Masterplan
Design
Based
on a reading of the existing urban master plan for the area, the
project aims to define a micro-system
of connections
between the different lots in the east-west direction and
inter-connections between in the north-south direction using
articulated paths that end at the main waterfront and move parallel
to the artificial canal planned for the area.
The
concept behind the project is developed around the image of a
“cracked landscape” that is abstractly transposed across the
entire area, defining the unitary identity
of the intervention.
The
unitary image of the project is then used to articulate different
urban environments using repetitive elements (building volumes,
podiums and paths) in an irregular manner, while sloping surfaces
create spatially different episodes in which the vertical residential
towers become visual landmarks.
The
project strategy is articulated as the development of 3
primary building systems,
connected with one another and inserted within the urban geography,
cutting it at different levels:
1-“ground
floor platform”
2-“linear
buildings”
3-“vertical
buildings”
Following
the same strategy, the system
of parkland
is articulated between these three constructions. It is the unifying
element that assumes different characteristics with respect to the
building typologies:
1–
the first floor platforms are designed as an urban-park at +3.60 m,
offering open views and glimpses of the water;
2–
the roofs of the linear buildings are designed as roof gardens;
3–
the vertical surfaces of the buildings are covered with natural
ecosystem-facades.
These
systems are integrated within the territory, creating interstitial
environments of
paths and urban public squares whose characteristics respond to the
need for flexibility and the differentiation of urban settings.
The
pedestrian paths are
articulated around and on top of the podiums that contain parking for
the residential spaces, connecting the nodal points of the site (the
subway stop, the church, the Chinese temple, various services),
generating a new metropolitan context integrated with the primary
natural element: water.
The
residential buildings
are primarily horizontal, with varying roof lines treated as gardens,
generating a dynamic image of the “built
landscape”:

The
system of “linear
buildings”
is developed on the various lots to create spaces of passage and rest
areas. The succession of these spaces allows for the dynamic
fruition
of the space and a gradual and itinerant perception. The positioning
of the volumes privileges north-south views; the buildings are set at
an angle to increase the space between them and diversify
orientations and views.
The
ground
floor platforms,
which contain the residential parking, separate vehicular and
pedestrian traffic. Vertical connections are managed by various
elements (ramps and stairs). These spaces feature insertions of
planting and reflecting pools. This treatment ensures the elevated
environmental quality of these spaces, which can be used as
restaurants or rest areas, coupled with access points of the
residential lobbies and social communal facilities.
Landscaping
Singapore
has long been aware of the importance
of the quality of the natural environment
and parkland in the city. This attitude is spurred rendered urgent by
the regression of the primary ombrofila

rainforest, the dipterocarpaceae forests of the lower plains of
Malaysia and its mangrove forests, pre-existing vegetal formations of
significant richness and ecological and genetic complexity. This is
enhanced by a desire to be recognised as a city that offers an
elevated level of quality of life, with public gardens and large
tree-lined boulevards participating in the definition of the city’s
identity.
What
is more, Singapore possesses an extensive network of natural oases in
the heart of the urban fabric.
Our
proposal pursues and integrates these objectives of elevated
environmental quality.
Natural spaces and parkland are designed to function as ecological
corridors, using
fauna to connect to natural protected reserves, winding between
linear block buildings.
The
landscaping project uses a series of 3.5 m high platforms to create
authentic Botanical
Gardens.
Open to the city, they function as historical partners in the
development of parkland and natural spaces, in addition to being an
active part of research, in particular regarding the reconstruction
of the primary tropical forest.
Pedestrian
paths
wind between the city blocks and buildings from north to south and
east to west, structuring the linear development of the pedagogical
and environmental
education
component of the project, heightening awareness about local
identifying landscapes.