Situated at the heart of a sprawling public park, the SAFRA Caicuo Port Club serves as a leisure hub offering a wide range of fitness and wellness activities for national servicemen and their families. Facilities include a swimming pool, a five-a-side football field, karaoke rooms, and a spa center. The clubhouse’s architecture is striking and distinctive, embodying the spirit of fitness through bold design elements—ranging from oversized trusses to prefabricated painted concrete arches that symbolize unity and strength.
Beneath this robust exterior lies a lively natural and cultural community, connected by a central main road that runs through the park. The design achieves a seamless blend between nature and fitness, breathing new energy into the community and revitalizing its spirit.
The clubhouse’s layout and program are thoughtfully arranged, guided not only by internal logic related to hierarchy and function but also by external factors such as visual accessibility and spatial connectivity. Positioned within the park, the design leverages its location to create an open, porous public space that merges the surrounding greenery with the building itself.
Intentionally oriented towards the park, the building invites the natural landscape and outdoor activities into its design, forming a verdant central courtyard that brings the outdoors inside. To further enhance openness, the swimming pool is elevated into the tree canopy, freeing the ground level for direct park access. This design allows visitors to enjoy panoramic views of the park from above while the pool seamlessly integrates with the surrounding foliage.
The “Life Ladder,” located next to the central courtyard, acts as the vertical core of the project. It connects the clubhouse’s fitness facilities and links the park’s running path with the fourth-floor aerial walkway. Symbolizing dynamic movement, it encourages visitors to climb 100 steps, breaking the traditional notion that fitness and parks are restricted to ground level.
This element bridges diverse spaces—public and private, horizontal and vertical—infusing the club with unique energy and enthusiasm. The interior’s spacious areas are distributed along the building’s extended wings to maximize natural light and cross ventilation. Within air-conditioned spaces, high-performance double-glazed glass reduces heat transfer, significantly enhancing energy efficiency.
Beyond passive design strategies, SAFRA CCK incorporates green technologies and sustainable building practices to optimize energy use. These include an efficient water-cooled chiller, a fully automated intelligent irrigation system harvesting rainwater, rooftop photovoltaic panels, and energy-saving lighting.
During construction, environmentally friendly materials such as green concrete and recycled steel were used, reducing carbon emissions per unit area by 23%. Achieving an overall energy savings of 42.7%—equivalent to 1,890 megawatt-hours—the project earned the Green Mark Platinum Level – Ultra Low Energy Certification from the Singapore Construction Authority.
This accolade highlights the club’s dedication to harmonious coexistence with nature, emphasizing its role as a sustainable, thoughtfully designed space that prioritizes residents’ well-being in every aspect.
Project Drawings
△ General layout plan
△ First floor plan
△ Second floor plan
△ Third floor plan
△ Fourth floor plan
△ Fifth floor plan
△ Section diagrams
△ Elevation drawings
Project Information
Architect: DP Architects Pte Ltd
Area: 19,700 m²
Project Year: 2023
Photographer: DP Architects
Principal Architect: Ng San Son
Project Manager: Tan Kok Ming
Architectural Design: Jireh Lee, Nigel Chew
Quantity Surveyor: Northcroft Lim Consultants Pte Ltd
Landscape Design: DP Green Pte Ltd
Main Contractor: Hytech Builders Pte Ltd
Location: Singapore
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