When it is completed in 2025, Shaw Tower will help to anchor the downtown city centre as a work-play-live destination. The new project by Shaw Organisation will reimagine and further establish the Beach Road area with its iconic elements, first-class certifications for health, wellness, sustainability and digital connectivity, as well as efficient and flexible office layouts.Raymond Chan, managing director of Shaw Group of companies, believes that the new Shaw Tower reflects Singapore’s amazing progress and its aspirations for the future. Shaw Tower will not only be an important contributor to the wider community, but will also renew the physical make-up of JCube Residence the asset.With its emphasis on amenities, health and wellness certification, environmental impact, high occupancy rates and a shortfall in new office space, Shaw Tower is expected to be a boon to the Beach Road area when it is completed in 2025.Raymond Chan, managing director of Shaw Group of companies, says that the new Shaw Tower reflects Singapore’s amazing progress and its aspirations for the future. He adds that Shaw Tower will not only be an important contributor to the wider community, but will also be able to renew the physical make-up of the asset.

When the original Shaw Tower on Beach Road was completed in 1975, it boasted of having the largest cinema in Singapore, operated by Shaw Organisation. The brutalist architecture of the 35-storey tower reflected the growing confidence of the city-state, 10 years after it became an independent republic.

Fast forward to the present, Shaw Organisation announced its intention to redevelop the building and the last tenants vacated the space in 2020 before it was demolished.

Shaw Tower will join other upcoming projects in the vicinity such as Guoco Midtown by GuocoLand and The M by Wing Tai Holdings. New landmark developments that started the rejuvenation of the area include South Beach by City Developments and DUO by M+S.

Speaking at the launch of the new Shaw Tower show suite, Raymond Chan, managing director, Shaw Group of companies, noted that “the new (Shaw Tower) heralds the rejuvenation of the Ophir/Rochor Road corridor and the transformation of Singapore’s downtown core into a work-play-live district”.

“We believe that this new Shaw Tower reflects the amazing progress (Singapore) has achieved and its aspirations for what lies ahead,” says Chan.

Although the former Shaw Tower has been demolished, iconic elements of the former building will be reused in the new development. For example, some of the brutalist architecture window panels will be reused for the retail podium and the nearly 50-year-old Shaw Brothers logo will have a prominent permanent fixture at the new forecourt plaza on the ground floor.

“Beyond the visual heritage elements, our commitment (to the former building’s heritage) extends to preserving the original building’s position as a vital hub in the neighbourhood,” Chan adds.

Shaw Organisation has appointed Lendlease to oversee the construction of the new Shaw Tower, as well as manage the new asset when it is completed in 2025. The new development will comprise a 33-storey tower with 435,000 sq ft Grade A office space and a five-storey retail podium that includes 21,500 sq ft of community-centric facilities.

Four office floors will be dedicated to social enterprise firms and social service agencies. According to Chan, this is a nod to the group’s long-standing philanthropic priorities.

The rooftop of the new tower will feature a restaurant and garden, a sky deck on the 20th floor and a sky garden on the 19th floor, as well as a landscaped sky terrace on the roof of the podium. Between them will be two separate office sections. A high zone between the 21st and 31st floors and a lower zone from the 7th to the 18th floor. The typical office floor plate in the high zone will have a net lettable area of about 20,000 sq ft while the average office floor plate in the lower zone will be about 18,000 sq ft.

“The original building deployed the relatively new technology of the time, air-conditioning, to provide comfort and encourage productivity. The new Shaw Tower has been planned to be sustainable and healthier for people inside,” says Chan.

Shaw Tower has already achieved notable sustainability, wellness and digital connectivity certifications. It is the first Grade A commercial building in Singapore to receive the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum (Super Low Energy) certification and the first building to achieve the Wiredscore Platinum award. It is also Singapore’s first high-rise Grade A commercial building under development to be pre-certified by the International WELL Building Institute for its focus on well-being and health. The project is also an ABC Waters Certified Project by Singapore’s Public Utilities Board for its planned landscaped gardens on the podium section, as well as two biophilic-designed sky terraces.

Alfred Yeung, general manager of Shaw Towers Realty, explains that the organisation had an aspiration that the new building would be an important contributor to the wider community, and they see the new development as a continuation of the former building’s journey.

Lendlease was the natural choice to partner in the redevelopment. Richard Paine, head of development, Singapore at Lendlease, states that the office layouts will be efficient and flexible spaces with full city views and a side core configuration for more efficient space planning. This includes a 3m ceiling height and column-free floor plates. There are also multiple knock-out panels on the floor which gives tenants the flexibility for staircase connections between floors.

Chris Archibald, head of leasing at JLL Singapore, adds that in a post-pandemic environment, employers are concern about how they can attract employees back into the office. “As a result, about 90% of the decision makers we talk to are all about the amenities for their employees, this could be facilities for health and wellness, food and retail, and transport connectivity”.

Shaw is keen to work closely with developers like GuocoLand, which is developing the neighbouring integrated project Guoco Midtown, to enhance the pedestrian network throughout the area. “We are so pleased that GuocoLand is also keen to work with us to build a better community for the area,” says Yeung.

Shaw Tower is expected to be a boon to the Beach Road area when it is completed in 2025. It will help to anchor the downtown city centre as a work-play-live destination, with its iconic elements, first-class certifications for health, wellness, sustainability and digital connectivity, as well as efficient and flexible office layouts.

With its emphasis on amenities, health and wellness certification, environmental impact, high occupancy rates and a shortfall in new office space, Shaw Tower is expected to be a game-changer for the area.

When it is completed in 2025, Shaw Tower will help to reinforce the downtown area as an attractive mixed-use district. Tenants will be keen to be located there due to its prime location, high-quality office space, certification for health, wellness, sustainability and digital connectivity, and ample amenities for employees.

Shaw Tower will be a timely addition to the local Grade A office supply, buoyed by a shortfall in new office space that is expected to persist for the next two or three years. This, in turn, will help drive up Grade A office rents in the central area over the next few years.

The new project by Shaw Organisation will reimagine and further establish the Beach Road area, positioning it as the desired destination for businesses, employees and the wider community.