Marking a strategic milestone for the practice, PLP Architecture celebrates the completion of Park Nova on Orchard Boulevard – a sculptural, 21-storey vertical garden that integrates 32,000 square metres of greenery to redefine luxury living and climate-responsive design in South East Asia.
Global architecture and urban design practice PLP Architecture marks a defining moment with the completion of Park Nova, a sculptural luxury residential tower on Singapore’s prestigious Orchard Boulevard. The milestone coincides with the launch of the practice’s new website and brand evolution, reflecting its expanding international presence and forward-thinking ethos.
Park Nova is PLP Architecture’s first completed building in South East Asia and signals a significant step in the practice’s regional growth. Designed for leading developer Shun Tak Holdings and delivered in collaboration with local Singapore architects P&T Group, the 21-storey building comprises 54 full-floor residences, each oriented towards one of three expansive views across the Singapore skyline.
Conceived as a vertical garden, the scheme integrates approximately 32,000 square metres of greenery, including over 195 trees, 50,000 shrubs and 35 plant species. Six years in the making, it sets a new benchmark for biophilic design in high-density urban environments.
The building’s organic form draws inspiration from the motion of a butterfly in flight, a reference both to the site’s history as a former nutmeg orchard and to the dynamic geometry of the structure. Undulating balconies shift from floor to floor, ensuring each residence has a unique external garden space.
These sculptural balconies extend up to three metres from the façade, reducing solar radiation by around 70% compared to conventional flat elevations. This passive approach enables the use of clear glazing, preserving natural daylight without tinting or reflective coatings.
Biophilia sits at the heart of the project. Working closely with local collaborators and planning authorities, PLP Architecture secured approval for deeper planting zones than typically permitted, a first at this scale in Singapore. The building’s structure further supports its environmental strategy, with three residential wings arranged around a central core, forming an internal atrium that promotes cross-ventilation and reduces reliance on mechanical cooling.
Elevated 17 metres above ground, the residences sit above the surrounding tree canopy, ensuring uninterrupted views and airflow. Planting is carefully choreographed to frame vistas, filter noise and enhance privacy, while expansive terraces extend living spaces outward.
Supported by research from PLP Labs, PLP Architecture’s in-house consultancy, Park Nova demonstrates the measurable value of biophilic design in enhancing wellbeing and residential quality.
“Arrival at Park Nova is designed as a transition from city to sanctuary; landscape, architecture and privacy come together from the very first moment.”
Tina Qiu, Partner at PLP Architecture
“Park Nova is a validation of an ambition to create a building that translates a set of values we think are important to architecture: designing in response to climate, making nature inseparable from the interior, and creating something that could only exist within a specific location and context. It’s a one-of-a-kind building in Singapore,” says Lee Polisano, President and Founding Partner of PLP Architecture.
All images: PLP Architecture
