Air Rights Structures in a Multi-Layered City : A Vision for Singapore as a Multi-Level Metropolis

AIR RIGHTS STRUCTURES IN A MULTI-LAYERED CITY: A Vision for Singapore as Multi-level Metropolis.

A Thesis by, Muhammad Nazirul Bin Salleh Under the supervision of, A/P Shinya Okuda For the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore 2018

- Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum es ad inferos “Whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell.�

Yona Friedman, Studies on New York (USA), Drawing of skyway connections over photgraphs of Manhattan, 1964 4

Abstract

Land scarcity poses a pressing concern for Singapore as it readies itself for a population

increase of 6.9 million people by 2030, from the current number of 5.4 million. Mitigating the issues of space, Singapore has artificially increased its land area from 581 square kilometres to about 770 square kilometres within a span of 5-6 decades. While this has provided Singapore with additional real estate to develop on, the process of land reclamation has contributed to adverse effects, such as the displacement of local and overseas communities and ecosystems through cutting and dredging.

And in addition to land reclamation, Singapore has also adopted several other measures to optimize land use; typically, by digging deeper and building taller. As our built environment is increasingly stratified, so will our lifestyles. Hence the need to introduce air rights structures as the next frontier in Singapore’s quest for land acquisition. This implies intensifying our existing urban spaces which are occupied with towering structures, and connecting them through linkages in the sky. However, we must be wary that in increasing our densities, we must also increase our amenities. In Investigation in Collective form (1964), Fumihiko Maki realizes that the future is in need of wholly new concept of three-dimensional linkages due to our propensity to build taller, especially in cities facing land scarcity. This thesis seeks to explore the possibilities of crafting this multi-level city and looking at how air rights can become a new paradigm for nation building in Singapore.

Contents 1. Introduction

i. A dilemma on land ii. Expanding further ii. Digging deeper iii. Building taller iv. An alternative - A new frontier

2. On Air Rights

i. What are Air Rights? ii. Singapore as a multilevel city

3. Contextualizing Singapore

i. Urban strategies for a multi-layered Singapore ii. A pedestrian-centric environment iii. Spaces for participation and engagement iv. Green arteries v. Productive Urban Landscapes

4. Architectural Strategies and Implementations

i. Challenges and architectural strategies ii. Building a legislative framework iii. Height Control iv. Structure and Construction v. Vertical Transportation

5. Tanjong Pagar as a Test bed

i. Tanjong Pagar ii. The Jormungandr

6. Annex A - WOHA Strategies 7. Annex B - Case Studies

8. Annex C - Site Studies of Tanjong Pagar

9. Bibliography and References

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Chapter 1 Introduction

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i. A dilemma on land

Land shortage has been on the minds of Singaporeans and its policy makers ever since its

‘involuntary’ independence from Malaysia in 1965. The tiny city-state, whose territory is made up of one main island and 62 other islets, occupies an area of about 722.5 km2 as of 2018 (SingStat, department of statistics, population numbers), of which 581.5 km2 represents its original land mass . Accounting the additional landmass is attributed to the state’s ongoing land reclamation exercise

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which sees the lateral expansion of land into its surrounding sea waters as one of the state’s mitigating measures to overcome land shortage2. As such, the former land area figure is expected to increase in the coming years.

Despite the lack of a hinterland, the country boasts its people as its prime ‘natural resource’

and it is apparently so. Singapore is one of the most densely packed countries in the world with a population density of 7796 people per square kilometre at a population size of 5.612 million3 (SingStat, department of statistics, population numbers), expected to rise to 6.9 million by 2030 as the state is receiving an influx of immigrants and foreign talent to help fill the labour void left by the falling birth rate 4. This rapid increase signals the need for more habitable space, and thus the state’s desire to acquire more real estate wherever it can be found.

On overcoming land shortage, the Singaporean government has enacted practices that has

allowed it to acquire land and optimise its use. Primarily, this is done through; 1) land reclamation, 2) building underground and 3) high-density building5 (cite). While these methods have achieved significant and positive results, they still possess certain limitations and challenges that may require the adoption of more creative solutions in Singapore’s quest for land and space.

1,2. Future Cities Laboratory, ETH Zurich. “Construction of Territory - Singapore’s Expansion into the Sea” Architecture of Territory: Hinterland.

Singapore, Johor, Riau. 2013 3. Statistics on Singapore’s Population, Department of Statistics, SingStat 4. Strategy group, A Sustainable Population for a Dynamic Singapore. 2013 5. Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore, Singapore Land Use Masterplan. 2014 - Figure 1.

A figure-ground plan of Singapore., with black areas demarcating reclaimed areas.

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ii. Expanding Further

With an artificial landmass that is 24% (and growing) of the

original area, it is certainly not an overstatement to say that Singapore is a country that is built on shifting sands. Land reclamation projects were not exclusively carried out post-independence, but has its beginnings during colonial times when the Sir Stamford Raffles executed the first land reclamation exercise in 1822 which saw the expansion of the southern part of the main island into the waters of the Singapore River 6.

Fast forward to today, Singapore has since increased its land

area by about 142.8 km2 . It is estimated that with current plans, Singapore will grow to an area of 811.3 km2 – or about 44% of its original size. However, the state is limited by the economic viability of reclaiming its waters beyond 20 m in depth, where doing so will not be cost-effective, and would also mean sacrificing precious maritime waters that the city-state relies heavily upon.

6. Seng, Lim Tin. Land from Sand: Singapore’s Reclamation Story. Biblioasia, Vol 13 issue 1.

National Library Board, Singapore. 2017 12

- Figure 2-4.

Illustrations of Singapore’s expanding coastlines

Original Land Mass : 581 km2 Total water : 831 km2 41.1%

58.9 %

original land mass

1965-2011 : 723.8 km2 Reclaimed Area : 142.8 km2 41.1%

10.1 %

2011-2030 and beyond : 766 km2 - 811.3 km2 Reclaimed Area since 2011 : 42.2 - 87.5 km2 41.1%

10.1 % 8% 40.8%

- Figure 5 Diagram depicting maximum extant of land reclamation

original land mass 1965-2011 2011-2030 and beyond Sea depth < 20m Sea depth > 20m

Limit : 1053.4 km2 Max potential reclaim area: 242.1 km2 41.1% 10.1%

8%

17.15%

23.65% 13

Despite its success, the ill effects of land reclamation

cannot be understated. While it has added square kilometres of land in Singapore, an inverse is happening elsewhere in regions where sand and soil are being sourced. Earlier reclamation projects saw the cutting of local hills for soil, effectively removing the ecologies that once thrived on them. Further from home, the dredging of riverbeds in exporting countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia have resulted in the erosion of the local landscape and the displacement of ecologies and communities. This is why, after pressure from environmental groups, Cambodia has banned the export of sand to Singapore 7. However, cutting the source has only made exploitation more rampant as the increasing demand for sand and soil has led to high prices and profiteering while largely ignoring environmental concerns.

