Architecture and Urban Design Excellence

All art installations and associated lighting will be switched off during Earth Hour on 31 March

Building owners and corporations across the island respond positively to the sustainability call

The Marina Bay precinct is ready to shine with an expanded line-up of artists featured in the sophomore edition of Asia's first and only sustainable light art festival.

Residents can expect a new civic centre to be built at the former Malay Village site in Geylang Serai by 2016. The centre will stand out as a contemporary building, yet culturally distinct in terms of design and architecture. Improvements to the neighbourhood will include a widened walkway and enhanced street infrastructure along Geylang Road.

A city's liveability starts from citizens themselves. Professor Marilyn Taylor, a new member of the Nominating Committee for the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize talks about how citizens can change their living environments, memorable projects in Singapore and what fuels her passion in transforming cities.

Asia's first sustainable light art festival shines the spotlight on Marina Bay

From the iconic Marina Bay Sands, to a radically-designed hospital and even a soulful magazine, the President's Design Award went to 10 inspiring designs in 2011. Two veteran architects were also conferred 'Designer of the Year'.

Get ready to be dazzled by stunning light art installations at Marina Bay. i Light Marina Bay is returning for the second time from 9 Mar to 1 Apr 2012.

We are seeking bold and creative ideas for URA's latest competition on the Rail Corridor.

Urban Sketchers Singapore : Volume 01

Make Tanjong Pagar railway station a grand terminal for bicycles. Turn the Alexandra stretch of the rail corridor into a sanctuary of healing, escape and play. Keep the magical canopy of trees at Bukit Timah Railway station untouched. Set up weekend flea markets. Create a skate park for youths under the viaduct.

More than 360 intimately drawn sketches of wonderful places, moments and memories of life in Singapore are now out in a book and exhibition. Over 30 artists have lovingly illustrated the charm and grit of Little India's spice streets, the last kampung at Lorong Buangkok, the landmark Tanjong Pagar railway station, dragon kilns at Lorong Tawas and many more.

Close to 1,400 young budding photographers captured the buzz and quiet moments of the city, in the recent "I Love Singapore: City Life" photography competition. Check out the six winning entries from the Children and Youth categories.

Organised by the Singapore Institute of Architects and supported by URA's Architecture and Urban Design Excellence (A.UDE) Promotion Programme funding, Archifest has become an inspiring platform to discuss the significant role that quality architecture plays in shaping our physical environments and lives.

Plans include preservation of Malay cultural heritage

Six schools awarded best city ideas in annual planning competition

If you have time for just one museum visit this month, do pop by the newly revamped Singapore City Gallery. Trace Singapore?s remarkable physical development while marveling at one of the world?s largest architectural models.

Close to 100 students from 13 Junior Colleges and Polytechnics came up with creative ideas to further enhance various parts of the city in URA?s Challenge for the Urban & Built Environment in Jun 2011.

More than 40 years of Pritzker Prize-winning British Architect Richard Rogers' best works, together with his partners and collaborators, are now presented in an exclusive exhibition, in collaboration with URA, entitled "Richard Rogers + Architects: From the House to the City." The exhibition is on till 23 Jul 2011 (extended to 20 Aug 2011).

The much-loved Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building and Stamford House will be transformed into a new lifestyle destination in the Civic District, to be completed by 2014. Skyline goes behind the scenes to look at the process involved in selecting the winning scheme for this strategic sale site.

Four Singapore artists, who took part in the inaugural "i Light Marina Bay" sustainable light art festival in 2010, were invited to showcase their light art works at Vivid Sydney ? Asia Pacific's largest light and music festival.

At the annual Corporate Plan Seminar, URA shared its workplans and initiatives with key stakeholders and service partners from the public and private sectors, including media. With the draft Concept Plan due to be released at the end of 2011, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan outlined some of the key thrusts in the planning of Singapore for the next 40 to 50 years.

A selection of seminal works from 20 outstanding Singapore architects were on display at the prestigious architectural and urban design Aedes Architecture Forum Gallery (Aedes) in Berlin, Germany, highlighting the vibrant state of architectural culture and discourse in Singapore today.

