Greenest Shophouse In Town

FROM THE OUTSIDE, there is nothing to indicate that the Duxton Road office of HKS Asia Pacific Design Consulting looks any different from a conventional shophouse office. But the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) thinks differently, because it just awarded HKS the Gold Plus status in the Green Mark Award for Office Interior. This is the first time that a shophouse has been awarded this status.

When the global design firm - which opened its office in Singapore two and a half years ago - was looking for a location, they sought an office space that would be unique to Singapore - namely its shophouses.

"A shophouse was the perfect solution for us, offering a building distinctly integrated into Singapore's historic fabric with a style befitting our company standards, because the shophouse layout is more like a design studio and less like a typical work environment," says Angela Lee, its principal and regional director for Asia Pacific.