Thermal comfort, vital in Singapore’s tropical climate, was fine-tuned through computational fluid dynamics simulations and thermal modelling, applied not only to the Green Oasis but also to the City Room public plaza and the Market Street Hawker Centre. The latter, with its 56 stalls, required a delicate balance between rain protection, natural light and cross-ventilation, achieved through parametric design to optimise louvre angles and façade configurations. In the offices and serviced residences, the wall-to-window ratio was refined to admit generous daylight while limiting solar heat gain, reducing reliance on constant air-conditioning.

CapitaSpring’s commercial success has been swift, with more than 93% of its 673,000 square feet of workspace and retail net lettable area leased to tenants across finance, energy, law and technology, including J.P. Morgan, White & Case, Saxo Markets and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Yet it is the building’s 140% site coverage of greenery – over 90,000 square feet hosting some 80,000 plants from more than 130 species – that most clearly defines its character. This living infrastructure mitigates the urban heat island effect, improves air quality and offers daily contact with nature. Above the offices, Citadines Raffles Place Singapore provides 299 serviced apartments, from compact studios to loft-style two-bedroom units, while at the pinnacle, the Sky Garden unfolds as Singapore’s highest urban farm, created in collaboration with Edible Garden City. Divided into five themed gardens, including Mediterranean and Japanese potagers, it supplies seasonal produce directly to the building’s rooftop restaurants, Kaarla and Oumi.

The exterior of CapitaSpring – an interplay of orthogonal pin-striped fins within a refined aluminium frame – conceals terraces and communal spaces at multiple heights. Arup’s parametric analysis refined the façade to reduce wind-driven rain, maximise daylight and minimise solar gain. For the 35-metre-high Green Oasis façade, engineers integrated structural tiebacks into existing ramps, beams and columns, and designed a discreet monorail system for safe and efficient maintenance.

Inside, the building reflects the changing nature of work, dedicating around 10% of its office floors – over 69,000 square feet – to flexible environments. In partnership with The Work Project, three floors provide more than 1,500 workstations, meeting rooms, private offices and event spaces, enabling companies to expand or contract without disruption. The CapitaStar@Work mobile app allows tenants to reserve spaces and manage visitor access seamlessly.

Sustainability extends to mobility, with 165 bicycle parking bays, showers, end-of-trip facilities and electric vehicle charging points, including two rapid chargers. The building connects directly into Singapore’s pedestrian and cycling network via wider pavements, a dedicated 600-metre cycling lane and sheltered links to nearby developments and transport hubs. From a delivery perspective, CapitaSpring is Singapore’s first integrated development to adopt large-scale prefabricated mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, increasing productivity by up to 54%, while Building Information Modelling streamlined coordination and reduced material waste.

At street level, the City Room offers a shaded public plaza for events and gatherings, adjoining a new 12,500-square-foot urban park. Here, public art and audiovisual infrastructure provide a platform for cultural programming, curated by a dedicated Community Ambassador – another first for CapitaLand.

CapitaSpring’s achievement lies in its ability to weave together the commercial, the cultural, the natural and the technological into a single vertical organism. Through Arup’s ingenuity in biophilic design, environmental performance and occupant comfort, the tower demonstrates how cities can grow upwards without losing touch with the human need for light, air and greenery – a blueprint for a cooler, greener and more liveable urban future, rooted firmly in the skyline of Singapore.