Nestled in the heart of a public park, SAFRA Choa Chu Kang (CCK) is a recreational clubhouse that offers a comprehensive suite of health and wellness activities for National Servicemen and their families. The architecture expresses itself with exuberant, distinctive forms that recall and inspire fitness — from bold, super-scaled ‘V’ trusses, to the multi-faceted concrete facade symbolising unity and strength. Yet beneath its robust exterior hosts a dynamic community of nature and people, flowing in through a central spine from the park. The result is a seamless interlace of nature and fitness that reinvigorates the neighbourhood and revives the community spirit.
The building massing is positioned to draw in both nature and activities from the surroundings, creating a lush central courtyard that brings the outdoors inside. To enhance porosity, the swimming pool is elevated into the tree canopies, freeing up the ground storey for connections to the park. This not only provides stunning aerial views of the park but also extends the pool to seemingly blend into the foliage.
The “Steps-of-Life” feature staircase, adjacent to the courtyard, promotes active mobility by binding the clubhouse’s fitness facilities and linking the park’s running route to the building’s sky running track at fourth storey. It embraces well-being across different realms – public and private, horizontally and vertically – and defies the notion that fitness and parks are relegated to ground level, infusing the clubhouse with a distinctive aura of vigour and zeal.
The high-volume elevated pool and futsal court leverage prevailing winds and daylight, minimising energy consumption while providing seamless connections with the park context. With extensive naturally-ventilated spaces, wind-driven rain is an inevitable challenge in the tropics. Strategic design of planters, combined with rainwater harvesting and 100% smart auto-irrigation, subverts the paradigm and further reduces water consumption. Together with roof photovoltaics, energy-efficient ACMV systems, and a heat recovery system which reuses hot water from the chiller plants for heated showers, SAFRA CCK achieves an overall energy savings of 42.7%, totalling 1890Mwh. Additionally, green concrete and recycled steel reduce embodied emissions per gross floor area by 23%.
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