Flying the local flag

SINGAPORE - Sometimes, you do not need a starchitect.

Amid Singapore's crowded skyline of Moshe Safdie, Daniel Libeskind and Zaha Hadid designs, home-grown firm CPG Corporation has quietly built up a repertoire of iconic buildings over 180 years.

As the firm celebrates its 180th anniversary this year, its president and chief executive officer Khew Sin Khoon tells Life!: "We know that having foreign architects on board projects sounds like a sexier idea. And they do bring a lot of ideas, which is good for Singapore as we strive to be a world city."

That said, Mr Khew, 54, adds: "We do everything from building park toilets to bus stops to hospitals. Most people probably won't notice our work because these buildings are used every day, but we like to say that we care for Singaporeans' needs from cradle to grave."

Indeed, flipping through a commemorative book published this year detailing the firm's long history, you will find evidence of CPG Corporation living up to its origins as the national architect.

Set up in the 19th century, way before Singapore's independence, the company's projects have since included iconic structures here such as Changi Airport's Terminals 1, 2 and 3, the National Museum of Singapore and the upcoming National Art Gallery.

Often, they work in collaboration with foreign architects as the local partner for projects.

Aside from monuments, it also built many of Singapore's first roads, bridges and public buildings, such as the Central Expressway (1991); the first permanent television studio on Caldecott Hill (1966); Singapore's first junior college, National Junior College (1969); and the National Stadium (1973).

CPG Corporation did not have a glitzy start. Back in 1833, it was conceived as the Public Works and Convicts Department, formed by Irish civil architect George Drumgoole Coleman, who was its first superintendent. It first used Indian convicts to build early public roads, buildings and bridges.

The department was formally established as the Public Works Department of Singapore (PWD) in 1946, about a year after the Japanese left Singapore following the end of World War II.

It remained a government agency until 1999, when it was acquired by Temasek Holdings and became PWD Corporation. In 2002, it was renamed CPG Corporation.

A year later, it became part of the Downer EDI Group, an Australian company, which provides engineering and infrastructure management services across Australia and countries in the Asia Pacific region. Downer EDI had bought it for $131 million.

Last year, the company was sold for A$147 million ($172.8 million) to China Architecture Design and Research Group.

The home-grown firm is one of the few Singapore firms which offer a multitude of services ranging from urban planning and architecture to engineering, project management and construction management to facilities management.

Moving from a public department to a private company was a challenge, says Mr Khew. From being the go-to architect for national projects, the firm had to bid just as aggressively as other firms, with innovative designs and competitive budgets.

"We couldn't depend on a steady pipeline of projects because the market was opening up and we anticipated a tsunami of competition.

"We had to show our mettle and how our designs could hold up against others. Nothing came to us directly."

Banking on its expertise built up through the years, the firm decided to branch out overseas, first to China. Today, it has seven offices overseas, including in India, Vietnam, Macau, the Philippines and Dubai.

Mr Khew says politicians from other countries, in particular from developing countries, would ask which architect was behind these projects when they visited Singapore.

This has led to major overseas projects. Among them, the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport Expansion in Ethiopia, which will be completed in 2015.

There are also urban planning projects in China, such as a development in Xiamen at Zhongshan Gong Yuan Station and a masterplan for Ping An district in Shanghai Feng Xian.

"They came to us because they could not get builders to produce the similar standard of work that we were doing or how we planned our projects. Quality never goes out of fashion," adds the CEO.

He credits the firm's longevity in a competitive industry to its large size. With about 2,000 staff in Singapore and 257 abroad, the firm is not helmed by a single, bigwig architect.

"There's no founder in the firm. You tend to see that with smaller firms, once the founder leaves, the practice somehow dies a natural death because there's no one person dictating how projects should be designed," says Mr Khew. "I think we have a certain credibility and reliability that comes with having done so many public buildings for this long."

Indeed, Dr Nirmal Tulsidas Kishnani, 51, senior lecturer and programme director at the National University of Singapore's architecture department, says CPG's works have had a "profound impact" on Singapore's cityscape.

Dr Kishnani joined the firm in 1988 and stayed for 19 years, witnessing the firm's transition from a public agency to a corporate entity. "It was an amazing firm to work at," he recalls. "As a young architect, with stars in your eyes, you had the freedom to design from your heart.

"But even after it moved on from being the Government's in-house design consultant, it has done well and produced notable projects, such as the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital."

Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) president Theodore Chan, 53, says that CPG's influence cannot be ignored, even if it takes a backseat to foreign consultants.

He says of CPG, which has won two SIA awards, among others, for its redevelopment of the Central Fire Station and the Asian Civilisations Museum: "There's always an emphasis on the foreign consultants... That's just the way the developers choose to work.

"But it's the local counterpart such as CPG who also has the astute vision to see through the projects. It has created many iconic landmarks here that are huge projects in itself."

Designing public amenities such as the Chek Jawa Wetlands at Pulau Ubin and a ward in the KK Women's and Children's Hospital also taught the company a thing or two about creating buildings with "understated elegance", says Mr Khew.

He adds: "A building that looks ostentatious is not ideal because you're dealing with public money. Of course, it can't be shoddy work, but you have to find the balance between a quality work and a good-looking building. That's the challenge."

He has been at the firm for 29 years, starting as an architect after graduating from NUS in 1984 and working his way up to become CEO last year.

While CPG's portfolio is chock-full with big projects, Mr Khew says he is most proud of the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in Yishun.

Since it was completed in 2010, the hospital has won numerous awards for its design including the prestigious President's Design Award and Singapore Institute of Architects Building of the Year, both in 2011.

The hospital is often lauded for its extensive greenery, which tries to replicate the look of a rainforest with its unmanicured trees and organic plant growth.

He credits the hospital's group chief executive officer of Alexandra Health System Liak Teng Lit for pushing the design beyond "the usual convention of hospital design" as he wanted to bring a garden concept into the hospital.

Mr Khew, who is particularly interested in marrying architecture and the natural environment, says: "We needed a maverick like him to push our architects to another level beyond just designing a regular-looking hospital.

"Weak-minded architects would have walked away because it would have been too hard."

As with most architecture, some of CPG's work has divided public opinion. For example, the Supreme Court complex drew criticism from respected local architect Tay Kheng Soon, who called its flying saucer-like look "appalling" in a letter to The Straits Times Forum in 2002.

But Mr Khew says: "That's the beauty of the industry. Looks are subjective and there's no fixed answer to what is the best design. We take it in our stride... We don't have to have 100 per cent support all the time."

Going forward, Mr Khew is toying with the idea of the firm becoming a property developer - if only, to experiment with architectural prototypes for future projects.

"We could look at how to create better zero-energy buildings or high-rise farming. In a commercialised world, this would never happen because the developer is always thinking about how he can sell the property.

"That's a faraway dream for now, but it's something that could happen eventually."

natashaz@sph.com.sg

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