7. Future Cities Laboratory, ETH Zurich. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Construction of Territory - Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Expansion into the Seaâ&#x20AC;? Architecture of Territory: Hinterland. Singapore, Johor, Riau. 2013 - Figure 6.

Top left - Bedok hill cut site Bottom left - Dredging along Mekong River Right - Diagrams illustrating environmental impact of cutting and deredging processes

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iii. Digging Deeper

The impetus to unlock the subterranean spaces in Singapore

is driven by the surmounting pressure of freeing up space at gradelevel. This is reflected in an upcoming revision of the underground masterplan which will illustrate, in detail, a comprehensive plan of what ‘lies tens and hundreds of meters underground’ 8(cite, URA).

In 2018, an article released by the Straits times reported

that this underground masterplan will largely serve a utilitarian purpose9. Building on existing subterranean networks, the plan will see a major section of Singapore’s underground space reserved for infrastructure and storage facilities, such as the expansion of its road and rail networks, underground water reservoirs, deep petrochemical caverns and even an ammunition storage facility that is purportedly 8. Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore. Making Better Use of Our Underground Space. 2018 9. Jun Sen, Ng. “Masterplan of Singapore’s underground spaces ready by 2019”. The Straits Times, Singapore. 5 February, 2018.

to have freed up land area half the size of Pasir Ris town. Near-grade strata will be used for pedestrian and transportation networks. What is not explored however, is the use of underground space for human habitation; although this has not been left unconsidered.

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- Figure 7.

URA, Masterplan of Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s underground spaces ready by 2019. Diagram indicting underground infrastrucutre and services. The Straits Times (February 2018) 16

In a blog entry posted in 2013 by then minister for national development

Khaw Boon Wan, he had mentioned that the government had mulled over creating liveable spaces underground, citing overseas examples such as that of the underground city RÉSO in Montreal, and that of Scandinavian countries that have developed underground recreational spaces. It was also made known of plans by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) conducting feasibility studies to develop an underground science city beneath Kent Ridge Park that will span 192,000 m2 of rentable space and housing as many as 4200 scientists and researchers10.

This was however met with criticism by experts who warned of hurdles that

could result in hefty costs for going underground. Firstly, considering Singapore’s patchy soil formations, groundworks will potentially incur an impressive price tag.

Glancing through a geological map of the main island shows that its central and northern parts of are made up of hard granite and norite, which will make excavating exceptionally expensive. Moving westwards into Jurong, characterized by its sedimentary substrate, has been weakened by rain and high temperatures, and areas in the east will need to have its clayey and sandy soil structure reinforced. Again, economic viability plays a big factor in deciding whether or not moving underground may be the best idea. Building one level underground is estimated to cost three times as much as building one on the surface11.

10, 11. Chin, Daryl. “Expert warn of hefty Price tag for Singapore’s underground Ambitions.”

The Straits Times, Singapore. 10 September, 2013.

- Figure 8.

Diagram illustrating Singapore’s geological formation. Soil dynamics and earthquake engineering, volume 90 (November 2016) 17

Secondly, underground works can be very destructive affairs and are a cause for environmental

concerns. The opening of underground works typically results in the deformation of soil and rock foundations that may lead to sudden collapses, sinking or subsidence, especially so when trying to negotiate around developed areas. Notwithstanding its stringent safety protocols, Singapore has not been spared of such tragedies when in 2004, the Nicoll Highway had collapsed into a subway tunnel excavation site. Furthermore, noise pollution, vibrations, and the emissions of dust and air pollutants may persist during prolonged underground works.

Lastly, the maintenance of underground spaces suited for human habitation could also prove

to be financially and environmentally costly. Issues concerning day lighting and ventilation can be very challenging considering that underground spaces rarely receive enough sunlight and air flow.

This would mean having to implement mechanical solutions in order to mimic comfortable surface level conditions; requiring for the generation of more electricity which raises costs and pollution.

- Figure 9.

JTC Coporation, Experts warn of hefty price tag for Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s underground ambitions. Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impression of the underground science city beneath Kent Ridge. The Straits Times (September 2013)

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iv. Building Taller - Figure 10.

ArcStudio, RSP Architects, Pinnacle @ Duxton, Singapore (2009) 12. Pomeroy, Jason, author.

“Defining Singapore Public Space: From Sanitisation to Corporatisation.” Pomeroy Studio, Singapore.

The urban landscape of Singapore is characterized by its sea

of soaring towers that represents the stratified mode of living that most Singaporeans are made accustomed to. Residential, commercial, business, industrial and even some agricultural programs are subjected to high-density planning that allows for the optimisation of land use. Over 5 decades, the state has embraced verticality as solution to house its population, and while its merits cannot be overstated, some sacrifices had to be made in lieu of progress; more specifically with the removal of traditional public spaces.

Preoccupied with the ambition to transform Singapore into a

cosmopolitan city, the Singaporean government saw it necessary to resettle the local population from the squalid slums and shophouses of the city centre, and into peripheral towns dotted with flats that were reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s ‘Voisin’ plan of Paris. Inadvertently, this also saw the diminishing of its traditional spaces that were once sited on the adjacent streets and five-foot path ways that were branded for its vibrancy, spontaneity, animation and liveliness. Upon resettlement, these public spaces were relegated to the void decks wherein exists explicit laws that manages a certain level of ‘civic orderliness’ 12. Hence, these sterile spaces have become devoid of occupation or activity, inflicting social stagnation and reflecting the inward-looking and ‘pigeonhole’ lifestyles of the residents living above.

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- Figure 10.

Photo of a typical HDB flat void deck. Barriers are installed at such places to discourage the playing of ball sports

Nevertheless, this vertical mode of living has proven to be very

successful for the state. Multiple sites have been earmarked for new town developments, most notably the future Bidadari and Tengah Forest town estates. However, as Singapore, and in many parts of the urbanised world, continues to adopt a high-rise, high-density lifestyles as it readies itself for unprecedented levels of population growth through migration, it is imperative that public amenities are given equal planning priority and treatment in order to cope with the stresses experienced at grade level.

Riding market trends, developers have made their buildings

taller and more compact, effectively squeezing as many occupants onto a site footprint that would otherwise be too tight. At a certain density, and factoring in a very car-centric approach to urban planning, the spatial conditions at the ground level will experience an urban fatigue which is symptomatic of an overcrowded and congested city, hence reducing the performance of the various roles that these spaces were programmed for.

