Orchard Road is set to undergo a $40 million rejuvenation. With the planned landscape and infrastructural enhancements, Singapore’s premier shopping street will have new landscaping and state-of-the-art lighting to highlight its lush tree-lined boulevard. A partial one-lane closure on the South side of Orchard Road will afford new creative spaces for staging events and for people to rest and watch the world go by. Works are expected to be completed by April 2009.

From the big plans… to the little details

Infrastructural enhancement will be carried out from the Tanglin Road/Grange Road intersection where Tanglin Mall is located, and continue all the way down Orchard Road to the intersection with Buyong Road, where Le Meridien Singapore is located.

The enhancement works will be divided into three distinct zones – the Tanglin, Orchard and Somerset zones – and these will be characterised by Flower, Forest and Fruit themes respectively.

All three zones will have enhanced road and pedestrian mall lighting, including attractive accent lighting to highlight Orchard Road’s mature trees and foliage and to create strong night-time landscapes. New coordinated street furniture (granite benches, flower bins, new waste bins, recycle bins and new bollards) and multi-functional lamp posts with a more extensive height and reach will also be installed.

Many hands make good work

The Orchard Road mall enhancement initiative is driven by an inter-agency taskforce led by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and comprises agencies such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the National Parks Board (NParks). The Task Force worked closely with the design consultant team, Cox Group (Australia) in partnership with Architects 61 (Singapore) on the design development of the mall enhancement works.

A Design Advisory Panel (DAP), chaired by the URA was appointed to evaluate the concept design and guide the design development. The views of the Orchard Road Business Association and various stakeholders of Orchard Road were also sought before finalising the design for the enhancement works.

The relevant public sector agencies involved in the project will continue to work closely with the various stakeholders of Orchard Road to ensure the enhancement works progress smoothly. Orchard Road’s infrastructure works will be carried out in phases to minimise disruption to businesses and the public, while access points to buildings will be maintained at all times.

Part of a bigger bag of goodies…

Consistently ranked the most-visited attraction in Singapore, Orchard Road attracts more than seven million visitors each year, while thousands of local residents visit the area for leisure and work each day.

The announcement of the rejuvenation plans for the area in late October follows the sale of three prime sites by the URA last year, targeted to increase the number of shopping venues and diversity of retail concepts and options to Orchard Road.

Apart from the development of ION Orchard, Somerset Central and Orchard Central, older venues such as Hotel Phoenix and Specialists’ Shopping Centre are slated for redevelopment. New international brands like Frank Muller, Jimmy Choo, Richard Mille and Van Cleef & Arpels as well as new initiatives such as the weekly Late Night Shopping have injected new vibrancy to the retail scene.

Convenient connections

URA’s plans for the area also includes making Orchard Road even more pedestrian-friendly. With a comprehensive, integrated and seamless pedestrian network including covered and open walkways, underground links as well as second storey links between buildings, visitors can look forward to enjoying all-weather comfort as they stroll from mall to mall, and to and from MRT stations.

URA has also planned for seamless pedestrian connectivity to MRT stations. The three latest sale sites along Orchard Road will be incorporating pedestrian connections to the adjacent MRT stations. In addition, there will be underground links constructed to connect ION Orchard to Wheelock Place and Orchard Central to Centrepoint. With the redevelopment of Specialists’ Shopping Centre/Phoenix Hotel, an underground link from Somerset MRT station to Centerpoint will also be made possible.

Wherever applicable, URA has guided developments to incorporate knock-out panels to facilitate future pedestrian connections as well. One example is the Scotts redevelopment, in which URA has guided the developer to provide knockout panels for a second level link and underground connection to Tangs.

To help defray construction costs, a cash grant incentive was also introduced in March 2004 to encourage building owners to create more underground links between selected buildings in Orchard Road.

Injecting new vitality in older malls

URA has also put in place various other incentives to encourage the redevelopment of older shopping malls, so that they can continue to project fresh and updated impressions. For example, we have relaxed the building setback and provided Gross Floor Area (GFA) incentives to encourage more interesting and varied building façades. Developments have since found it to their advantage to open up their shopfronts, allowing more activities along the mall and better engaging pedestrians on the street level. A good example can be seen at Wisma Atria.

There are already GFA incentives for the creation of urban verandahs, which are porch-like extensions on the second storey enabling developments on the north side to engage the street with activity-generated uses on the second storey. The Balcony at Heeren, which is a popular cafe today, is one example.

URA has also set up the Orchard Road Redevelopment Commission (ORDEC), to encourage quality and innovative redevelopment projects to existing properties. Developers and building owners of adjacent sites are encouraged to come together with proposals that will introduce new concepts, additional public amenities, and cultural facilities to create memorable experiences.

With so much in store to enliven and enhance the experience for shoppers and pedestrians, Orchard Road looks all set to continue living up to its reputation as one of the most celebrated shopping streets in the world!