Earth Hour, the annual ?lights out? event led by the World Wide Fund for Nature, returned to Singapore on 26 Mar 2011, this time round at Marina Bay. 5,000 supporters gathered at The Promontory @ Marina Bay to watch Singapore?s iconic city skyline dim for an hour in support of the green cause.

The Singapore City Gallery tells the story of Singapore's planning efforts, showing its remarkable physical transformation ? past, present and future. Following a recent face-lift, the newly upgraded gallery is now open to the public.

Quirky, delightful, inspiring, clever and sincere?two brilliant designers and nine groundbreaking designs won Singapore?s most prestigious President?s Design Award for 2010.

Singapore is a relatively young country but yet its architects have already gained recognition at many international platforms for its unique blend of ideas and architectural style.

Over 400,000 visitors were awed by the first ever sustainable light art festival at Marina Bay from 15 Oct to 7 Nov 2010. The variety of light art installations were a delightful spectacle in the city, jazzing up the night life and offered a visual feast for all to enjoy!

i Light Marina Bay, Asia's first sustainable light art festival, transformed Marina Bay into a visual kaleidoscope of colours, waves and reflections. The light art festival celebrates the nightscape with the use of energy-efficient lighting and creates awareness of energy-saving lighting technology through its light art installations, programmes and activities.

The fifth meeting of the International Panel of Experts (IPE) was successfully held in Singapore from 24 to 27 Oct 2010. The panel members shared with URA their valuable insights on our island-wide strategies, plans for specific areas within and outside of the Central Area, as well as proposals to promote good architecture and urban design practices in Singapore.

URA has been conferred the prestigious Urban Land Institute (ULI) Global Awards for Excellence 2010 for its transformation and development of the Southern Ridges, a 9 km-long chain of green, open spaces spanning the rolling hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park, before ending at West Coast Park.

Official opening held in conjunction with The New Paper Big Walk @ Marina Bay and weekend carnival

More than 20,000 Singaporeans were among the first to stroll through Singapore?s most exciting waterfront promenade at Marina Bay when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong opened it on 18 Jul 2010. With cool mists, delightful fountains, stunning panoramic views and beautifully sculpted artworks, the new promenade offers yet another opportunity for all to experience more of Marina Bay.

The ?20 Under 45? exhibition is back! Building on the earlier success of the 2004 edition of the ?20 under 45? exhibition, URA has been showcasing a second installment of 20 Singapore-registered architects under the age of 45 since 3 Aug 2010.

Visitors can now enjoy more of Marina Bay with the new waterfront promenade opened.

Exhibition of winning flag designs by the community opens on Sunday, 13 June 2010

URA has been working steadily to make Singapore into one of the world?s most liveable cities. The findings from two recent surveys are proof that our efforts are paying off. At the annual URA Corporate Plan Seminar on 30 Apr 2010, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan shared the findings and spelt out the ingredients for Singapore to grow into a city with soul.

Over the years, URA has taken on environmental improvement projects to create a pleasant streetscape for pedestrians while enhancing the identity of various localities. You can look forward to more coastal getaways and recreational options in the near future.

URA has been conferred the prestigious Urban Land Institute (ULI) Awards for Excellence 2010: Asia Pacific by the ULI for the transformation of the Southern Ridges. Well-loved by Singaporeans and visitors, the Southern Ridges is a unique recreational destination, offering a calming sanctuary of greenery that was not accessible in the past.

Several flags with vibrant colours can now be seen flying high and proud all around the waterfront promenade at Marina Bay. These 20 eye-catching flags represent the creativity of the winners and special mentions of the ?My Marina Bay, My Inspiration? flag design competition which URA had held from 20 Nov 2009 to 28 Feb 2010 in conjunction with the Singapore Design Festival 2009.

Bilbao City Hall was announced as the winner of the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize at a media conference held at The URA Centre in May. The Prize recognises outstanding individuals and organisations for urban initiatives which display foresight, good governance or innovation in tackling urban challenges.

As our built environment gets denser and more compact, we can expect to see more high-rise commercial and residential developments being built closer together within the confines of a small area of land. Even then, what is to stop us from having some ?green relief? such as a nice view of the park nearby, a glimpse of the city skyline or even a view of the sea? The quality of our living and working environment can be maintained, with everyone playing their part to be sensitive to the environment.