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v. An Alternative - A New Frontier

Considering the physical and environmental limitations of

land reclamation, the costliness of subterranean spaces, and the homogenous and static qualities of our tall buildings, it is imperative that Singapore looks at creative and resourceful solutions to satisfy the demand for more space. While current plans may be enough to support the estimated 2030 numbers, what lies ahead will require a new set of space acquisition strategies that should go beyond the frontiers of the sea, the earth and vertical space. Much like the rest of the world, Singapore is experiencing a paradigm shift in urban morphology, reflecting a desire to intensify its urban spaces without having to sacrifice quality of life and liveability.

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Chapter 2 On Air Rights

“Another thing that seems indicated for the future is the realization of a wholly new concept of three-dimensional linkage. If we are successful at making meaningful complexes of form and activity near ground, we are notably successful at going into the air with linked functions…. This type of linkage is necessary because we will be building more high buildings as land in our cities become scarcer.

Sant’Elia gave some idea of what the visual residue of such an idea of three-dimensional linkage might be as early as 1913. Ultimately, linking is assembling patterns of experience in the city.” – Fumihiko Maki, Investigations in Collective Form, 1964 23

i. What are Air Rights?

In the Manifesto dell’architetettura furturista (1914), Sant’Elia describes in poetic

fashion a vision for the futuristic city, in which he projected a synthesized metropolis of infrastructure and architecture. Through this bold aspiration laid foundations for a threedimensional and plastic urban fabric that saw the implementations of underground labyrinths and sky bridges and walkways that unified the aggregation of high-rise buildings, effectively reordering it into what was coined as a “multi-layered acentric field” 13

This early vision for a multi-level city suggests a coming together of disparate parts

through integration and achieving a continuous urban fabric. However, while the grandiose ideas of elevated linkages and floating edifices stemmed from an apparent consideration for increased mobility, efficiency and adaptability, the contemporary city is now confronted with a different set of conditions that are a consequence of rapid urbanization, population increase, climate change and resource depletion. And as earlier discussed, Singapore as a city represents an agglomeration of these issues through which necessitates a shifting of attitudes and practices to how it acquires its spaces for development. Singapore’s highly developed and dense urban landscape presents the ideal opportunity to conceptualize a modern multi-level urbanism, latching on to the concept of air-rights and air-rights structures as a new strategy for space acquisition which involves re-intensifying existing urban areas.

13. Yoos, Jennifer, author. / James, Vincent, author. / Blauvelt, Andrew, editor. “Parallel Cities: The Multilevel Metropolis.” Walker Art Center Publications, Minneapolis, 2016. p. 159 - Figure 11.

Architecture Research Office competition entry, City of the Future, 2007. The rendering depicts a vision of a multi-layered city based on the acentric field principle.

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- Figure 12.

NYC Department of PlanningPlanning, A survey of transferable Development Rights Mechanisms in New York City, Schematic diagrams illustrating transfer of air rights.

(February 2015) 14. NYC Department of PlanningPlanning, A Survey of transferable Development Rights Mechanisms in New York City, 2015.

What are air rights? Under common law, an owner of the land has the exclusive

development rights in the ‘space’ above it. This law is notably encoded in the Latin phrase ‘Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum es ad inferos’, which translates to “Whoever owns the soil, it is theirs up to Heaven and down to Hell”. While this implies unlimited ownership of the sky above, modern laws tend to dictate a more limited form of air rights due to air travel or limitations in building construction technology. Restrictions to how tall a building can climb are also subjected by zoning laws and gross plot ratios. Such laws are not only applied vertically, but also applicable on a horizontal plane, especially so when developers contest on boundary infringement from “overhangs” of adjacent buildings. Air rights laws can also provide lucrative returns for landowners and developers who wish to sell and transfer these development rights to receiving sites where large-scale development is encouraged.

This is especially common in New York City where preserved landmarks are restricted from redevelopment, but are allowed to sell their air rights in the form of Transferable Development Rights if they wish to participate in the lucrative real estate market14. It must be noted however that TDRs are typically private acquisitions and are almost always exercised for new vertical developments.

Singapore currently does not provide for such laws, nor does it account for its

potential, but it does present a preliminary legislative framework for the development of air right structures over existing buildings. While acknowledging the complexities of laws and regulation, the interest of this thesis lies in the architectural and urban qualities of air rights structures. It postulates a speculative environment in which the potential for air rights and air rights structures can yield a plausible alternative to current modes of land/space acquisition.

As such, the assumption here is that such laws have been implemented, although the interests of stakeholders will be discussed in the proceeding chapters.

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ii. Singapore as a multi-level city Singapore’s three-dimensional urbanism has been extensively discussed in Jennifer Yoos and Vincent James’ Parallel Cities: The Multilevel Metropolis (2016). Citing examples of ‘the Synthesized City’, the authors looked at cities like Singapore as glimpses of what the future could offer for the future multilevel city.

Referring to Singapore, Yoos et al begins with Rem Koolhaas’s captivation for the

island-nation, to which he casted some light on the consequences of the city’s urban experiments. Quoting Koolhaas, Singapore has become a “melting pot that produces blandness and sterility from the most promising ingredients”. This, he claims, is attributed to Singapore’s reconciliation of its colonial past and its nationalistic ambitions by downplaying former. Subsequently, the early reformation of its urban centres and its periphery were governed by adopting Congrès internationaux d’architecture moderne’s (CIAM) strategies that promoted the ‘Functional City’; a set of architectural and urban planning principles that poised a solution to combat post-war social woes by the ‘strict functional segregation’ and the distribution of the population into tall apartment blocks15. Together with the state’s bureaucratic and pragmatic values, it influenced the creation of the ubiquitous Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates of flats into which most of the population was resettled into. The stacking of people meant the freeing up of space, especially within the city centre, but it also saw the decline of its traditional communal spaces, to which such social spaces were relegated to the sterile void decks of these said flats.

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- Figure 12-13.

Top - Le Corbusier, Voison plan of Paris. 1922-1925 Bottom - HDB, First set of HDB flats located in Queenstown Singapore. 1960 15. Colquhoun, Alan. “Oxford History of Art: Modern Architecture.” Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, 2002.

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- Figure 14-15.

Top - Jennifer Yoos et al, Parallel Cities: The Multilevel metropolis, Map of elevated pedestrian networks in downtown Singapore. 2015 Bottom - Google Maps, Aerial view of Eu Tong Seng Street, showing elevated linkages connecting multiple buildings.

