The 268 Orchard Road project is benchmarked as a grade A shopping centre to attract high-end retailers and shoppers.

In order to stand-out amongst the other bigger malls along Orchard Road, the client envisioned the development as the jewel of Orchard Road.

To realize this vision, the design team proposed a special and innovative glass building that would sparkle. The building is the first in Singapore to utilize a system of double glazed units, structural extruded stainless steel SS 315LN mullions with tension cable net. This system was proposed to eliminate columns within the building interiors, ensuring limited obstruction visually and physically and creating a versatile retail tenancy layout. The transparency of glass and the slenderness of the mullions at 80x150mm and cables optimized the visual engagement of shoppers with Orchard Road. Inspired by the glass pyramids of “the Louvre” in Paris, the building’s main features are the three tilted glass boxes cascading down towards Orc hard Road. Tilting the glass boxes created a panoramic view of Orchard Road from within, despite the site’s narrow frontage.

The selection for the type of glass was crucial in achieving the intended transparent image of the building. Being a glass building in tropical Singapore was a challenge that it must comply with the Authority requirements on ETTV/RTTV and glare factor. Collaborative studies on sun-shading, high performance low-e coating and various frit patterns were explored to ascertain the optimized transparency of the glass facade was achieved. The glass boxes are also equipped with a sophisticated fire protection and smoke control system, comprising of smoke / flame detectors, fog- jet / spiral sprinklers, fire curtains, smoke curtains and vents. Due to the provision of this fire protection system, the structural stainless steel mullions were allowed to be left in its original condition. The natural beauty of the stainless steel marked the structural supports of the 3 glass boxes without the need for cladding or any painting for fire-proofing.