted for the local market here," notes Szeremeta.
The team spoke highly of Singapore and its early adoption of the building typologies and technologies now being implemented in China's booming metropolises. "Singapore is not only dense but very forward thinking," said Anderson. "There's not a lot that hasn't been tried here. China is the new kid on the block. I think Singapore was doing what China is doing now 30 years ago. The buildings are established, the city's very first-world. It's probably the most sophisticated city in the region." Gaal echoed his colleague's comments, pointing to Singapore's "cachet in the region" that gives the vibrant city the ability to portray a "sense of quality and cleanliness."
The redevelopment of Singapore's Funan, owned by CapitaLand Mall Trust, is one of the company's most transformative ongoing projects. Like Woods Bagot's skyscraping undertakings, the reinvigorated Funan will be an integrated development combining retail, office, and co-living serviced residences, all designed to cater to creative and tech-savvy consumers. "Pure refurbishment wouldn't give CapitaLand the outcomes they were looking for," explains Anderson. "CapitaLand is rebuilding Funan as a mixed-use entity to support much more diverse lifestyle offerings."
As an example of the firm's cross-pollination of ideas and collaborative spirit, the Singapore studio intends to work with them on future projects to foster the lessons learned. The completed Funan integrated development will be interspersed with a substantial pedestrian and cycling network, a community plaza and maker spaces where new retailers can showcase their innovative designs and products.
At one of the world's largest and busiest airports, Woods Bagot was engaged by leading travel retailer DFS Group to conceptualize striking luxury retail storefronts designed to attract travellers. Changi Airport's ever-expanding retail environment has become a destination of its own, forcing brands to go all-out in their effort to pull in customers. Delivering retail facades and standout interior spaces of three spirits, wine and tobacco stores in Terminals 1, 2 and 3, Woods Bagot's concept has increased retail frontage while creating new architectural beacons.
With recently completed projects like Jakarta's Telkom Landmark Tower now under Woods Bagot's belt, the firm's footprint in Southeast Asia has indelibly made waves across international borders. The scope and scale of their past work, when combined with the built form and land constraints that define Asian metropolises, means that big things are coming for the region.
