Being a young country, Singapore hasn’t been afraid to push the boundaries of modern architecture.
While I love nature-made marvels, I also really appreciate the hard work it takes to build man-made marvels, too. Although you might think of downtown Singapore when you think of the architecture there, what with the Marina Bay Sands, ArtScience museum and Gardens by the Bay so prominent in Singapore tourism media, there are many locations outside the city that have embraced a contemporary look to their buildings also.
“The Hive” at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is one of those locations.
Located about an hour out from the city, the NTU aspires to be one of the greenest university campuses in the world, and The Hive is a building that is a shining example of that.
It features a unique ventilation system, a custom-made internal cooling system for the classrooms, but most visually impressive, The Hive features a unique honeycomb-based design wreathed in natural foliage. Aside from being environmentally responsible, it’s also super pretty to look at too.
How to get to The Hive at NTU
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/mG3om1hxgET2
It’s a pretty easy commute from most places in Singapore. Being a university, there’s a strong network of public transport that surrounds it, or on-site parking if you want to drive.
By Train/Bus
From downtown (Raffles Place), catch the East West line to Pioneer station. It’ll cost you about $2.50SGD ($1.80USD) one way and take about 45 minutes.
From Pioneer station, either catch the 179 bus which takes 20-25 minutes, or walk there in 27 minutes.
Once there, remember, it’s a university, so although general access really isn’t encouraged, but there’s no doors or anything, so just be respectful of your surroundings and don’t disturb the students in classrooms.
Best time to photograph The Hive
Anytime during the day is fine. You don’t want to get there too early or too late to shoot the core, as it gets pretty dark in there. From 11am to 2pm, light shines through the middle of the building, illuminating the inside - it’s pretty special.
