Building Investment (September-October 2021)

This lushness is particularly apt considering Citibank Singapore’s
business of growing wealth and perpetuating prosperity.
For the tallest level, the designers selected betel nut feature
palms, while elegant, feathery parlour palms sit below their crowns
at the second level with bushy saplings and big-leafed arums in the
foreground. Feathery Boston ferns, rosette-leafed bird’s nest ferns
and money plants occupy the lowest level, fringed by jungle-floor
plants that are spotlit at night.
The eighth floor is dedicated to Citigold Private Clients, leading
the design team to opt for more luxurious materials such as walnut
and marble, while an observation deck offers aerial views of the
conservatory on the level below. Since this floor is less open to
natural daylight, the planting here is smaller in both the horizontal
and vertical scale, with planters set between desk alcoves and
pathways.
Floors six and nine were conceived as “backstage areas”
offering office space for the bank’s 210 relationship managers. They
hold a variety of hot desks, collaboration tables and a town hall for
meetings. Large planters help create a calming work environment
on these levels and are filled with shade-loving plants that, in the
wild, would grow low on the rainforest floor.
Throughout the office, the temperature of the lighting is
programmed to mirror human’s natural circadian rhythm and the
movement of the sun, changing from blue to reddish undertones
over the course of the day. To keep the plants healthy the project
uses a hydroponic system, in which plants are held in place by
absorbent granules instead of soil. Grow lights with special LED
(Source: KHOOGJ)
(Source: KHOOGJ)
bulbs that mimic natural sunlight are integrated within the
recessed architectural lighting.
“What we’re trying to do is continue the essence of
experience from front of house to back of house. So you see
similar elements – the colour scheme, the plants – but pared
back. This raises the bank’s back of house benchmark,” said the
studio. “We’ve had really good responses from Citibank and
from their clients so far,” the studio said. “They’ve said this is
unlike any other wealth management hub they have seen.”
Studies have shown that access to green spaces, or even
pictures of nature, can benefit workers’ mental health and
improve performance in the office. As a result, a plethora of
plant-filled workplace interiors have sprung up over the past few
years, including this co-working space in Lisbon with over 1,000
potted plants and trees, while tropical flora provides privacy for
workers inside an office in Utrecht.
(Source: KHOOGJ)
(Source: dezeen.com & design-anthology.com)
September-October 2021 | www.b-i.biz 49