If you are an art lover and plan to go down to Marina Bay some time in August, you may want to check out the two specially-designed Olympic-themed public artworks which will be installed at the Marina Bay waterfront promenade, near the Central Promontory site.

Explore, experience, be entertained. All at one place : The Marina Bay.

Online flag design competition held in conjunction with Singapore Design Festival 2009 aims to heighten community's sense of ownership in Marina Bay.

From the towering to thoughtful, intimate to impressive, ingenious to intriguing, the President?s Design Award saw four visionary designers and seven groundbreaking designs on its honour roll this year. Skyline presents you a showcase of the fine winners that have redefined the boundaries of creative possibilities in the field of architecture and urban design.

URA, as the development agency for Marina Bay, has organised the first-ever ?My Marina Bay, My Inspiration? online flag design competition in conjunction with the Singapore Design Festival.

Many of us would have noticed the amazing transformation that Marina Bay has undergone, especially over the past couple of months. Developments are fast taking shape, and there is always something noticeably different about the place almost every day.

The open, green field just above the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station is now home to a brand new community space. Boasting a contemporary, bold design that reinforces the uniqueness of its surrounding natural landscape, Dhoby Ghaut Green is the latest addition to the variety of public spaces that have been created to add a fresh vibe to our city centre.

Since 2008, URA's Marina Bay Speakers Series has been bringing influential names in architecture and urban planning to speak in Singapore as part of a series of free public lectures on architecture, place-making, urban design, planning and sustainability. These lectures create platforms for the community to hear what Marina Bay has to offer and provides opportunities for networking and knowledge exchange. These lectures are also part of URA's architecture and urban design excellence programme which aims to promote good design in the built environment.

The lush green environs and scenic settings of the Southern Ridges have drawn enthusiastic visitors, nature lovers and budding photographers to the area. Less well-known is the fact that the design and innovative use of space and materials have garnered accolades for the two pedestrian bridges, Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch, as well as the Forest Walk.

Dhoby Ghaut was an open space where dhobies gathered to wash laundry along the banks of Sungei Bras Basah (now known as the Stamford Canal). Essentially an Anglo-Indian term, the area was thus coined as Dhoby Ghaut where dhoby refers to laundrymen and ghaut means ?beside the river?.

A 2.6km stretch in the heart of our city attracting more than 6 million visitors each year - and thousands of locals each day, Orchard Road is synonymous with everything about shopping. But more recently, it has also become swankier and spiffier, offering more than just great buys. Find out what is in the area?s winning formula, and what more is in store.

Practical and effective solutions and ideas that can generate impactful social, economic and environmental benefits can be replicated across cities and communities worldwide. Encouraging and showcasing innovative urban solutions can certainly help to promote excellence in city management and planning whilst enhancing the quality of living for people globally.

Urban planning in Singapore requires a balancing of its spatial constraints amidst competing uses for land optimisation as well as sensitivity to the history and identity of the environment. In the first ever Challenge for the Urban & Built Environment (CUBE) organised by URA, junior college and polytechnic students had a firsthand experience of planning ?out of the box? or rather, CUBE.

Needing a break after being buried in paperwork for hours, you head to the sky terrace on your office floor for a breather. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, you enjoy a shady escape at the rooftop garden with a cuppa and a good book. And on any given day, you have your ?green moments? while walking downtown or to the nearest bus stop, taking in the beautiful garden oasis and skyrise greenery abundant in the buildings around you.

If modern-day Singapore conjures up images of a living, growing city, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) might well be considered its architect. Few planning agencies in the world have done quite as much to coordinate city planning efforts and bring a sense of coherence to the urban landscape.

What makes Singapore an endearing home for us? Do we anchor our sense of belonging on places or structures that we easily identify with and have loved all these years? Perhaps, it is an up-and-coming development that we are excited about and can build our future on. Skyline brings you 35 hotspots that are dear to us, in one way or another. We hope that you love them as much as we do.

