Targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021, Rochester Commons is set to become the first campus-style integrated development in Singapore. It covers 2.4 ha of area, offering an office tower, a hotel and 12 heritage bungalows, as well as Southeast Asia’s first shared executive learning centre, Catapult.
Built in line with the Singapore government’s vision for a world-class learning ecosystem in one-north, the approximately 400,000 sq ft project is developed and managed by CapitaLand. The hotel component will be operated by CapitaLand’s lodging arm The Ascott Limited under the Citadines Connect brand.
The 17-storey Grade A office tower features over 200,000 sq ft of core and flex working spaces. CapitaLand said corporates can choose from column-free large floor plates spanning 22,500 sq ft per floor, or in one of the seven heritage bungalows that have been conserved and converted into workspaces.
Designed by Gensler, the integrated development will be connected via an approximately 1,200 ft green trail, interspersed with a sky garden, viewing decks, event spaces and meeting pods for the community. With its eco-friendly features, Rochester Commons has clinched the Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority’s highest accolade, the Green Mark Platinum award.
There will also be a variety of F&B establishments, plus outdoor social areas that incorporate a multi-purpose outdoor court named ’Common Ground’, where executives can take part in curated community events.
Rochester Commons’ purpose-built executive learning centre - Catapult - is designed to deliver training programmes in an experiential and immersive way using the latest learning technologies. It aims to groom executives for leadership agility, with future-ready skills relevant in a regional and global context.
Catapult will feature technologies such as virtual and augmented reality and also neuroscience principles adopting immersive learning approaches, some of which are already on trial at Catapult’s showroom at the Bridge+ coworking space in Ascent building at Singapore Science Park 1. The centrepiece is a 180-degree immersive screen which facilitates shared virtual reality viewing experience during workshops as well as expanded virtual conferencing capabilities.
According to CapitaLand, Rochester Commons will provide a single digital identity access that allows executives to easily move through the entire development via facial recognition, QR code scanning or access cards. Rochester Commons will also deploy a cloud-based intelligent building platform, which allows the property manager to draw insights using energy and space usage data to optimise building functions for occupiers’ comfort.
Tan Yew Chin, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore said, “Located in Singapore’s renowned research and knowledge hub one-north, where CapitaLand already has a strong presence, Rochester Commons further strengthens and diversifies the group’s offerings to support the hub-and-spoke and core-and-flex workspace needs of companies in the Covid-19 new normal. As a unique campus-style integrated development, Rochester Commons will further complement CapitaLand’s real estate ecosystem and increase our competitive advantage.”
He added, “As companies and individuals adapt to the post Covid-19 environment, executive education and reskilling will be increasingly important. Catapult at Rochester Commons is well-positioned to cater to this demand with programmes that focus on leadership development and grooming of talent for regional and senior roles. More than just a standalone learning facility, Catapult is designed to facilitate cross-learning and networking in a state-of-the-art campus. Catapult will also feature an online platform where learners and knowledge providers can learn, co-create and innovate for the future economy.”
Images: CapitaLand
