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Midtown Modern: Inviting nature into the home within the city


Slated for completion in 2025, Midtown Modern comprises 558 residential units across two blocks of 30-storey apartments with retail units on the first storey (Credit: GuocoLand)

Midtown Modern is envisaged to embody a green oasis within Singapore’s city centre. Located along Tan Quee Lan Street, the development boasts 1ha of greenery and landscaped areas that are made to look as natural as possible, showcasing over 186 plant species. Dedicated zones feature plants that emulate three seasons — spring, summer and autumn.

Developer GuocoLand has designed the greenery at Midtown Modern to emulate a wild forest, drawing ideas from a wide variety of natural landscapes. At the lap pool, for instance, trees are planted close to the pool’s edge, mimicking a dense canopy of trees growing along the sides of a riverbank.

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As a result of the development’s all-rounded excellence, it clinched seven awards — Landscape Excellence, Innovation Excellence, Marketing Excellence, Mixed-use Development Excellence, Top Development, Layout Excellence, and People’s Choice — at the annual EdgeProp Excellence Awards (EPEA) 2021 Ceremony held on Nov 24, emerging as the top winner out of all other entries.

“The ‘Gardens in the Woods’ urban sanctuary concept at Midtown Modern includes perennial gardens, woodlands, great lawn, wetlands, and ponds — in the midst of the buzzling city — complete with sustainable and biophilic designs,” says Ong Choon Fah, board member of Edmund Tie Holdings, and one of the five judges for the EPEA 2021 awards.


The landscaping at Midtown Modern is made to look as natural as possible, with dedicated zones boasting plants that emulate the three seasons of spring, summer and autumn (Credit: GuocoLand)

Accessibility and flexibility

Slated for completion in 2025, Midtown Modern comprises 558 residential units across two blocks of 30-storey apartments with retail units on the first storey. Situated right above Bugis MRT Interchange on the Downtown and East-West Lines, the development offers accessibility to its residents.

From Midtown Modern, homeowners can walk to establishments like Suntec City, Marina Square, and Millenia Walk via sheltered walkways, and further out to Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay through the Helix Bridge.

“By being directly above Bugis MRT Interchange, residents also have easy access [via the Downtown and East-West Lines] to top schools along Bukit Timah, top universities and polytechnics as well as key job centres like Tanjong Pagar and Raffles Place in the CBD and Changi Business Park, Paya Lebar Regional Centre, one-north Business Park and Jurong Lake District,” says GuocoLand.


The Tea House, overlooking a lily pond, is fitted with low furniture for tea appreciation (Credit: GuocoLand)

Unit layouts have been designed to be flexible, accommodating different preferences. For instance, the kitchen area is easily enclosable for homeowners who wish to keep their kitchen separate from their living area. The kitchen also features a magnetic wall, which residents can use to place cooking recipes or install a metal rack to hold their devices.

GuocoLand has also selected engineered tiles for easy maintenance, as opposed to marble flooring which requires more care.

The living and dining areas are designed to be regular in shape, so that residents have the option to convert them into other uses.


Residents can gather and watch movies at the Play Pavilion (Credit: GuocoLand)

The developer has specially designed a two-bedder offering with an additional storage room, which can also be used as a living area. This would allow families to purchase such a two-bedroom unit, live in the CBD, and yet have sufficient storage space, says GuocoLand.

“Midtown Modern caters to the emerging lifestyle, by embracing living well and working from anywhere. As part of the mixed-use Guoco Midtown, residents have access to amenities beyond the development itself, creating a diverse community living, working, learning and playing together, adding collectively to our social, cultural and natural capital,” adds Ong.


The roof pavilions at the development are equipped with built-in kitchens so residents can host parties while admiring the city skyline (Credit: GuocoLand)

Maximised for views

Midtown Modern has been designed to maximise views of the immediate neighbourhood. To that end, units have been furnished with generous window sizes to promote ventilation and let in light. The balcony of each unit also provides residents with the choice of extending indoor living to the outdoors.

The tower blocks have been orientated to allow unobstructed views of internal landscaped spaces and of the Marina Bay area and Orchard district, shares the developer.


The arrival lobby at Midtown Modern features a high glass ceiling to allow light in, and is designed to resemble a grotto (Credit: GuocoLand)

Amenities for various lifestyles

The arrival lobby at Midtown Modern features a high glass ceiling to allow light in, and is designed to resemble a grotto, says GuocoLand. “The light changes throughout the day, creating different effects in the lobby,” it describes.

The space also comes with WiFi access, and houses areas where residents can host guests or work remotely, so they can “work from home, out of their homes’’, the developer explains. To that end, there is also a meeting room in the lobby which residents can use.

To host gatherings, residents can book the clubhouse at the development, which seats up to 50 guests. The space can also be divided into three smaller rooms for more intimate events. Meanwhile, the roof pavilions at the development are equipped with built-in kitchens so residents can host parties while admiring the city skyline.


(Credit: GuocoLand)

Other facilities include a Grand Lawn, large enough for group exercise sessions or a wedding ceremony reception, shares GuocoLand. A Tea House, overlooking a lily pond, has been included as part of the amenities, fitted with low furniture for tea appreciation. There is also a tennis court, a rarity for condominiums in the city centre. In the Library, there is a digital piano for residents to use. They can also gather and watch movies at the Play Pavilion.

“Midtown Modern is thoughtfully designed, given its location juxtaposed between the historic Bugis area and the rapidly rejuvenating Beach Road, paying close attention to the lifestyles of the target market,” says Ong.

The latest transaction at Midtown Modern was for a 1,442 sq ft unit on the 27th floor that was transacted for $4.28 million ($2,969 psf) on Nov 1, based on caveats lodged with URA. On Oct 29, a 474 sq ft unit on the 19th floor was sold at $1.39 million ($2,941 psf).

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