The High Line in Manhattan is known around the world as one of the finest examples of urban renewal to date and has spawned numerous projects seeking to emulate its social and economic success. The latest plan comes from Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei, which has secured a major commission with its vision for a vast new park stretching across the island of Singapore.
Like Manhattan’s High Line, the new public space — entitled “Lines of Life” — will regenerate a disused railway line, transforming it from a derelict piece of infrastructure into a multifunctional recreation space. However, Nikken Sekkei’s proposal dwarfs New York’s famous elevated park, stretching a massive 15 miles (24 kilometers) from Tanjong Pagar railway station in the south to Woodlands Checkpoint in the north.
The proposal includes a host of programmatic insertions to help activate the region, including cycle paths, climbing walls and nature reserves, together with a plethora of seating areas and water features.
“We captured this design opportunity, not merely as a landscape design assignment, but more as [a] public space design project,” said Wataru Tanaka, director of integrated public design at Nikken Sekkei. “We took the design approach to integrate the communities the rail corridor touches into the design itself to make a truly meaningful public asset within a broader urban context.”
Nikken Sekkei’s proposal was selected by the Urban Redevelopment Authority as the winner in the Singapore Rail Corridor competition at the end of 2015. The firm’s comprehensive strategy includes 122 access points and a unique design approach to 10 key nodes along the route, with a continuous cycle path running along all 15 miles of the park.
“It presents visionary ideas for the former train line to be planned and integrated seamlessly with its diverse surroundings, over many years,” said University of Freiburg professor Wulf Daseking, a member of the judging panel. “The plan is a wise guide with brilliant ideas that is also flexible in terms of implementation. Green areas, footpaths and bicycle paths as well as surrounding developments along the Rail Corridor are woven together in a very convincing way.”
The firm will now commence a feasibility study and develop preliminary designs for an initial two-mile section of the park, dubbed the “Signature Stretch.”