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  Straits Times 26 May 07
Green piece
More Singapore architects are going green - in overseas projects
By Tay Suan Chiang

A GROWING number of local architects are taking the green out of Singapore into their overseas projects by designing green resorts. Industry folks say this trend started about three years ago.

One of the latest to do so is award-winning firm Woha, headed by architects Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell. They are behind the upcoming Alila Villas Uluwatu in Bukit Peninsula, in the southern-most coast of Bali.

Life! visited the 13.5ha site earlier this month to preview the US$120-million (S$184- million) project of 28 three-bedroom hillside villas, five three-bedroom cliffside villas and 41 one-bedroom villas. The three-bedroom villas are for sale while the one-bedroom ones will be run as a hotel. The project will be completed in the middle of next year.

The planning and construction meet Green Globe 21's requirements, a global certification programme to promote and encourage sustainable tourism and travel. The programme was launched in 1993 and resorts must meet certain benchmarks on issues such as water and energy consumption before they can be certified.

The villas are the first in Bali to be built with such a certification in mind. 'We saw the site in 2003 and suggested to the client that we should go for an environmentally-friendly design,' says Mr Hassell of their brief to developer Franky Tjahyadikarta.

Hence, rocks dug out from the ground during construction are not thrown away but recycled to form a rubble wall surrounding the villas. Lava rocks from the area are placed on the rooftops to help keep the heat away. Greenery will also be planted on the rooftops so residents and hotel guests will see a sea of green against the blue of the sea.

'As the villas are built on different levels, the green rooftops will appear like rice terraces which are commonly found in Bali,' says Mr Hassell.

Ulin wood recycled from old telephone poles in Java and Sulawesi will be used to build the villas. The more weathered bits will be recycled to form feature walls. Rainwater will be collected in tanks and used in the gardens. In the pipeline is a wind farm to tap wind power to generate electricity for the estate.

Without going into specific figures, Mr Tjahyadikarta says it costs slightly more to fund a green project compared to a normal one but adds that it is worth it.

It was a headache for the project manager who had to ensure that Green Globe's rules were complied with, he says.

Still, a resort setting makes it easier to go green, compared to an urban backdrop, two other architects tell Life!.

Award-winning architect Chan Soo Khian of SCDA Architects says a resort with low-rise buildings on a larger plot in an agrarian community has more room for green designs. He cites the example of a resort he designed in Rishikesh, India, which will be completed this year.

The 28-villa resort blends in with the terrain and uses stones excavated from the area. 'I studied the surrounding homes in the villages to see how best we could use the site,' he says of the resort which is surrounded by trees and offers views of the Ganges River.

To maximise viewing pleasure, the villas have full-height windows while rooftop greenery helps ward off heat. Sewerage is treated and recycled as non-potable water for plants.

Mr Sim Boon Yang of Eco.Id says clients are now more open to such concepts and there is also a growing number of travellers who hunger for a natural, rustic touch.

For Sarojin in Khao Lak, he designed it around a 200-year-old giant Ficus tree, which he refused to cut down. 'That to me is the spiritual heart of the resort, so all rooms offer views of it, rather than the sea which is nearby,' he says. He saved another 40 trees during the construction. He chose to use local wood and sand.

In the public area of the resort, the wood is left unvarnished. 'Not only does it give the resort a more natural feel, but using unvarnished wood also means there is less chance of toxic varnish leeching into the ground,' he explains.

Where possible, he chose to prefabricate structures rather than build them on-site to minimise damage to the area.

One home-grown resort group that has gone green is Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts. Its Bintan facility has villas elevated on stilts to protect them from the sea.

'Rather than reshape the land to accommodate the resort, the villas are anchored on posts, allowing the trees to remain,' says Mr Michael Kwee, the company's manager of corporate social responsibility. The company has an in-house team of architects comprising 44 members from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping says the environmental concerns arose from his own experience. As a backpacker in his younger days, he was distressed by irresponsible tourism, which resulted in the destruction of the physical environment.

But the success of Banyan Tree Phuket constructed from an abandoned tin mine in 1994 shows what responsible tourism can do. 'As tourism practitioners, we've the responsibility and power to do something positive about our physical and human environment,' he says.

taysc@sph.com.sg

Touch wood

Here are overseas resorts by Singapore architects which blend perfectly into their surroundings, sparing the trees and terrain around them

Villas at Rishikesh by SCDA's Chan Soo Khian This project in India started in 1998 and will be completed by the end of this year. Each of the 28 villas overlooks the Ganges River and comes with green rooftops, making them appear 'invisible' from the main road. Try to spot where the villas are in the picture on the right.

The Sarojin by Eco.Id's Sim Boon Yang and Calvin Sim Situated in Khao Lak, Thailand, this luxury resort has 80 suites that come with private gardens and sundecks, rainfall showers and plunge pools. The resort opened in 2005. The villas are built around a 200-year-old Ficus tree.

Alila Villas Uluwatu by Woha's Wong Mun Summ and Richard Hassell Located in Bali, the project has 28 three-bedroom hillside villas, five three-bedroom cliffside villas, and 41 one-bedroom villas, which will be run as a hotel. There will also be a clifftop bar and restaurant, library, spa and fitness centre. The villas will be completed in the middle of next year. Woha also designed some of the furniture in the resort, like these teak and bronze pieces.
links
Designer villas go green
Cheah Ui-Hoon Business Times 19 May 07

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