London-based global architecture and urban design studio PLP Architecture has set benchmarks for sustainability with its design for The Clifford. This 35-storey office tower features timber in three signature ‘floating boxes’, promising to redefine the skyline of Singapore’s Central Business District.
The project will transform the former Clifford Centre, a nearly 50- year-old building, into a triple Platinum-certified, high-performing workplace with hospitality, service, wellbeing, and community at its core.
The Clifford will be the first in Raffles Place to attain certifications under the Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Green Mark, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and the International WELL Building Institute. It is targeting the higher rating of Super Low Energy under BCA Green Mark Platinum, with projected energy savings of more than 40% compared with typical office developments.
PLP is the Design Architect for the project by Singapore Land Group Limited, which earlier unveiled details of the building. PLP, with offices in Singapore and Tokyo, is also responsible for the interior design, ensuring a unified visual language across the site.
The Clifford is conceived as a building of dual identity—rooted in the civic greenery of Raffles Green while simultaneously addressing the global ‘postcard view’ of Marina Bay. It will be the first development to provide dual downtown connectivity to the financial districts of Raffles Place and Marina Bay, as well as access to the Marina Bay waterfront via a second-storey link bridge.
Designed in three distinct sections, the Clifford will feature a podium at ground level, lower and upper office floors, and a distinctive crown at the top, offering sweeping views of Marina Bay. The use of cross-laminated timber in ‘floating boxes’ on each of its three sky terraces allows the building to reduce embodied carbon, introduce natural warmth into shared workspaces, and showcase how renewable materials can be incorporated into a premium Grade A office tower.
The three sky terraces, dedicated to Mind, Body, and Nourishment, will include amenities such as landscaped gardens, restaurants, and conference and meeting spaces. Positioned high above the city, they create shared social spaces that bring greenery into the workplace, supporting healthier and more collaborative ways of working.
Tina Qiu, Partner at PLP Architecture, said, “We are most excited with the design of The Clifford, our second major project in Singapore after the award-winning Park Nova. Singapore has high expectations for sustainability in new buildings. With The Clifford, we have been given a rare and exciting opportunity to create a building that positively reshapes the urban identity of the local area, placing health and wellbeing, sustainability, learning, and high-quality amenity at the heart of a 21st-century workplace.
“By weaving hospitality and workplace together, we can encourage a vibrant ecosystem that enhances daily working life while attracting visitors and reinforcing the building’s civic presence. Our vision for The Clifford is to create a building that contributes meaningfully to both the city’s skyline and street life.”
Ms Qiu added that the use of timber in the sky terraces significantly reduces embodied carbon and changes how the space feels. “When people step into those spaces, they immediately sense warmth and a connection to nature.”
Jonathan Eu, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore Land Group Limited, noted, “The Clifford reimagines the workplace as a hospitality-led experience, with service, care, and consistency at its core. As work continues to evolve, we believe the best workplaces are those that bring people together—enabling teams to connect, co-create, and thrive. Located in the heart of Raffles Place, The Clifford will offer best-in-class amenities and thoughtfully curated spaces, designed to support our tenants not just as occupants, but as long-term partners on a shared journey of growth.”
The Clifford will offer about 360,000 sq ft of premium Grade A office space across 21 floors, and 45,000 sq ft of retail, F&B, and wellness amenities, creating a live-work-play destination in the heart of Raffles Place. The ground-level podium will house a triple-height ‘Urban Living Room’ that extends the greenery of Raffles Place Park into the building, creating a welcoming civic space for tenants, workers, and visitors.
Internally, PLP Architecture has designed flexible, expansive floorplates to accommodate evolving tenant needs and agile ways of working. Multiple breakout areas, direct access to the sky terraces, and generous landscaping improve comfort, reduce environmental impact, and enhance a sense of community.
The Clifford marks PLP Architecture’s second major project in Singapore, following the completion of Park Nova, a biophilic luxury residential development near Orchard Road. Globally, it is behind some of the most notable projects in Europe and Asia including Bankside Yards, the UK’s first fossil-free, net zero mixed-used development, The Edge in Amsterdam, reputedly the world’s most sustainable office building, Parco Romana, an urban-scale redevelopment project in Milan’s Porta Romana district, and Tokyo Cross Park, one of Japan’s largest post-war urban renewal projects.
The Clifford is scheduled for completion in 2028.
Photo credit: Singapore Land Group Limited