Now into its successful third year, the President?s Design Award 2008 honoured 10 designs and designers for their contributions to the development of Singapore design. We give you a round up of the distinguished winners from the field of Architecture & Urban Design who have pushed the boundaries of their design field.

Architecture in Singapore has been basking in the limelight for the past few years. A quick look at the city?s bookstores such as Kinokuniya and Borders will find a large collection of magazines, coffee table books, journals and books : All dedicated to one form of architecture and design or another. Skyline takes stock of the recent milestones in the scene and efforts by URA to bring architecture to the people.

The new link which will complete the 3.5 km waterfront loop around Marina Bay is currently being pieced together, literally. When completed by end 2009, the new landmark Bridge at Marina Bay will serve as a direct link between Marina Centre and the Bayfront area and become a new destination attraction offering breathtaking views of the city.

Whether you are a cycling enthusiast looking for a challenging new route or just a tired city denizen in need of fresh air, the upcoming Labrador Nature and Coastal Walk promises to offer more recreational and leisure choices for you.

The night scene in Singapore is looking very exciting indeed. Just look at all the various nocturnal events and activities that have taken place on our little island recently. With a complementary lighting masterplan to infuse the darkness, we say, let there be night!

URA's vision for the Southern Ridges, consisting of Mount Faber, Telok Blangah and Kent Ridge, was to have a seamless connection through these popular parks and offer Singaporeans and visitors a brand new experience to walk, jog and explore nature while taking in charming views of the surroundings.

The month-long festival celebrating architecture and the built environment is back. The theme "Man+Environment" provides the focus for Archifest 08 and aims to present the challenges in balancing man's needs and the environment. The festival promises to deliver a myriad of exciting events such as Exhibitions, Forums, Architours and other Fringe events.

The sleepy space above Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station is about to awaken to new life. Besides playing host to community events and performances, it will also feature a sculptural outdoor amphitheatre and a food and beverage (F&B) pavilion. Skyline takes you closer to peek at what is to come.

Already a popular and thriving hive of activity, the Singapore River will soon undergo further enhancements and, also, host a new slew of events to make it into an even more compelling 24-hour waterfront lifestyle destination.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has embarked on a new education initiative to build up greater awareness of and appreciation for our built environment. Skyline tells you more about what is being done to build a more design-conscious culture amongst the younger generation.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) was honoured to have President S R Nathan visit the Singapore 1:1 Island exhibition recently. It was particularly meaningful for us as this exhibition is a follow-up to an earlier one : Singapore 1:1 City ? that was launched by the President in 2005.

On 1 December 2007, the final segment of the pedestrian bridge across Henderson Road was lifted, bringing the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) a step closer towards the completion of its plan to link the Southern Ridges. Skyline updates you on the project that will enable Singaporeans to experience the lush, scenic expanse of the beautiful Ridges.

As a lead-on from an earlier successful exhibition, the URA has organised another insightful review of more of Singapore?s outstanding architecture and urban design works in our latest exhibition, ?Singapore 1:1 Island?. Among the exhibits are timeless projects completed in the early years of our independence as well as some of the latest additions to our built environment.

A design competition calling for ideas to help shape the development of a distinctive, next-generation living environment at Marina South has yielded some inspiring concepts. Skyline takes a peek at some of the brilliant ideas.

An architect, toy company founder, community library and photo printer were among the individuals and projects that were accorded the nation?s highest design honour ? the President?s Design Award ? this year. Skyline tells you more about the distinguished winners from the field of Architecture & Urban Design.

The rejuvenation plans for Orchard Road are kicking into high gear with a $40 million infrastructural enhancement and more which promise pedestrians and shoppers new lifestyle experiences. Skyline takes you out to see what is ahead.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is master planning a landmark residential district at Marina South that will offer residents a unique waterfront-garden living experience. A competition has also been organised to garner innovative design ideas for the area.

Singapore has earned a place among the world's top 20 most liveable cities, according to a recent article in Monocle magazine. Read on to find out more about what sets us apart.

The fourth meeting of the International Panel of Architects and Urban Planners (IPAUP) was convened on 14 and 15 May 2007 at the URA Centre. Many valuable insights and ideas were shared through a lively exchange of views at the discussions.

