Sky Green: A New Standard in Green Building Design

Heng Sheng's Award-Winning Design Merges Nature with Urban Living

Reflection and the melding of nature with man-made structures serve as key inspirations for this design. The use of glass and polished titanium adds a sense of height and endlessness, while the undulating polished ceiling of the pool area reflects both figuratively and literally the waves and motion of water, illustrating the concept of natural flow. The design also incorporates organic forms, bringing natural elements into the space.

Sky Green, a joint project between Golden Jade Development and WOHA Singapore, brings the future of green buildings to Taiwan. The design integrates living outdoor greenery with contemporary design, creating a quiet green oasis in the midst of the bustling concrete jungle outside. Glass, mirrored surfaces, and polished titanium discretely heighten and expand these public spaces, while merging into nature.

The public areas are on the main floor, so bringing natural light into the spaces was key. The spaces feature polished light grey/white marble, titanium, & glass in areas with less access to natural light, while the library, with ample lighting features, wood, leather, and warm beige tones directly adjacent to large picture windows overlooking an outdoor garden/lounge area with bamboo grove. The pool area also brings nature into the space with rough-hewn granite walls and living greenery.

The public spaces include the lobby, common room, library, and swimming pool in total of 1952 square meters size. The design was completed in November 2019 in Taichung City, Taiwan. The project was a joint cooperative between Golden Jade Development & WOHA Singapore creating a green building with an external skin-like layer of greenery. Research was conducted into the types of climbing vines, in addition to bamboo, that would thrive on the trellises. Also considering the care and maintenance of the green space, research revealed 8 specific types of plants would be appropriate for this project in this sub-tropic environment.

In order to create the living external layer while not harming the building structure, externally mounted trellises were needed in some cases. Beveled aluminum mesh trellises solved construction limitations as aluminum is light-weight, no-corrosive, and quickly dissipates heat, making it the perfect choice for supporting the greenery. Also, in the public spaces, some areas have support beams, lowering the headroom, mirrored ceilings expand the feeling of height.

The design was awarded Silver in A' Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Award in 2021. Silver A' Design Award is rewarded to top-of-the-line, creative, and professionally remarkable designs that illustrate outstanding expertise and innovation. These designs, admired for their strong technical characteristics and splendid artistic skill, showcase a remarkable level of excellence and introduce positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.