PEDESTRIAN NETWORKS

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As the post-war urban renewal program flourished, a counter-critique begin to take

form against the modernist strategy of tabula rasa. Responding to the CIAM-influenced urbanization strategies the Singapore Planning and Urban Research Group (SPUR) was formed to champion social connectivity in the city through an alternative form of multilevel urbanism that was uniquely Singaporean and were based on Fumihiko Maki’s Metabolist ideas of the Collective Form. Such ideals were realized through the erection of People’s Park Centre (1970) and the Golden Mile Complex (1974). These buildings, designed by William S Lim (co-founder of SPUR), Tay Kheng Soon and Gan Eng Oon of the now dissolved Design Partnership, were the first mixed-use ‘privately owned and publicly programmed’ edifices that applied the vision of elevated civic spaces and pedestrian linkages as extension of the building and into the future urban fabric. The successes of these projects and their implementations prompted the Singaporean government to shift policies to promote the erection of these elevated linkages at larger scale, but with the added element of commercial activity within them. Even so, this system was never completed, but the idea remained as piecemeal applications in future developments such as in Suntec City (1997) and Zaha Hadid’s Biopolis (2013).

- Figure 16.

Zaha Hadid Architects, Biopolis, one-north, Singapore.

2004-2014 29

“We cannot go back… We cannot stop the growth of the cities or our economies, and we cannot curtail our demand for available energy sources. So, the mega cities must be constructed and reconstructed as sustainable, sociable and self-sufficient environments that do not rely upon fossil fuels… The demarcation lines between public space and private space needs to be erased, the manmade environment needs to be reconciled with the natural environment, the horizontal transportation systems and the vertical building blocks ned to synchronised, an individualistic materialistic mindset needs to acknowledge the advantages of a greater good, and cities will need to supply their own food and energy.” – WOHA, Garden City Mega City, 2016

Early motivations for a multi-layered urbanism stemmed from the desire

to improve flows within the city. Connectivity was paramount and the stacking of people and programmes was necessary to facilitate ‘social compactness’. For a young and independent nation like Singapore, it was also a means of driving capital and monitoring capital within the city. However, as the city progressed, new challenges arise in the form of shifting populations, resource scarcity, global warming and rapid urbanization. Responding to these issues are the Singapore-based architects, WOHA, who have outlined their strategies and proposals for an ailing world in their book, Garden City Mega City.

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- Figure 17-18.

Top - WOHA, Parkroyal on Pickering, Singapore. 2013 Bottom - HDB, WOHA, Kampung Admiralty, Singapore.

2017 31

Having coming to terms with the conditions of the 21st century, WOHA has set itself

an agenda to address the plight of Asian megacities that are operating under unsustainable and inequitable means, attributing it to the frenzied and exploitative modes of city planning and development. Through a set of architectural templates, or what they have coined as prototypologies, advocates for a ‘three-dimensional integration of architecture, infrastructure, and the natural environment at the macro scale’. Exemplifying the ideas of Ebenezer Howard’s original Garden city and Kenzo Tange’s 1960 Plan for Tokyo, WOHA have added to the multilevel experiments in projects such as the Park Royal Hotel, Kampung Admiralty and the School of the Arts. While many of their built projects are primarily sited in Singapore, they represent the embodiment of the various design principles devised as practical and replicable strategies that allows for an architecture that is ‘dense and vertical, yet sociable and sustainable’16.

(See Appendix A)

16. Bingham-Hall, Patrick author. /WOHA Architects, Author.”Garden City Mega City: Rethinking Cities for the Age of Global Warming.” Pesaro Publishing, Singapore, 2016.

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Even though Singapore is not considered a megacity (city with a population equal

to or more than 10 million), it is still a growing cosmopolis that is connected to a larger globalised network, and this implies a share of the burden carried by all nations on Earth.

Even as Singapore is experiencing resource constraints locally, it is also affected by conditions symptomatic of environmental degradation and economic uncertainty. Hence, solutions should not be topical, but to also allow for the regeneration of loss opportunities and the creation of positive externalities. Relating back to air rights and air rights structures, these opportunities lie in the recreation and regeneration of natural, human, economic and social capitals that ties in with the existing urban fabric. In contextualising a future multi-level environment for Singapore, and extracting from the preceding discussions, the introduction of air rights structure has the potential to recreate our lost traditional public spaces, engender a pedestrian centric environment, regenerating green assets, and the provision of supporting

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Chapter 3 Contextualizing Singapore

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i. Urban strategies for a multi-layered Singapore

The implementation of air rights structures is expected to be an expensive and

complicated affair. As such, its realisation should come from a top-down approach involving high value stakeholders and policymakers. It is imperative that these air rights structures, implemented at both the urban scale and at the architectural scale, are designed to be in line with the visions of the authorities that makes Singapore a more liveable and sustainable city. Through this, it is then possible to inform the urbanity with the necessary programmatic functions designed to serve its immediate users. Strategically, such provisions should also embody principles of regenerative design through the means of natural, human, social and built capitals. It aims at not only filling physical gaps, but to also bridge self-contained systems in order to engender a biotic ecosystem that allows for greater positive outputs.

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CAR -LITE

ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION

URBAN LANDSCAPPING

COMMUNITY FARMING

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ii. A Pedestrian-Centric Environment

In an effort to reduce the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reliance on private transportation, the Land

Transport Authority of Singapore has released a land transport masterplan that envisions a car-lite future for Singapore by the year 2040. Encompassing three broad themes of sustainability, efficiency and inclusivity in the realm of transportation, one of these themes highlights the preference for walking, cycling and riding as a healthier and greener means of transportation. In order to achieve this, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;first-and-last-mile connectionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; initiative was put into place to allow for seamless connections between estates and major transportation nodes like the MRT stations or bus interchanges. Furthermore, there is currently a plan to build a round-island cycling network in order to improve pedestrian connections between towns and major parklands. Thus, the redesigning of our urban landscapes to facilitate better connectivity and pedestrian mobility presents an opportunity for air rights structures to become bridging infrastructures at an elevated datum.

Walk Cycle Ride SG

Case studies (to refer to Appendix A) Left - Schematic Diagram of the Barcelona Superblock. Barcelona, Spain.

2016 Centre - James Corner Field Operations with Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

High Line. Manhattan, New York. 20042009 Right - MVRDV. Seoullo 7017. Seoul, Korea. 2017 38

- Figure 19.

Diagram illustrating separated pedestrian-vehicular levels

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iii. Spaces for Participation and Engagement

While the Vision 2030 project was predicated on the query of how sports could serve

Singapore in its best interests, its underlying agenda was to conceive ways of creating a more resilient community through increased engagement and participation from Singaporeans.

