The heart of ghim moh

Studio Masterplanning

Site Context

The Heart of Ghim Moh’s Masterplanning aims to reconnect the residents of Ghim Moh to their soil and roots. This is done by revitalising Ghim Moh Estate in a way that pays tribute and enhances the essence of Old Ghim Moh as well as increasing connectivity between people and Ghim Moh’s urban, social, historical and uniquely green landscape.

In dealing with a site so saturated with history, the masterplanning team began with a qualitative reflection on Memory in the Masterplan. With many existing infrastructure which held a significant place in residents’s hearts, one had to formulate a strategy behind which buildings were to give way to new development or remain to be conserved or repurposed. Other prompts included questioning the relative importance of roads and greenery - challenging the team to strike a balance between connectivity to nature versus connectivity within the estate. Keeping in mind the demographic of the mature estate that is Ghim Moh, the team also dwelved into the quality of public spaces and facilities needed.

As Ghim Moh currently has a happening social heart of the estate in its Ghim Moh Food Centre, the masterplanning team was inspired to revolve activity around said social heart while introducing other social nodes to resonate that activity across Ghim Moh.

These amalgamated into a Masterplan informed by 4 main strategies: (1) Enhancing Base Condition, (2) Rethinking transport access and parking as Main Fire Starter Piece, (3) Introducing Green and Blue Connectors and Entryways and lastly (4) Amplifying nodes and connectors with Public Spaces and Activities.