At the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2018, an award was reserved for the audience of Edgeprop.sg to decide on a winner, via an online voting system. Over the one-month voting period from July 23 to Aug 23, 4,354 votes were cast for the 42 shortlisted projects. Taking the prize for People’s Choice was DUO Residences, which accounted for 10% of the total votes received.
DUO’s 49-storey residential tower, completed last year by M+S, is situated in the heart of Bugis. M+S is a joint-venture company between the Malaysian and Singapore sovereign wealth funds, Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings, respectively. With an iconic building design that redefines the city’s skyline, DUO is the largest integrated development in Bugis and forms part of a vibrant mixed-use cluster within the OphirRochor corridor.
Designed by Ole Scheeren, principal architect of Büro Ole Scheeren, DUO’s twin towers span a total gross floor area of 1.73 million sq ft. While the residential tower houses 660 units, the other 39-storey DUO Tower comprises Grade-A offices, and a 342-room luxury hotel by Andaz Singapore. In a March interview with EdgeProp, Scheeren describes DUO as “a radical break from most architecture that has been conceived”.
In Singapore, Scheeren also designed The Interlace, a residential development on Alexandra Road that was named “World Building of the Year” in 2015 at the World Architecture Festival. Elsewhere in Asia, he designed the iconic CCTV Headquarters and the Guardian Art Center cultural complex, both located in Beijing. In Bangkok, Scheeren is behind the 77-storey MahaNakhon skyscraper, which is the tallest building in Thailand.
The units at DUO Residences range from studios that start at 420 sq ft, to four-bedroom units sized from 1,927 sq ft. It also has six penthouses that range from 2,390 to 4,392 sq ft. DUO Residences was launched in November 2013, and its units fetched an average price of $2,032 psf as at Oct 8, according to URA data.
The DUO towers have a composite honeycomb exterior. The hexagonal pattern is carved into sweeping concave shapes on the façade, functioning as sunshades. They capture and channel wind flows through and across the buildings. The development incorporates an energy-efficient design and naturally ventilated spaces. All these elements earned a Green Mark Platinum rating for DUO Tower and DUO Galleria, and a Green Mark Gold Plus rating for DUO Residences and the hotel in the BCA Awards 2013.
DUO Galleria features retail and F&B outlets. Residents at DUO Residences can have their pick of eateries ranging from Peruvian restaurant Tono Cevicheria to So France gourmet grocery and bistro.
Furthermore, DUO’s plaza, which has leisure zones and gardens, is accessible to the public 24 hours a day. The entire development is linked to Bugis MRT station, an interchange for the Downtown and East-West lines.
DUO’s design, features and accessibility bear out Scheeren’s belief that “architecture is not built to be built, it’s built to live”, and have captured the hearts of many.