Almost 6,000 visitors celebrated International Museum Day at the Singapore City Gallery this year. The myriad activities lined up not only brought back many cherished memories of our city from a time gone by, but also conjured up stirring images of how we will live, work and play in the future.

They came, they painted up a storm, and they bowled over the public and judges with their eye-grabbing creations. To mark the end of the rewarding five-month long journey of the nation's first postbox art competition, we present to you the dazzling works of the winning artists!

Skyline takes an early peek at an architectural and engineering masterpiece that is set to put the "wow" right in Singapore's city centre - the boldly designed and awe-inspiring new bridge at Marina Bay.

One year after its winning scheme was unveiled, the Marina Bay Sands integrated Resort continues to be an eagerly-anticipated enhancement to Singapore's landscape. The evolution of this development's remarkable design was recently retold by its chief architect Moshe Safdie, and also featured in an exhibition at the URA Centre.

Singapore's new waterfront business district will feature state-of-the-art infrastructure and urban design features.

- Painting activity to take place over three Sundays. - Public voting for top 10 designs from 02 to 29 Apr 07.

If you think that the postbox you regularly drop your mails into has been replaced by the hippest looking work of art, look again! It is most likely still there, but given a makeover! All thanks to STAMP, Singapore's first postbox art competition.

Artists of top 40 designs will showcase their work on 40 postboxes in the civic, cultural, shopping and business districts in Singapore's city area. Public to vote for top 10 designs in nation-wide competition. Overall winners of each category will win $5,000 cash while eight merit winners will be awarded $500 each.

Armed with a proposal complete with family-friendly attractions and entertainment offerings and nature-based architecture, Genting International and partner Star Cruises won the bid to clinch the right to develop the Integrated Resort (IR) on Sentosa.

STAMP, the latest project launched through the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)'s Architecture and Urban Design Experience (A.UDE) Promotion Programme, will transform 40 postboxes in the city centre into dazzling pieces of art.

President S R Nathan launched the President's Design Award as Singapore's highest tribute for its designers in November 2005. This was a significant move to signal the Government's push to promote and develop design as a key driver of city excellence, national competitiveness, creativity and human potential in Singapore's future development. Skyline introduces the inaugural winners in the Architecture and Urban Design (A&UD) category and provides a glimpse of what sets them apart from the rest.

Winners to be announced during ceremony. Series of exciting public programmes organised in conjunction with Award.

Free guided tours and talks were some of the highlights at the Explore Singapore! campaign held at the Singapore City Gallery in November. Skyline takes you through the adventures and activities.

What is it about Paris, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo that leave such an indelible impression on visitors, creating a 'postcard' image that is distinctively recognisable at night? Lighting - that's what makes the difference.

In the last issue of Skyline, we gave you a sneak preview of the arrival of the 'Exotic More or Less' exhibition at The URA Centre. Now, step into the world of the Exotic and find out what lies in store for you.

Dali. Chihuly. Venet. Moore. Over S$6.3 million worth of artworks by these four artists will be brought into the city, injecting a kaleidoscope of colours along Scotts Road. Skyline etches out the artworks brought in by a developer, the first to receive the incentive package by URA.

The Singapore Pavilion at the 10th Venice Biennale International Architectural Exhibition showcases 31 projects, from three areas under development in Singapore - the Marina Bay, the City Centre and one-north. Skyline takes a peek at the paradigm for new Singapore architecture.

Come 2009, you can enjoy art beyond museum walls in Singapore's first Art Park at Marina Bay! It will be a permanent showcase of the majority of the 27 artworks picked from a Student Art Competition. Skyline looks at the artworks expressed through the eyes of our youths in Singapore.

Charming tree-lined boulevards. Pedestrian networks that make walking a pleasurable experience. Open spaces that provide a respite against the hustle and bustle of weekend crowds. Would you have considered these to be the result of good urban design? Skyline takes a layman approach to demystify the concept of urban design and how it affects our daily lives.

The six-month race to build the first Integrated Resort (IR) in Singapore ended on 26 May 2006, with Las Vegas Sands emerging as the winner. Skyline homes in on Sands' winning proposal.

