NEO WORKHOME
CHOO QING YUAN
M.Arch II Thesis
AY2020/21
Thesis Supervisor
Associate Professor Cheah Kok Ming
Crisis Optimist: Antifragility and Architecture
Architectural Design Thesis Portfolio
AY 2020/2021
Abstract Design Proposal
1. Premise
1.1 Speculative Scenario
1.2 Thesis Statement
1.3 Site
2. Overall Building System
2.1 Methodology
2.2 Form & Structural System
2.3 Clustering of Units
3. Unit Design
3.1 Overall Concept
3.2 Residential Quantum
3.3 Unit Variations
3.4 Special Features
3.5 Household in Units
4. Communal Programs & Amenities
4.1 Program Clusters
4.2 Rentable Spaces
4.3 Long-term usability of Program Spaces
Student
Choo Qing Yuan A0156847N
Acknowledgements:
I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis supervisor Professor Cheah Kok Ming for his valuable feedback and encouragements during the course of the thesis design.
I would also like to extend my thanks to my fellow studio mates for their help and moral support over the 14 weeks of thesis design.
Guest critics, lecturers and consultants
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Cheah Kok Ming Teaching Assistant: Ian Mun
Abstract
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down into an unprecedented crisis. Businesses are severely affected and working from home has become the new default. Over the span of a few months, cities have turned into ghost towns when the global population were confined within their homes during the pandemic lockdown.
Like most nations around the world, Singapore has not been spared from the pandemic, especially as infection cases initially spiralled out of control within the workers’ dormitories. This has resulted in fear-driven mob mentality among the general public as Singaporeans turned to panic buying, emptying shelves in stores to stockpile food and sanitation products. In the residential context, the series of inter-related societal issues has also posed challenges to the living patterns and work practices of many Singaporeans.
As an individual affected firsthand by the problems of working (studying) and living in a domestic setting during a pandemic, the thesis is both an attempt to address the overall issues faced by the general population, as well as a personal desire for a more ideal living space.
The premise of the thesis speculates a scenario where the pandemic is an ongoing phenomenon in Singapore, in which the DORSCON Alert Level remains at orange in the forseeable future.
Situated in Kallang/Whompoa on a residential plot (155 Owen Road), the thesis therefore proposes a prototype residential tower typology that aims to support working, recreation and everyday living needs of the work from home population in Singapore during the pandemic. The design visualises the tower as an antifragile vertical city that is able to selectively isolate, yet sustain in isolation during a lockdown.
Categorised in a range of scales, the workhome typology sought to address the challenges and needs of the WFH population. On the unit level, the apartments will cater to a variety of family types, providing the flexibility to accommodate different demographics. As a collective community, the typology categorises the amenities in a hierarchy of levels to provide unique identities to each living cluster. On the ground level, its immediate surrounding neighbourhood is served by the provision of commercial facilities.
The proposal also serves as a critique of the existing private residential real estate developments by introducing improved programs of public amenities to better cater to the residents. It also aims to rethink the concept of saleable and rentable spaces in this new era of domesiticity and commerce.
Plot area: 6950 sqm
Plot Ratio: 2.8
Maximum Building Height: 36
1.1 Speculative Scenario
The premise of the thesis speculates a scenario where the pandemic is an ongoing phenomenon in Singapore, in which the DORSCON Alert Level remains at ORANGE in the forseeable future. While the pandemic is being contained within the country, control and social distancing measures have to be complied with at all times with the risk of the city going on a lockdown at any instances when the disease goes out of control.
1.2
Thesis Statement
This thesis proposes a prototype residential tower typology that aims to support working, recreation and everyday living needs of the work from home population in Singapore during the pandemic. The design visualises the tower as an antifragile vertical city that is able to selectively isolate, yet sustain in isolation during a lockdown.
1.3 Site
As the thesis aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a new residential typology in a singular tower, site conditions should be of lower emphasis compared to the program spaces within the architecture. Hence a typical sizable residential plot (6950 sqm) of plot ratio 2.8 is chosen for the building to be designed on. Situated in Kallang/ Whompoa, along 155 Owen Road, the site is surrounded by HDB blocks and high-rise condominiums, with the Northwest facade fronting a row of ground level commercial shops along an existing HDB block.
RECREATIONALCLUSTER REMOTEWORKINGCLUSTER ROOFTOPURBANFARM
VENDINGCLUSTER
HOMEBUSINESSCLUSTER RETAIL
SERVICE / GOODS LIFT
RESIDENTIAL LIFT
ROOFTOP URBAN FARM
VIEWING DECK
CAPSULE WORKSPACES (HOUR-BASED RENTAL)
SKY GREEN CORRIDOR (LOOP)
SWIMMING POOL
FITNESS CENTRE (GYM, BALL COURTS)
SELF-SERVICE VENDING KIOSKS
HARDWARE WORKSHOP (HOUR-BASED RENTAL)
COMMUNAL KITCHEN REPAIR SHOPS (ELECTRONICS, HARDWARE)
2. Overall Building System
2.1 Methodology
The thesis proposal starts off by designing and looking at individual unit designs at a range of sizes and types comparable to the existing condominium units. Once the units have been set in place, they are arranged in a collective community based on two levels of clustering systems: Vertical cluster and horizontal programmatic cluster. To support the needs of the residents outside of the unit scale, a variety of programs are inserted within each horizontal cluster in a hierarchy of levels, giving a unique identity to each cluster. These spaces also serve as interim communal decks for residents to interact and mingle in a controlled and distanced environment. On the ground level, retail and commercial spaces are placed in an elevated deck that transitions to an open green space, partially open to the public.
2.2 Form & Structural System
The overall building form is defined by the presence of 5 structural lift cores with the units and program spaces stacked around them. 4 of them are positioned on the exterior facade to define each linear cluster, and they are designed to serve only the residents. The service and delivery core is positioned at the centre of the tower, where it can selectively access the interim communal spaces within the building, for delivery and maintenance.
2.3 Clustering of Units
Each vertical cluster is segmented based on the concept of isolation and social distancing, defined by its outward facing residential lift core. Each lift core serves only 2 units on each level. On typical unit floors, residents on one vertical cluster are unable to physically access the other cluster, having ony visual access to the adjacent apartment corridors.
For the delivery of goods into individual residential apartments, external parties are required to access the service lift to the nearest interim communal deck and transfer to the residential lift through the deck. The residential lift is further segregated by a decontamination lobby to ensure an extra level of protection from any contaminants before reaching the apartments.
