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| Sunday, 7 May 2006 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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From Abroad Now, a themed condominium When you think about themed developments, amusement parks and mega resorts come to mind. But condominiums? In this first safari-themed condominium/condo(building containing separate housing units) in Singapore, elephants, hippos and panthers hidden among thick foliage, caves and waterfalls would live among the residents.
These animals are not real of course, merely life-size bronze statues made-to-order from overseas. There are over a hundred of them scattered around this 590,000 sq ft site. The project is just slightly smaller than the National Stadium. These animals lend a nice, exotic touch to the Savannah Condo Park project in Simei. It's a pretty novel way of differentiating itself from the run-of-the-mill condo projects elsewhere, and is possibly the biggest themed residential project here. A spokesman for the development company said: "We think it's unique and resort-like. We're the first developer to have a themed condo where you have these life-size animals around the estate." The project was launched in 2002, but as the construction is almost complete now, interested buyers can get a good glimpse of what this project looks like, instead of relying on artists' illustrations. Aside from the animals, there's a waterside around a "volcano", a waterfall and a number of 10m-tall columns carved with animal hieroglyphics (pictorial symbols used in ancient writing) around the site. This 648-unit project has swimming-pools, tennis courts, a two-lane bowling alley and even eco-friendly innovations such as a rain water recycling system for watering plants and a pneumatic (powered by air pressure) waste disposal system. Bank employee Daniel Lee, 41, said he liked the look of the themed project. "It's very unique. It should be quite fun to live in a place like this and the children will certainly like it. "I hope there'll be more such projects next time. It'll spice up the condo market here," he said. - The New Paper |
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