As part of its efforts to promote architecture and urban design excellence (AUDE), The URA Centre will soon be playing host to a homecoming exhibition by two local architectural firms after its successful run in Germany. Skyline gives a sneak preview of this next change at the atrium of The URA Centre.

Visitors to the Singapore City Gallery rose by 100% in 2005. Skyline drops in on two Saturdays recently to check out the buzz.

The plan by URA to link up the Southern Ridges and enhance it as an attractive recreational destination for both Singaporeans and tourists is fast taking shape. Skyline brings you an update.

URA and National Parks Board have drawn up a Landscape Master Plan to give each district in Marina Bay a different look and feel, with different planting schemes to bring out its distinctive character and identity.

Marina Bay is abuzz with plans and efforts to make it a vibrant global city, Singapore's future. What better way to get our young ones all keyed up and looking forward to their future city centre than to first engage and excite their teachers about it? That was what URA did at the Geography Teachers' Association seminar on 8 Apr 2006.

Visitors can look forward to a unique and memorable experience crossing Marina Bay on a new landmark bridge, as well as a multicoloured, multi-sensory environment at Marina Bay, thanks to a landscape master plan.

Today, Singapore's beautifully sculpted skyline is visible in the day but fades into the night after dark. This is set to change with URA's new lighting plan for the Central Business District (CBD) and Marina Bay, and incentives to encourage buildings in the area to integrate lighting as part of their building design.

Skyline brings you the final instalment of architecture and urban design works in Singapore's city centre showcased in URA's Singapore 1:1 (City) exhibition.

Following from the first part of this article in the last issue, let's continue to trace Singapore's journey in the evolution of an awareness for architecture.

For a relatively young and small country, Singapore has not limited its architectural expressions to the norm of conventions or allowed them to be constrained by size. Over the last 40 years, our architects have produced many high-quality and memorable works which have contributed to making our city more distinctive. In Part Two of this series on significant architecture and urban design works in Singapore's city centre, we look at large-scale developments that have managed their scale and complexity through planning, urban design and programming (Taming Bigness), and others which have contributed to the vibrancy of our cityscape (Crafting Entertainment).

The American philosopher Anthony Quinton once said : "Architecture is the most inescapable of the higher arts" (The Times, Mar 1982). Yet, how many of us are actually aware of our surroundings as we negotiate, helter-skelter, our daily commutes through the city between home, workplace and the in-laws?

Have you ever thought of our city as a life-size, full-scale, 1:1 gallery of architecture and urban design?

To continually create a greater awareness and appreciation for architecture in Singapore, URA, in collaboration with Far East Organization, welcome Peruvian-born architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia to deliver a talk and exhibit his works at The URA Centre.

The URA Centre atrium came abuzz with squeals of delight of some 120 students. They were here to attend the award ceremony and book launch of Words+Art 2005 on 27 Sep 2005.

A slew of new initiatives that aim to encourage a higher quality of art, architecture and design in Singapore were unveiled recently. Skyline traces URA's efforts to raise the bar for design excellence.

Icon (n) - An image; a representation

Urban design affects our everyday environment, from the skyline, the streetscape to how the city is lit and experienced in the night. That is why URA draws up urban design guidelines to guide developments to contribute towards making the city a liveable and enjoyable place.

This is the first part of a new Skyline series on architecture and urban design excellence (AUDE) in Singapore. AUDE is not just about aesthetics, but elevating the quality of life and physical environment. And nothing shapes quality of life so definitively as the quality of the built environment. Well-designed cities give citizens a sense of pride and identity, and promote better usage and vitality. Through this series, we hope readers will better appreciate our built heritage and value future projects as opportunities for creating our distinctive identity.

Within seven months of its opening, it has seen 67,000 visitors and was also shortlisted for United Kingdom's prestigious Museums and Heritage Awards 2005. Where is this?

Ever looked at a building and felt a sense of awe, peace or, fun? It may even inspire you to spin stories as the students taking part in a creative writing competition on architecture find out.

You probably would have heard Singapore's latest buzzwords - "distinctive city", "architecture and urban design excellence", "X-factor" recently. URA has been riding the crest of this wave of promoting these qualities over the past 30 years, along with the private sector. Now it is sweetening the deal for the private sector with $3 million.

