TAGORE NEIGHBOURHOOD AS FOREST EDGE

Amanda Jennifer Chandra

Recognising special qualities of Tagore neighbourhood as being surrounded by secondary forest, various potential and challenges are addressed in order to retrofit the neighbourhood to adapt into future deforestation and development scenario whereby the cost of deforesting can be compensated by landscape treatments on the existing neighbourhood.

Various strategies will be implemented to bring back the connection between human and nature. The first design strategy is to compensate the loss of forest by learning from the composition of the plants in Singapore’s primary forest and applying similar forest composition as planting scheme in the neighbourhood. Some valuable and endangered forest species are introduced within the neighbourhood forest.

The second strategy is to retrofit existing building structures and re-design new housing typology to fit the context of forest edge. Light broad walk structures will be built to control and ease the circulation within the neighbourhood forest while easing the access for management. The broad walk will also subtly delineate the boundary between private backyard space and public area. Backyard decks are built to facilitate backyard domestic activities on landed housing while the residents can enjoy their backyard forest at the same time. Rooftop connectors are added to facilitate domestic activities and rooftop leisure activities on condominium. New housing typology is constructed while respecting the existing maturing forest.

The third design strategy is combining design with people’s management, in which the residents can actively taking care and manage the forest while they are doing their domestic activities every day. Sustainable living is introduced by the forest nursery management scheme in which the residents can enjoy the product of their backyard forest garden. All design strategies are to be designed with time. Re-development phases will be planned for the planting, rebuilding, and management activities in the process of retrofitting the neighbourhood.