In George Lucas’ legendary Star Wars films, Sandcrawlers were large mobile fortresses. In Singapore, the regional headquarters housing Lucasfilm, which has been christened with the same namesake, looks like a fortress indeed. Only this one is made of glass and steel with a lush courtyard in its belly. The only George Lucas property in Asia to date, this mammoth edifice has been designed to comply with the strict master planning guidelines imposed on the site at one-north, an enclave set aside to house Singapore’s R&D, high technology activities in biosciences, information communication and media industries.

It should be said that there is clearly a problem with the master plan of this area. The streets around this building seem devoid of human traffic, with empty ...

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