WILKIE STUDIO
by Candice Lim

Wilkie Studio is a 40-unit development comprising three blocks of four-storey apartments located in the nook where Upper Wilkie Road meets Wilkie Road. This project is conceived as an environmentally friendly residential scheme. In line with the developer and the architect’s commitment to green buildings, this project incorporates many eco-friendly features, and was awarded the Green Mark GoldPlus award this year (2008) by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), which recognises exemplary green building projects.

Physically, the layout of the building is orientated to minimise interaction with the west-facing direction, so as to cut down on heat gained from the afternoon sun. Thermal insulating paint and the palette of light colours for external façades create a sense of harmony with the surrounding environment. Creative use of building materials such as glass and timber serves to align the project with the lush greenery of the area. The harmony of water and greenery fits the Mount Emily/Mount Sophia milieu, which is becoming a trendy arty area, with many establishments such as the Old School arts complex at Mount Sophia calling it home.

The introduction of random articulation of full-height glass façades—with different units built with varying glass sizes—renders the overall design modern and futuristic. The clean cutting-edge design with its unique use of glass, aluminium and concrete nestles the boutique development harmoniously amidst greenery.

Some of the other distinctive features of Wilkie Studio are:

• Residents of duplex units on the ground floor can access their homes from the basement, or from their private courtyard, while some units which are levelled with the swimming pool can opt for direct access from their homes to the pool.
• Owners of the penthouse units have their own private roof terraces, complete with a private Jacuzzi and barbecue area.
• A large green wall with water features surrounds three sides of the development, providing a water catchment for recycling water to nourish the greenery as well as to provide a cooling effect.

CHALLENGES
The existing North-East Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network places a constraint on the excavation and piling of the building structure works. Raft foundations—deploying thick flat horizontal slabs—were introduced by the structural engineer, in lieu of piling works, to simplify the design and to make it more efficient. It can spread loads over larger areas, and it also contributes less to noise pollution. Three sides of the site are bounded by an existing concrete bore pile wall, which was constructed 10 years ago. The architects proposed to conserve the existing wall and chose to create an 800-square metre vertical perimeter green wall system, which recycles water for watering plants. This produced a huge green living area, which acts as a green lung, to effectively cool the area. A maximum height of 30 metres above mean sea level (AMSL) was imposed due to the proximity of the development to the Istana, but the maximum limit of four storeys is in line with the kind of low-density city housing envisaged for Wilkie Studio.

GREEN FEATURES
The living room, dining room and the majority of the bedrooms are orientated in a north-south direction to avoid the build-up of heat in the apartments, and saves on energy which would have been used for cooling. The 90-metre long green wall helps to cool down the development as a whole.

Recycled materials were employed wherever feasible, and comprised 100 percent usage in drywall partitions, compressed marble, honeycomb doors, timber decks, concrete road kerbs and carpets. Energy efficient systems and features were introduced, such as the use of 100 percent prefabricated bathrooms.

There was a conscious decision to adopt precast designs to replace cast-in-situ construction as an environmentally friendlier alternative. For waste management, Wilkie Studio employs a twin chute pneumatic refuse system that uses one chute for recyclable waste, and the other for general waste.

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