While having world-renowned architects design private residential projects may help boost sales, market watchers believe that location and pricing are still the key considerations for home buyers, reported Channel NewsAsia.
The 38-storey Sky Habitat at Bishan Central is the latest designer condominium to be completed in Singapore, with buyers collecting the keys to their apartments in April. The development is designed by Moshie Safdie, the Canadian architect who is also responsible for Marina Bay Sands, The Edge on Cairnhill and Ardmore Park.
“From the visit by Moshe earlier, you could see that residents actually pop by and say, ‘Hey, that’s Moshe’. One quick-thinking resident got his brochure and even his autograph and shook his hand, so I think the recognition for these star architects is quite apparent,” said Eng Tiang Wah, vice president for Design Management (Residential) at CapitaLand Singapore.
Sky Habitat is not the only project by CapitaLand to involve big designer names. The Pritzker Architecture Prize’s first female winner, Zaha Hadid, designed d’Leedon at Farrer Road.
Market watchers noted that big property developers are usually the ones tapping star architects since they have deeper pockets, although they may have other reasons for wanting to add that star element.
“If you have a very prime location, very near to Orchard Road or Paterson Road for instance, that project may not really need top-end architects to design it because the main selling point is the location,” said Nicholas Mak, executive director for Research & Consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants.
“At the same time, for a mass-market suburban condominium, the developer may also not hire a top-end architect because the buyers of such mass market condos are quite price sensitive and they just want value for money.
“Most of the iconic architecture tends to be within the city fringe area and they may want to command a price higher than other competing projects within the neighbourhood,” he added.
When asked whether CapitaLand will hire top designers for its other projects, the developer remained coy on the prospect, saying it would have to look into the “value-add” of the projects and the “right potential” for the sites.
Nonetheless, Safdie said: “Like anywhere, there are opportunities. It takes a good client, a good architect – you never get a good project without a good client and the good client needs the good architect. And when there is good planning by the city, that is a winning combination.”
Image: Sky Habitat by CapitaLand.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
