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| Photo by CapitaLand |
d’Leedon, acclaimed architect Zaha Hadid’s first building in Singapore (not including her curvilinear masterplan design for the one-north business park in Buona Vista) joins a slate of starchitect-designed megacondo developments across Singapore. After nearly 7 years of development, this project by one of the most famous Pritzker Prize winning architects has been subject to much hype, but how does it live up to public expectation?
Critical reactions have been mixed, with high anticipation for the first ‘Zaha Building’ in Singapore. Many architects & designers have been critical of the most visible part of the project, the seven high-rise towers, as a disappointing product for the acclaimed parametric architect, famous for her bold & complex architectural forms. The towers feature tapered bases, and balconies which ripple up the facade, but are surprisingly subdued for the work of Zaha Hadid (Her the original design was much more fluid, it seems that some of Zaha’s expensive genius was cost-optimised during design development).
I recently had the opportunity to visit this development, and with preconceptions that the complex would leave me uninspired, a walk through the complex left me surprisingly impressed.
The most immediately striking thing about d’Leedon is it’s massive size, the complex sprawls over nearly 8 hectares of site area. Impressive scale, especially in land-scarce Singapore. End to end, the development is almost half a kilometer long, and with seven 36 storey towers and 1715 units- d’Leedon feels more like a small town than a large condominium.
As you walk into the complex, you are immediately confronted with the curvaceous architectural forms of Zaha Hadid, familiar to me from visits to her other buildings across the world. The subdued curves and cantilevers of the towers become more exaggerated as you get closer and look up.
The tapered tower bases of the towers provide more space for communal facilities (The developer, CapitaLand states that 70% of the site area is dedicated to communal use). Whereas the towers might be considered stylisticly subdued, the series of recreational buildings that run down the centre of the complex is a stunning example of Zaha’s style, with dramatic curves, two-way cantilevers, angular water features & pools, and well integrated landscape elements.
At the back end of the development, a row of three story villas lean back towards the towers, with private gardens and generous balconies.
After visiting many of Zaha’s buildings in Europe and the US (some of them among the most stunning buildings I have ever seen), I was not expecting much from d’Leedon. However, Zaha Hadid’s first built project in Singapore is a stunning example of Hadid’s keen ability to manipulate staid urban lines & typologies into dynamic spaces & structures.
While many of her standalone projects (often cultural institutions with huge budgets) may evince this design prowess to a more refined level, d’Leedon by no means lacks architectural merit. It is a large scale demonstration (perhaps her second built example after the one-north masterplan -coincidentally also located in Singapore- but only the masterplan, not the actual architecture at one-north was executed by Hadid) of Zaha Hadid’s unique ability to weave new urban tectonics seamlessly into existing ones, and to create engaging spaces, forms, and experiences unlike any other architect.
Photos by Jonathan Choe unless otherwise stated
Just learned of Zaha Hadid's death at age 65. Ms. Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize. She left her signature on skylines around the world.
Before I had ever heard of Ms. Hadid, I had the opportunity to spend the month of November 2015 on the 20th floor of a d'Leedon Heights condo. Each day, I would find something to admire, and would think, "This is so well planned. The architect really cared about privacy." Or, "The architect really understood how a tenant will use this." "The public spaces are so well-planned, so user-friendly." "The architect really understands the recreation needs of children." After 2 weeks of talking to myself this way, I looked up the architect, and was happy to discover that a woman had designed this visually striking, ultimately liveable community.
Deepest condolences to Ms. Hadid's family, friends, and employees. The world has lost a treasure. May her work stand as a monument to her for ages to come.
It is truly heartbreaking š thanks for sharing.
I now know that I have visited another of her building – in Wolfsburg, Germany, in 2007.