The Winner

The winning scheme selected by the Jury was by

ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism, Singapore, in collaboration with RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd, Singapore.

The winning scheme comprises a series of seven 48-storey high blocks linked by sky parks at the 26th storey and roof level. The blocks are arranged along the eastern edge of the site next to Duxton Plain Park. This maximises views out for the units and at the same time creates a large, central open communal garden above the basement car park.

The recreational and communal facilities are located within the communal garden and the 26th storey sky park. These are linked by two express lifts that are also connected to two communal sky parks at the roof level. Within these spaces a variety of recreational and communal facilities are provided, giving residents more opportunities to interact.

The scheme proposes to capture the memory of the site by creating a ‘Historical Park’ within the communal garden. This will include the two plaques from the existing blocks and a series of ‘light tubes’ at the original location of the structural columns.

The scheme also proposed the use of different tree species to provide an attractive green environment and help define and provide varying degrees of privacy to the different activity areas within the communal garden.

The facade treatment to the blocks is elegant and simple. It gives a ‘residential character’ and avoids a sense of overbearing density. This is achieved using sun-shading screens for west facing facades and selectively placed balconies and planter boxes. This also provides greater choices to cater to resident’s preferences.

The units are laid out with the wet areas grouped together giving flexibility for the rest of the space to be reconfigured to respond to the changing needs of the occupants.

The scheme is simple, yet urbanistically effective, incorporating innovative design ideas. It is prominent and distinctive, standing out against the existing skyline. At the same time, it is sufficiently porous. Rather than one continuous overwhelming building mass, the urban windows formed by the blocks allow the city to be perceived in layers.

The scheme capitalises the benefits of very high-rise living, maximising views out for the occupants. It is able to achieve an attractive high-rise, high-density environment with high efficiency and buildability through standardisation of the layout of the building blocks and pre-casting most of the building structure components.

Merit Prizes
The two merit prizes were awarded to two schemes which proposed some new ideas that could encourage further development in high-rise, high-density public housing designs.

The two design proposals awarded the Merit prize were by:

• BBBSA, Argentina, in collaboration with RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd, Singapore

• WOHA Architects, Singapore

 

Other Stage Two submissions
The two other short-listed schemes in Stage Two were by:

• Chao Tse Ann & Partners Pte Ltd, Singapore together with Rocco Design Ltd, Hong Kong; and

• The Housing and Development Board, Singapore, together with Wong + Tung International, Hong Kong.
  

Publication:

A publication documenting the Competition and all the submissions received will be available soon. Expressions of interest to purchase may be submitted using the online form, and details on the date of publication and cost will be forwarded to you separately.

Exhibition:

In the meantime, please come to the exhibition, where all the Stage One & Stage Two submissions are displayed.

Due to overwhelming demand, the exhibition period has been extended!

Date	Thurs 02 May 2002 to Tues 21May 2002
Opening hours	8.30am to 9.00pm Mondays to Friday 8.30am to 5.30pm Saturdays
Admission	free
Location	The URA Centre 45 Maxwell Road S(069118) The nearest MRT is the Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.

Feedback:

We would appreciate your feedback on the Competition and any comments you might have on the exhibition. Click here to submit your feedback.