We worked with stakeholders to conceptualise and set up public spaces that would inject new life to familiar districts and beloved community nodes. We also announced plans to share and promote excellence in Singapore’s architecture and urban design at international platforms.
From giant origamis folded by the community, to a delightful maze that injected colour and amazed those who explore it, several art installations popped up in Tanjong Pagar in November 2019 that turned public spaces into vibrant and enjoyable spots in the neighbourhood. These were developed based on the winning entries for the third edition of the ‘My Ideas for Public Spaces’ competition, which encouraged the public to submit ideas that bring life to public spaces.
‘A-maze’ invited one to wander in and be amazed
A whimsical ‘ORIGAMe’ featuring giant cranes which evoked fond childhood memories
Joining Singapore River One as pilot Business Improvement Districts (BID) were Discover Tanjong Pagar, Raffles Place Alliance, Marina Bay Alliance and Marina Central. Under the pilot BID programme, stakeholders will take on a more active role in transforming their precincts, and the public can look forward to vibrant districts and attractive public spaces with activities and programming they can participate in.
Commemorating Discover Tanjong Pagar’s launch was a series of exciting activities and initiatives starting with Mid-Autumn festivities © Discover Tanjong Pagar
Singapore welcomed a new decade with non-stop entertainment from day till night at its biggest countdown celebration at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2020. Into its 15th edition, the event saw Singaporeans and visitors from around the world gathered at the heart of Singapore’s city centre to usher in the New Year. Dazzling light projections on the façades of key landmarks in Marina Bay, family-friendly activities at The Lawn and Civic District, as well as exciting music revelries and the multi-sensory musical fireworks show with a 500-drone performance, wowed the audience.
Volunteers and students from Republic Polytechnic collaborated with us to capture the night’s dazzling displays. Online influencers also worked with us to promote the programme, and posted photographs of the light projections and fireworks for their followers’ enjoyment.
[WATCH] Happy 2020! Enjoy this fireworks display at #MBSC2020 Teaser fireworks at the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2020
Fireworks over Marina Bay, taken by volunteer Diane Lee
Countdown projection, taken by volunteer Zhang Shijie
Families and friends awaiting the arrival of 2020 at Starlight @ The Lawn organised by the Marina Bay Alliance
The finalised plans for the conserved Bukit Timah Railway Station and Staff Quarters were revealed, and works began to develop the area surrounding the beloved landmarks into a community node. This was the culmination of an engagement process with stakeholders on plans to keep the Rail Corridor green and heritage-rich.
As enhancement works along the corridor progressed, stretches were also re-opened for the public to walk, jog and cycle at, such as between Commonwealth Drive and Jalan Kilang Barat.
[WATCH] Uncover the history of the conserved Bukit Timah Railway Station and Staff Quarters
The future Bukit Timah Railway Station will be a green community node (artist’s impression)
People enjoying a re-opened stretch of the Rail Corridor
URA will lead Singapore’s participation at the next World Expo, which will be held in Dubai in October 2021, coordinating and collaborating with partners from the public and private sectors to realise the Singapore Pavilion. The Singapore Pavilion, titled ‘Nature. Nurture. Future’, will pay tribute to Singapore’s journey towards growth, sustainability and resilience.
[WATCH] A fly-through of the stunning and sustainable Singapore pavilion designed by WOHA
The Singapore Pavilion: A City in a Garden (artist’s impression) © Singapore Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai
Our community-led car-lite initiatives showcased opportunities to transform streets into people-friendly places and promote greater sustainability.
Car-Free Sunday SG took on an expanded format last year to allow more to enjoy the car-free experience both during the day and at night. We collaborated with our network of partners to present an exciting calendar of activities on car-free streets at the Civic District, Telok Ayer and one-north. These special weekend editions aimed to help more people better appreciate how going car-lite could lead to a more vibrant, liveable and sustainable city.
Roads at Telok Ayer and the Civic District turned into people-friendly, car-free streets
As part of our collaboration with the community, we co-created ‘Colours of Our Wildlife’ with students from NUS Environmental Studies: a community art activity featuring Singapore’s biodiversity, to encourage more people to go car-lite while adding vibrancy to our car-free streets.
Co-creators of ‘Colours of Our Wildlife’ with string art completed with public
We also worked with Singapore Polytechnic (SP) on ‘Blast from the Past’, an event that transformed Amoy Street into an old school playground with games such as hopscotch, five stones and tic-tac-toe, and “live” performances by SP’s GarageBand. SP students also conceptualised and produced a video on Car-Free Weekend.
“Old school” games along the car-free Amoy Street
As part of the annual event, students from the Singapore University of Technology & Design and the community came together to transform parking lots at Bugis as well as Jurong East into fun and interactive spaces. Known as PARKs, these people-friendly spaces were filled with art installations, interactive exhibitions, games and more, for the public to enjoy.
String art installation in Jurong East where community could gather © Bold at Work
Conservation is a critical function of URA, underpinning the city’s identity and memories. We celebrated 30 years of our Conservation Programme, including the collaborative role of stakeholders who help uphold the legacy of our conserved buildings and structures.
In collaboration with the local chapter of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), URA published volumes 4 to 6 of the Conservation Technical Handbooks focusing on the structure, windows and doors, as well as interior elements of conserved buildings. Together, the series of handbooks promote better quality restoration projects, enhance the level of competency within the heritage building industry and increase appreciation for our built heritage.
Volume 4 of the Conservation Technical Handbooks
URA celebrated the 30th anniversary of its Conservation Programme with a special exhibition which was part of the Architectural Heritage Season 2020, that told the story of Singapore’s conservation journey and paid tribute to the pioneer planners who have been integral in shaping our conserved landscape today.
Exhibition on 30-year conservation journey
As part of the season’s awards, URA conferred the Architectural Heritage Award for Restoration on Temasek Shophouse, which featured restored details on its façade to bring back its original grandeur, and removed internal partitions to showcase its double volume spaces.
Architectural Heritage Award winner Temasek Shophouse
A highlight of the season was Tanjong Pagar Day Out, which saw a myriad of community activities held at the Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Pasoh and Duxton areas. Pop-up installations also adorned the precinct, adding colour and vibrancy across the activity areas.
Community activities enlivening the streets at Tanjong Pagar Day Out
Visitors created artworks based on their memories of shophouses
We collaborated with schools to co-create initiatives that cultivated a greater understanding of our conservation work. Designers recently graduated from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) worked with their lecturer to develop ‘Backyard65 – Bukit Pasoh and Tanjong Pagar’, the first in a series of booklets featuring our city’s built heritage. Additionally, ‘In Conservation’ with School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) introduced visitors to the history of shophouses and invited them to draw the buildings based on their memories. SOTA students also created whimsical and quirky artworks that expressed their aspirations and appreciation for heritage buildings.
SIT lecturer and his recently graduated students who produced ‘Backyard65’
SOTA students who produced artworks exhibited at The URA Centre
URA conserved the three oldest buildings of the former Singapore Chinese Girls’ School (SCGS) campus at 37 Emerald Hill Road. The buildings will be adapted to house new cultural and lifestyle uses, in line with plans to enhance the Orchard Road precinct as a vibrant lifestyle destination. A group of SCGS alumnae drove the conservation efforts, raising awareness of the building’s significance and garnering further support from stakeholders.
The former SCGS © Caroline Chia