This plan was stemmed from issues of lowered sports and exercise participation rates among Singaporeans which are a result of long working hours and extended online use amongst millennials. As such the Sports Sg Vision 2030 was crafted in order to encourage Singaporeans to embrace a healthier and more active lifestyle through sports. Architecturally, the Vision 2030 seeks to install regional sporting and recreational complexes in order to facilitate active programming within the suburbs. These facilities not only create the necessary areas for sports and exercise, but it also fosters and additional level of social mobility between its residents. Seeing it from the perspective of an active public space located in a sterile and stratified environment, integrating these spaces into air rights structures can posit an urban condition in which these active facilities, visible from higher levels, operates as a point of attraction at an elevated datum to which residents and workers can gravitate towards, thus improving their social interactions at a height that seems to be very pigeonholed and ordered.

Vision 2030 Case studies (to refer to Appendix A) Top - BIG, Topotek 1, Superfelx.

Superkilen. Coppenhagen, Denmark.

2012 Bottom left - DP Architects. UTown.

National University of Singapore, Singapore. 2012 Bottom Right - DP Architects. Our Tampines Hub. Singapore. 2017 40

- Figure 20.

Diagram illustrating open public spaces located above congested areas.

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iv. Green Arteries

Beginning in 2015 and transitioning from the earlier ‘Garden City’ campaign, the City

in a Garden movement is established as effort to increase the appreciation for the island’s green assets. This evolution in greening not only sees the country planting more trees as means of urban beautification, but rather, seeks to develop a better relationship and understanding of nature, especially so in a world experiencing conditions symptomatic of a warming world. Committed efforts largely involves the enriching of biodiversity, conserving the island’s natural heritage, the building of world class parks and gardens, and optimising urban spaces for greenery and recreation; of which the last point provides for a compelling argument for the creation of elevated green arteries in between dense and towering cities.

Reflecting the desire to move greenery skywards, these green arteries seek to continue the green landscapes abundant at the ground level to greater heights, hence allowing for an uninterrupted flow of ecology. This is increases the accessibility and the appreciation of Singapore’s green assets at a datum not usually associated with thriving vegetation.

Furthermore, the added value of having greenery in an urban setting helps to reduce the insufferable urban heat island effect through the lowering of ambient temperature and the sequestration of carbon particles released by fossil-fuelled vehicles.

City in Garden Case studies (to refer to Appendix A) Left - WOHA, Parkroyal on Pickering.

Singapore. 2013 Center - Roger Stirks and Harbour.

Proposal for the Urban Living room in Shenzhen China.

Top Right - TR Hamzah and Yeang.

Solaris. Singapore. 2011 Bottom Right - WOHA. Kampung Admiralty. Singapore. 2017 42

- Figure 21.

Diagram illustrating the continuation of ground green spaces on to elevated green arteries

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iv. Productive Urban Landscapes

There has been a rising trend in urban farming in Singapore. While it will not

entirely replace Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dependency on imported food for sustenance, urban farming represents a new shift in consumption patterns as Singaporeans are opting to grow their own vegetables in order to better understand the source of their food. Although these farms are implemented in piecemeal fashion in and around neighbourhoods and in some rooftops within the city centre, these farms provide an alternative glimpse into a new paradigm for food production known as the continuous productive urban landscape (CPUL). This is an urban design concept that integrates food production into the design of cities via a linear network that runs parallel with existing public infrastructure such as malls or thoroughfares.

Already, HDB is implementing this concept in the upcoming Tengah Forest Town that will see a 700-meter-long and 40-meter-wide strip of land dedicated to communal farming activities, of which residents can enjoy farm-to -table dining and also share their fruits of labour by sales of their harvest at farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s markets. It is thus apparent that community farming does not only bring about material goods, but it also emphasises the regeneration of human and social capitals. This is brought about through the coming together of communities to engage in a productive activity, but it also provides an alternative form of work suited for those with green fingers, and maybe more so for retirees who wish to busy themselves by contributing back to his or her community. As such, these are extremely valuable benefits for Singapore, which make CPUL a viable strategy in the upgrading of its existing urban spaces. The role of air rights structures thus becomes a vehicle for such regeneration to happen, espousing a net positive urbanism constituting a coming together of disparate parts of its fabric.

Live Green through Urban Case studies (to refer to Appendix A) Farming Top Left - Kajima Co. Kyoto Yaoichi Honkan. Kyoto, Japan. 2013 Bottom Left - HDB. Proposal for the farming corridor at the Tengah Forest Town. Singapore Top Right - Authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own rendering depicting a continuous productive urban landscape along sheltered pathways.

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- Figure 21.

Diagram illustrating the continuation of ground green spaces on to elevated green arteries

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Chapter 4 Architectural Strategies and Implementations

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i. Challenges and architectural strategies

The next step in realizing air rights as an added form of urbanism and an architectural

intervention over an existing built landscape is to address the challenges and limitations in its execution. To list these challenges are the need to formulate a legislative framework, install height controls, design sound structures and construction methods, and to craft seamless ways for ground-to-air transportation.

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ii. Building a legislative framework 3D zoning

The impetus for 3D zoning for urban planning is predicated on the fact that cities

today are highly stratified and mixed-used in its programming. As such, activities and programmatic functions tend to differ at varying datum levels, which sometimes is not reflective of a 2-dimensional zoning plan layout. Therefore, it is then necessary to investigate the city at intermittent slices in order to suggest a effective connections and supplementary programming that will be housed in these air rights structures.

This eludes to shifting from a 2-dimensional map of the city to a 3-dimensional model

of the built environment in order to better visualize its strata. Currently, the URA Space website has advanced into digitally recreating a 3-dimensional model of Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city centre that is accessible to planners and architects, however, it is still limited in â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;strata useâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (as opposed to land use) information.

H H W

H W

W

H

Residential Residential with commercial at 1st storey Civic and community institution

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4

W

Place of Worship

H

Healthcare Commercial Hotel Park / Open space Educational Commercial and Residential Reserved Land Utility

Land Use

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Transferable development rights

One of the biggest challenges for air rights structures, pre-design stage, is to acquire the

necessary airspace to build upon. Due to the nature of the proposal, it is inevitable that any air rights structure will be traversing across existing site boundaries, especially over private, protected or heritage sites. This implies two things: who then owns the air space, above or in between, and will there be a need to increase a siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plot ratio in order to accommodate for the increase in GFA.

One way of resolving any potential conflict of ownership is to look at airspace as sellable area .

Borrowing form the concept of Transferable Development Rights (TDR), which is partly responsible for Manhattan cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dizzying skyline, TDR allows for a property owner to sell divisible portions of his air rights to a developer who wishes increase his gross floor area (GFA) for his own property. Essentially, this allows a property owner, whose building may not be warranted for redevelopment, to participate in the lucrative real estate markets.

