Moshe Safdie Is At It Again: Singapore's 'Sky Habitat' Stands In Slow Housing Market

If you can’t find a lavish garden paradise to call home, then take your lofty ideals and build something miraculous out of thin air. Moshe Safdie did it— his architectural empire is exactly constructed creating castles in the sky, that value at S$8 billion in the case of Marina Bay Sands. More significantly, his groundbreaking brilliance (albeit a true miracle is to transform impoverishment) seems sturdily rooted in his intention to uplift the masses by addressing unresolved urban issues.

Typical of Safdie, Singapore’s “Sky habitat” is daring, too: it dares to sell in a slow housing market and encourages locals to move outside their comfort zone.

Singapore was ranked one of the weakest housing markets tracked by Knight Frank–51st out of 53, among Ukraine and Greece. Finance Minister, Heng Swee Keat, said in his first budget speech on Thursday that it is premature to ease property market curbs but the government will closely monitor market change.

Since citizens will not buy, cooling measures can prevent foreign buyers from taking advantage of low interest rates. Knight Frank cites Singapore as the second-most expensive city to buy a luxury home in Asia–though home prices have dropped for nine quarters, the longest stretch out of 17 years.

In a cool market, top property agents earn 66% more than the average Singaporean.

The general economy is not doing particularly well. A Gallup survey shows that worker disengagement costs Singapore up to billions of dollars in productivity while the Straits Times reports that Singapore is number 1 for longest working hours in the world.

According to the Department of Statistics, the lowest 30% and top 10% of Singapore saw the fastest real income growth in 2015—though the wages have grown at a larger rate than productivity has.

Enter Moshe Safdie, and his 2015 Sky Habitat—local loft prices have reportedly appreciated, but only time will tell if Sky Habitat can inspire local buyers, and revitalize them for workplace productivity.

Safdie transforms: he turns densely populated, fast-paced, chaotic city metropolises into breathable spaces that welcome nature, congregation, and reflective peace.

Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands, Israel’s Yad Vashem, and the United States Institute of Peace Headquarters in Washington, D.C. are in some cases literal headquarters for peace, and in other instances spacious buildings—nevertheless they all inspire awe where there could have been struggle to breath, to survive, and to experience comfort among a claustrophobic tangle of fellow human beings

At 7,988 people per square kilometer, Singapore has the third greatest population density, and should benefit from reduced claustrophobia. As well as Safdie’s faculty for transforming restricted space, Sky Habitat is in a decentralized region, Bishan; this contributes to the government’s efforts to make fuller use of the Island.

The government is attracting people away from congested localities like Orchard Road by supporting developments spanning towards Jurong (west side) and East Coast. Plans are underway for an underground transit line to run downtown, making commute easier.

Famed architect, Zaha Hadid, built an upper-middle class unit, D’Leedon in a less populated region, Holland Village, in 2014. Sky Habitat is commissioned by the same developer, CapitaLand , to build up the Bishan area.

Buyers complained that Sky Habitat launched as Singapore's most expensive suburban condominium, averaging from $1,747 per square foot (psf) for a one-bedder to $1,642 psf for a four-bedder. Two years later sales relaunched with cutbacks by 10-15%.

Sky Habitat is supposed to be the 2015 rendition of a dream for miraculous change that targets upper middle-class residents. It is inspired by “Habitat 67” which first launched Safdie’s career, originating as his Mcgill student thesis. Montreal’s “Habitat 67” is a landmark intended to cost-effectively upgrade living standards for middle-class urbanites. It is impressive for Safdie’s relative age and inexperience, but was costlier than intended and corrosive according to reports of water seeping into concrete and mould into ventilation.

Sky Habitat's high outdoor bridges allow natural ventilation; multiple orientations towards the sun invite natural light; steeped geometry enables private balconies for many units, outdoor terraces and gardens; and the presence of glass walls and ceiling-less structure creates an infiniteness to available space.

Where Habitat 67 falls short, Safdie’s Bishan building is another gamble in a career precedented by risk. It is also another community-centric design.

“The concept of ‘streets in the air,’ community spaces which link diverse towers, offers SkyHabitat residents a wide range of amenities on various levels including the park bridges at level 14 and level 26, and the sky pool atop the building at level 38. Other community facilities, party rooms and gymnasia are clustered around those roots.” says Safdie.

Safdie continuously seems to trust that if community values remain at heart, challenge will come to pay off; this time his design sells in an unpopular area during a weak housing market. He is persuading Singaporeans to trust choosing risk, too.

There is no certainty that the money-making risk-taker with a heart for community will inspire Singaporeans to resurge their slowing economy. No matter the details, hopefully more people can continue to experience greater feelings of peace, security, and energizing connection that they are home in big cities.