Singapore's Republic Polytechnic has been honoured with a President's Design Award, considered the pinnacle of achievement in the Singapore design sector.
In their fourth year of operation, the President's Design Awards recognise excellence across all design disciplines, including fashion, architecture and urban design, advertising and visual communications, furniture, interior design, landscape, product and industrial design.
The President's Design Awards are conferred by the President of the Republic of Singapore, and are jointly administered by the
DesignSingapore Council and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Beca takes a share in the Republic Polytechnic's success, having provided engineering design services for the multi-award winning facility. According to the judges, "this project brings a clear rational solution to a difficult sloping site… handled with authority and masterful control."
Completed in 2006,
Republic Polytechnic's 20-hectare Woodlands campus has facilities to cater for up to 13,000 students. Designed jointly by Fumihiko Maki and DP Architects, the Republic Polytechnic features a number of innovative spaces including the Agora, named after the place of assembly and information exchange in the communities of Ancient Greece.
"RP" as it is affectionately known is centred around 11 identical eight-storey learning pods, unified by two elliptical decks of common facilities, one of which is the Agora.