With the current hot discussion on creating the X-factor and the need for well-designed architecture in Singapore, the "Gold Medal for Italian Architecture" exhibition currently on display at The URA Centre further drives home the point that good design matters at all scales of developments and infrastructure to improve environmental and civic quality. Join Skyline for an overview of the best in contemporary Italian architecture.

The government recently rolled out a range of investments, incentives and relaxed rules to enhance the X-factor for Orchard Road. Now it is up to the private sector and the public to make this street even more happening.

Catch a spectacular bird's eye view of Singapore's city centre and find out how Singapore has been planned in the past and for the future. The Singapore City Gallery is a must-do destination for Singaporeans as well as overseas visitors. Re-launched last December after an extensive refurbishment, the upgraded Gallery offers a captivating, brand new experience for visitors.

The Shaping Singapore exhibition, with the revamped Singapore City Gallery, was opened by PM Lee Hsien Loong on 3 Dec 2004 to mark URA's 30 years of urban planning. Receiving more than 30,000 visitors, it won praises from many who found the comprehensive showcase extremely informative and useful, and giving new insights about the future of Singapore. Skyline gives a snapshot of some of the distinguished visitors during the four-month long exhibition which ended on 26 Mar 2005.

In less than 40 years, we have gone from rundown urban slums to modern metropolis. Poised for greater physical transformation, we may ask, "what's next for Singapore?". Before we charge ahead, now is perhaps the best time to pause and reflect on what is it about Singapore that makes us special? This issue of Skyline checks out URA's biggest exhibitions by far.

One key thing that distinguishes each city is that memorable image. Close your eyes and try describing the "face" of Singapore. What are some of the signature images that come to mind? Skyline showcases some favourites from URA's latest exhibitions.

There is more to just memorable images that make a city stand out. What is unique about Singapore is that despite being a small island with big needs, we continue to enjoy a high quality of life and a variety of choices when it comes to living, working and playing in Singapore. Skyline celebrates these choices we have today, a result of visionary planning and public-private sector collaboration.

Historic gems, gracious spaces steeped in memory, quaint streets and handsome landmarks - these have become an important part of Singapore's character and soul, without which, we would become faceless and anonymous. Skyline uncovers some of Singapore's precious gems and discovers it is not just these gems that have been making our city so alive and charming.

So Singapore has got many distinctive "faces", a small "body" with great variety of choices to offer, a "heart" of a city alive, with people warming up to shaping Singapore's unique identity. So what's next, beyond offering the good life, providing sound infrastructure, efficient and transparent administration, cost-effectiveness and proximity to markets? One word - design.

With two bridge designs getting the final nod in Sep 2004, visitors can look forward to a continuous chain of greenery and fun all across Southern Ridges in three years' time.

URA's Function Hall and Theatrette was packed to the brim on 16 Aug 2004 by 340 participants who had come for a special talk by the cutting-edge Japanese architect, Toyo Ito, on his recent projects.

Singaporeans are one step closer to having a new, green playground. Five schemes were given merit awards in Jun this year, by a five-member jury in the recently concluded Southern Ridges Bridge Design Competition.

Any designs on the future Marina Bay waterfront? The search is now on for the best ideas for developing a waterfront promenade and a pedestrian-cum-vehicular bridge at the Bay.

By popular demand, the "20 under 45 : a selection of works by under-45, Singapore-registered architects" exhibition has been extended to 29 May 2004. Catch it now at The URA Centre.

From 26 Mar 2004, 20 Singapore-registered architects aged 45 and under take centrestage at The URA Centre in a month-long exhibition showcasing their seminal works.

"...architectural excellent can only be achieved by the conscious effort of every practitioner. It is not something you can teach or guide. The whole industry must work together to inculcate this culture." Professor Fumihiko Maki, a renowned architect shares this in an interview with URA's architect, Kimmy Cheung on Singapore and architecture. Skyline gives you the scoop on this exclusive chat.

Skyline brings you the highlights of the Duxton Plain Public Housing International Architectural Design Exhibition.