CONSERVING TAGORE: REHABILITATING AN URBAN FOREST

Sun Hao Jen Ashley

Since independence, Singapore managed to industrialize rapidly and has continuously managed the changing demands of the demography and the economy. In order to establish urban habitats for the people, much of the secondary forests in Singapore have given way to the built environment. Our site of focus, the Tagore Forest faces a similar threat of being repurposed into community estates, catered for the growing population.

This project aims to reconcile the conflict of reducing forest size in the face of urban development, while conserving the biodiversity of the forest. Design of the project revolves around expanding habitats for specific wildlife endangered species, which calls for a heterogeneous mix of patches with variable cover, species and stand age classes. Cultivating a forest in a city means creating favorable conditions with foresight over long periods of time, because forests are slow growing.

In addition, this urban forest project aims to be responsive to the needs of the local residents. Some urban residents may be unfamiliar with and even fearful of the dense wooded territory. While improvement of forest biodiversity and potential benefits are prioritized, residents living nearby should play a part in enjoying the forest as a recreational space. Alternative forms of the human-forest intervention is proposed to encourage emotional attachment to the forest as a respite within the city, a place for social interaction and a way to connect to a new home. These interventions are namely using balconies as elevated boardwalks, inviting residents to partake in community gardening and allowing the gardens to mature into wild forest buffers after 20 years so as to widen the forest corridor. This urban forest landscape hopes to inspire attachment to place by extending the spectrum of outdoor sensory experiences and offering people an active role in preserving the forest.