Translating this to Singapore, such a policy can be exercised by the government in order to

fiscally incentivise private property owners to sell their air rights to the government for development.

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iii. Height Control Ground to air visual relationships

While introducing elevated street levels, the connection between the

ground and raised levels should not be understated. In Life between Buildings, Jan Gehl makes the assertion that in a high-rise environment, floor levels beyond the fifth and sixth storeys will experience and increasing disconnect with the ground level at which events are situated. Moreover, he also writes that in order for an event space to be activated, it should be visible from comfortable levels.

Although his disdain for high rise environments is made clear, the reality is that cities will continue to grow taller and a solution then must be crafted to install meaningful elevated ground levels that still maintains a comfortable connection with residents living in high rise conditions.

The architecture of WOHA combats this problem by injecting meaningful

social and public spaces at intermittent levels in their buildings. Realising the need to increase amenity in dense spaces, WOHA, through a project titled SkyVille @ Dawson, has introduced communal green spaces that simulates the ground level at every 11 storeys. Although the visual relationship is much further than what Jan Gehl suggests, the architects at WOHA posits that it is still possible to discern people and activity even at 11 storeys up (equal to a vertical distance of about 25 meters).

13 10

Threshold

m 6.

4m 7m

Major Threshold

.5

m

Threshold

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54

60 m

45 m

Refuge floor every 20 stories

Safety and Escape Strategies

For a start, air rights structure height limits can be

set at a datum of 60 meters above ground level. This is due to the statutory requirement for the provision of a wet riser and a gravity fed water tank for buildings with a habitable height above 60m, of which the latter could contribute significantly to the structureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dead load, requiring additional support structures. The height of 60 meters can also be justified by the capped height of SCDF aerial ladders which is at 60 meters, and that a platform level at 60 meters could also function as refuge floor for towers at every 20 storeys.

35 m

Refuge floor

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Ground to air visual relationships Shadow cover from air rights structures can reduce the minimum lux levels and daylight autonomy of the interiors of existing buildings. Essentially the higher the structure, the larger the shadow cover.

Therefore, heights of air rights structures should take precedence from the shadow patterns already casted by existing buildings and that and that any implementations of air rights structure should still meet the minimum statutory requirements for interior daylighting.

March equinox

June solstice

September equinox

December solstice

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iv. Strucutre and Construction Floating or In-Between, Intrusive or non-intrusive In considering air rights structures, it is essential that its installation should not impede or make worse the buildings it sits upon . Some models may borrow support from exisiting structures for foundation, or it may be an entirely new set of legs, to which proper staging areas should be set up. Positing two forms of ‘floating’ and ‘in-between’ air rights structure types, the following lists pplausible structural solutions based on real-life built examples.

- Figure 23.

Skeleton model of the Cricoteka Museum of Tadesuz Poland. The strucutral model is of a assymmetrical supports to box bridge type.

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Steel Diagrid Box with Offset Supports This system uses deep I-sections braced by slimmer diagonal members in tension. The structure becomes confined to the outer surfaces of the box volume. It can be additionally supported by structural RC cores at either end (either vertical circulation cores, or existing buildings.)

Pier 27 Apartments, Toronto, Canada Architects Alliance, 2013

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Periphery Transfer System This system is affixed to the facade of the building, where the truss structure spans the isolated vertical cores. It creates the effect of a floating bridge. Such a structure can have interior spaces free of intermediate columns, and intermediate floor slabs and beams sized economically and variably.

Vanke Design Centre Shenzhen, China Steven Holl Architects, 2009

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Bipod Column System Box Truss structures are supported by inclined legs that meet at the apex of the edifice. This allows for a non-intrusive method of construction for an in-between typology. There columns can also double up as diagonally transportation services, provided their generous gradient and girth.

Unilever Office de Brug, Rotterdam, Netherlands 2008

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Two Way Steel Truss Chevron patterened trusses coincide with internal partitions, all supported by bipod column supports.

Due to the close intervals and minimal spacing of the web pattern, the sizes of structural members can be kept slender.

OCAD Sharp Centre Ontario, Canada Will Alsop, Robbie Young & Right, 2004

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Exterior Arched Supports The exterior arch support is modeled after Broadgate Exchange House in London. The building spans over a railway track cannot be interrupted by any form of ground potrusions, to which an arch was the solution to help carry and dissipate the loads to either side of the building. Such a solution allows for the construction of deep (height-wise) air rights structures, thus increasing densities.

Exchange House Broadgate, London, UK SOM Architects, 1990

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Dual Frame Box Truss The dual fram box truss system is proposed as solution for high floor to ceiling spaces with an open floor plan, such that of a sports hall or an indoor swimming pool complex. The structure is a long span structure that is supported at its extreme ends with mega-columns. This model is useful for air rights structures that have to hover over expansive low lying built up areas, essentially framing them with an added level above.

Cricoteka Museum of Tadeusz Poland Wizja Architects, 2014

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v. Vertical Transportation Via Mechanical means This explores the employment of mechanical devices such as traditional lifts, advanced sideways lifts systems as well as escalator matrix. Emulating scenarios as that of Hong Kongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s midlevel escalators, the development of permutations then arises on how best to fit these devices to provide optimum coverage as well as uniterrupted pedestiran flow

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Via Ramps Both the spiral and zig-zag ramps are explored as a means of gradual vertical movement towards a desired datum. Due to the long nature of ramps, the idea here is to fold them integrate them with the exisitng urban fabric as useful infrastrucutre, either as an urban feature or as building.

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Chapter 5 Tanjong Pagar as a Test Bed

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i. Tanjong Pagar

The site situates itself in Tanjong Pagar, a historic site located within the Central Business

District of Singapore. The site was chosen due to is diverse quality in terms of zoning, its crowded nature, as well as its density and height. Its towering structures creates the perfect test bed for the implementation of air rights structures, and that its diversity presents the perfect opportunity to

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Figure-Ground Plan

72

bridge the disparate parts of the site, while simultaneously reinvigorating and regenerating the site through complimentary programming.

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ii. Jormungandr - A Proposal

TANJONG PAGAR MRT (GREEN LINE)

COMMERCIAL ZONE CIVIC ZONE

200m

RESIDENTIAL ZONE

CANTOMENT MRT (CIRCLE LINE)

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5584 words

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Appendix A WOHA Prototypologies

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Layering cities – This involves injecting multiple ground levels in a high-rise building, re-establishing street life and the provision of amenities at distinct intermediate floors. This added horizontal planes in the sky helps to facilitate the social interactions needed in dense environments. While it is important to stack our people and programmes vertically, it is also imperative that we stratify our amenities too.

Planting cities – Beyond being superficial add-ons onto and within a building, integrating plants helps to provide a sense of relief and respite in an already hectic and compact environment. It can create a perceived and actual sense of thermal comfort through the lessening of urban heat island effects.The presence of greenery, in the form of sky gardens, sky parks or green wall, also allows for the natural regeneration of the site, asserting a healthier relationship with its surrounding urban fabric.

Breathing Cities – The opportunity to reduce our reliance on mechanical ventilation to cool our buildings is to transform our buildings into wind-machines that naturally generates air movement through the introduction of vertical and horizontal breezeways. Communal spaces, atriums and housing units can also be natural ventilated by creating generous openings into these spaces.

Rating Cities – This is presented as an alternative and more holistic form of sustainable building assessment as compared to the ‘check-box’ methods that are typically calibrated to measure economic productivity through energy and resource savings. WOHA values their buildings not only terms of economic viability, but also through social and environmental contributions, and are measured by its green plot ratio, community plot ratio, civic generosity index, ecosystem contribution index and self-sufficiency index.

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Appendix B Case Studies

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Barcelona Super Block

The Barcelona Superblock initiative was conceived to reclaim the city back from cars. Enclosing

a tic-tac grid of 9 blocks, planners were able to cordon off vehicular access in to this superblock which in turn allows for a more pedestrian-centric environment. As a result, streets became livelier as residents reclaim the streets as public spaces for engagement, traffic is slowed down, and the levels of air and noise pollution was reduced, effectively making the superblock a more liveable site.

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New York High Line

The New York highline located in the west Meat Packing district of the city of Manhattan, is

an adaptive reuse development that saw an old elevate railway line, slated for demolishment, transformed into a park highway. Upon its opening, it immediately saw a trove of visitors flocking to what was once a lifeless part of the city into a bustling neighbourhood full of activity. Its success was also attributed to its use as elevated pedestrian infrastructure that is separated from the contested ground level that is predominantly occupied by motor vehicles.

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SEOULLO 7017

Designed by MVRDV, the Seoullo 7017 is also an adaptive reuse development that converted

a disused vehicular overpass into a linear elevated park network that also doubles as an urban nursery for plants that will be replanted elsewhere in the city. The park connects residents of Seoul from various districts of the city along the 1-kilometre spine towards to the Seoul Station, the major railway node of the city.

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Our Tampines Hub

Designed by DP Architects, the Our Tampines Hub is conceived as Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first integrat-

ed community and lifestyle building that sandwiches public, commercial, institutional and sporting facilities all within an area of 5.3 hectares. Located in Tampines, (the eastern regional centre of Singapore), it sits on a plot of land that once used to be a sports complex for the region. On top of providing additional programmes, its design also meant having to replace this sports complex with an improved version. This resulted in an integration of the exercise and sports facilities into the open public areas of the building. The placement of the public swimming pools and jogging track are located on the roof and fifth level respectively, both visible from the towering point block flats that surround the building.

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Superkilen

Located in the Nørrebro district of Copenhagen, Denmark, Superkilen is an urban improve-

ment project that is aimed at upgrading the liveable standards of the said neighbourhood, of which is inhabited by mostly an ethnically diverse community of immigrants and represents a poorer strata of the Copenhagen community. A colourful exercise, Superkilen is a public cycling track which stretches for about 750 meters and is straddled in between two housing estates. Conceived as a point of attraction for the neighbourhood, the provisions of flexible opens spaces, undulating hard and softscapes as well as sporting areas facilitates an increased level of engagement and participation from its residents, hence building stronger social relationships for the community and also improving social mobility.

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Parkroyal on Pickering

The Parkroyal on Pickering hotel and office building is an exemplary example of building inte-

grated elevated and vertical greenery. Located in the downtown area of Singapore, the Parkroyal on Pickering is designed to reflect the topicality of Singapore by introducing an elevated open ground level situated on the podium roof, and is characterized by dense greenery and blue features. Furthermore, the architects at WOHA have managed to achieve a landscape replacement area of 240% by continuing the greenery from the adjacent park upwards into its hotel blocks. Although this in itself frames and beautifies the building, reports also suggests that the surrounding residences are also enjoying the visual and relaxing benefits of having elevated modes of greenery.

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Solaris

TR Hamzah and Ken Yeangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Solaris building in the one-north industrial district of Singapore

strikes a balance between a green and liveable urban habitat, and a world that is hermetically sealed.

The approach to this building was to design an ecological site though maximising the amount of habitable green spaces for its occupants to enjoy. This is done so through enveloping the building with a linear parkscape that ramps and spirals up a building, connecting the ecology at the ground levels upwards into the buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s terraced skylarks. As such, the development boast a 108% landscape replacement areas and an improved biodiversity on site.

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Kyoto Yaoichi Honkan

Nestled among taller residential buildings in the Nakagyo-ku Ward of Kyoto is the Yocihi Honk-

an, a 3-storey commercial complex with an integrated urban farming facility located on its rooftop.

While also housing a marketplace and a cafĂŠ, it is the urban rooftop is what brings different parts of the community together. Although the farms main purpose is to yield crops for sale, it has become a an invaluable part of the learning and urban farming community to gravitate towards to learn and experience agriculture. Furthermore, the farm has attracted biodiversity in the form of Japanese Whiteeyed birds that scour the crops for insects, thus making them a natural form of pest control.

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Appendix C Site Studies of Tanjong Pagar

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H H W

H W

W

H

Residential Residential with commercial at 1st storey Civic and community institution

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4

W

Place of Worship

H

Healthcare Commercial Hotel Park / Open space Educational Commercial and Residential Reserved Land Utility

Land Use

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Figure-Ground Plan

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Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Road Networks

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Elevated Networks

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Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Pedestrian Networks

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

Forest

1 : 10000 in a4

Park Vacant/Common

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Landscape

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Open Shared Spaces

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Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

Swimming Pool

1 : 10000 in a4

Play Court Recreational Sports Venues

Futsal Pitch

2

1

1. Future Cantonment MRT Station

2. New Community Sports Facility @ Yan Kit

Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1 : 10000 in a4 Future Developments

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Cantonment, Duxton Hill and Maxwell area,Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

Conservation Site

1 : 10000 in a4

Monument Street Block Plan

Conservation and Heritage Sites

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Bibliography and References

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i. Main Readings Bingham-Hall, Patrick author. /WOHA Architects, Author.”Garden City Mega City: Rethinking Cities for the Age of Global Warming.” Pesaro Publishing, Singapore, 2016.

Colquhoun, Alan. “Oxford History of Art: Modern Architecture.” Oxford University Press, United Kingdom, 2002.

Future Cities Laboratory, ETH Zurich. “Construction of Territory - Singapore’s Expansion into the Sea” Architecture of Territory: Hinterland. Singapore, Johor, Riau. 2013 Gehl, Jan, author. “Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space.” Island Press, Washington DC, 2011.

Lim, Jospeh, author. “Skybridge 1: Air Rights Structure.” Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore, Singapore. 2017 NYC Planning. “A Survey of Transferable Development Rights Mechanisms In New York City.” Department of City Planning, City of New York. 2015 Yoos, Jennifer, author. / James, Vincent, author. / Blauvelt, Andrew, editor. “Parallel Cities: The Multilevel Metropolis.” Walker Art Center Publications, Minneapolis, 2016.

ii. Scholarly Articles and Texts Maki, Fumihiko, author. “Investigations in Collective Form.” Washington University, United States. 1964.

Pomeroy, Jason, author. “Defining Singapore Public Space: From Sanitisation to Corporatisation.”

Pomeroy Studio, Singapore.

Viljoen, Andre, Author. / Bohn, Katrin, author. “CONTINUOUS PRODUCTIVE URBAN LANDSCAPE (CPUL):Essential Infrastructure and Edible Ornament.” Open House International; Gateshead. Vol. 34, Iss. 2. June, 2009. Page 50-60. (Accessed from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44960513_ Continuous_Productive_Urban_Landscape_CPUL_Essential_infrastructure_and_edible_ornament)

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iii. Reports, Handbooks and Web Articles Au-Yong, Rachel. “First HDB flats in new Tengah Town unveiled with community farms and Gardens.”

The Straits Times, Singapore. 4 September, 2018. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/first-housing-district-in-new-tengah-town-unveiled-withemphasis-on-community-farming Chin, Daryl. “Expert warn of hefty Price tag for Singapore’s underground Ambitions.” The Straits Times, Singapore. 10 September, 2013. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/experts-warn-of-hefty-price-tag-for-singapores-underground-ambitions Indoor Spatial Quality and Lighting Conditions, Chapter 4.2 of the Green Mark for Non-Residential Buildings (2015), Spatial Quality. Building and Construction Authority, Singapore. 2015. Retrieved from: https://bca.gov.sg/GreenMark/others/Green_Mark_NRB_2015_Criteria_Draft_Rev3.pdf Jun Gang, Cai. “Geology of Singapore: Geotechnical Engineering Appreciation Course.” Tritech Consultants Pte Ltd, Singapore. July 2012. http://www.srmeg.org.sg/docs/N13072012_2.pdf Jun Sen, Ng. “Masterplan of Singapore’s underground spaces ready by 2019”. The Straits Times, Singapore. 5 February, 2018. https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/masterplan-of-spores-underground-spaces-ready-by-next-year Land Transport Master Plan 2040, Executive Summary of Master Plan, Land Transport Authority. Retrieved from: https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltaweb/en/about-lta/what-we-do/ltmp2040.html Provision of Wet Riser, Chapter 6 of the Fire Code (2013 edition), Fire Fighting Systems. Fire Safety and Shelter Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force. 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.scdf.gov.sg/home/fire-safety/downloads/acts-codes-regulations/fire-code-2013 Sports Singapore. “Vision 2030: Live Better Through Sports.” Singapore Sports Council, Singapore. 2012 Statistics on Singapore’s Population, Department of Statistics, SingStat. Retrieved from: https://www.singstat.gov.sg/find-data/search-by-theme/population/population-and-population-structure/latest-data

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Yggdrasil A design journal

A Thesis Project by, Muhammad Nazirul Bin Salleh Under the supervision of, A/P Shinya Okuda For the Department of Architecture at the National University of Singapore 2019

1_ massing

7_ green assets 2_ road divisions

3_ district zoning

9_ major node points 4_ points of entry

5_transportation nodes

11_programme assigment 6_vacant lots / open spaces

7_ green assets 2_ road divisions

8_green artery and veins

9_ major node points 4_ points of entry

10_ intermediary nodes

11_programme assigment 6_vacant lots / open spaces

12_linking programmes

13_linked programmes at common datum (30m)

14_transportation layer

15_parkscape layer

16_civic layer

17_business and commercial layer

18_composite

SERVICED SUITES

YGGDRASIL IS THE MYHTICAL TREE THAT CONNECTS THE NINE WORLDS IN NORSE MYTHOLOGY. IN THIS CASE, THE TREE INSPIRED THE SYNTHESIS OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND ARCHITECTURE FOR THIS SPORTS-CUM-CIVIC EDIFICE WHICH AIMS TO BE THE BRIDGE BETWEEN THE DISPARATE PARTS OF TANJONG PAGAR.

BROADCAST CENTRE

COM MON LI

SPANNING THE WIDER DISTRICTS OF CANTONMENT, DUXTON HILL AND DOWNTOWN TANJONG PAGAR, YGGDRASIL POSITS THE POSSIBILTY OF THE USE OF AIR RIGHTS TO CONCEIVE ‘FLOATING’ STRUCTURES IN THE SKY; RE-INTESIFYING THE DENSITY OF THE CITY AS IT SEEKS FOR MORE AVAILBLE SPACE FOR DEVELOPMENT.

NK + 45m URBAN CORE LINKS

IT ALSO ENVISIONS THE PROSPECTS OF CRAFTING A THREE DIMENSIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR THE CITY AS IT BECOMES INCREASINGLY VERTICAL. BY CREATING ELEVATED PLATFORM DATUMS, AND INTEGRATING PROGAMMATIC FUNCTIONS IN THEM, THE CITIY’S GROUND LEVEL IS ALLOWED TO ‘BREATHE’ FROM THE CONGESTIONS SYMPTOMATIC OF RISING URBAN POPULATION GROWTH.

‘TITANIC’

LOCKER / CHANGING ROOM MULTI-PURPOSE POOL

POOL STANDS OFFICES

JACUZZI

R

CS LAYE

AQUATI

WADING POOL

OLYMPIC POOL MACHINE ROOMS

SERVICED SUITES / OFFICES

GRAND STAIRS

SERVICED SUITES

GALLERIES

5m

+36.5m - 41.

TENNIS COURT GALLERY STANDS

+23.5m LAYER STADIA

- 30m

SERVICED SUITES

MULTI-PURPOSE SPORTS HALL

8-LANE RUNNING TRACK HARD COURTS

STADIA THOROUGHFARE

MPSH LOBBY

STADIA FORUM

SKY DECKS HANGING GARDENS MID-LEVEL BLEACHERS

MID-LEVEL SKYWAY +15m

MID-LEVEL ARCADE

BASKETBALL COURT

LATTICE CORES/ COLUMNS

ER

RIS

TANJONG PAGAR - CANTONMENT AND DUXTON HILL DISTRICT