Such a pleasure to be here, and it’s so nice to be able to see people face to face after such a long time – maybe not completely face to face, because we are still masked, it is indoors, but it is a step in the right direction of opening up, and living with COVID.

It has been three years since the last URA-REDAS SPARK Challenge was held, but the spirit of the initiative remains just as relevant. We have not stopped looking for ways to improve the experiences of residents and visitors in the city. The SPARK Challenge provides a valuable platform for the public and private sectors to partner the community to dream up fresh and innovative ideas. If you think about it, it makes sense, because these spaces are for the public – so we do need to have your thoughts and input on it. And what is does is, it creates a better urban environment in Singapore, for everyone to enjoy.

The importance of public spaces in a post-COVID time

Public spaces provide opportunities for us to bond with others. They are communal spaces that can foster positive social interactions between friends, families, as well as strangers, and pets. 

We want to partner local communities and businesses to find innovative ways to design and activate public spaces across Singapore. For example, URA is reviewing the design guidelines for Privately-Owned Public Spaces, and this is to encourage private developments to enhance their public spaces. The changes will be implemented later this year. 

Many ground-up initiatives have also been championed by precincts participating in URA’s pilot Business Improvement District, or BID, programme. To date, six precincts have formed pilot BIDs. The pilot BIDs are set up and led by property owners, businesses and other community stakeholders. They have implemented many interesting initiatives that have made our streetscape more vibrant, enjoyable, and distinctive. Just last month, the Marina Central pilot BID launched a series of interactive art installations and workshops. The roving installation, titled ‘Body, Heart & Soul’, is currently taking place right here at Marina Square. It has been a fun and unique addition to the mall, drawing many curious visitors. Another notable ground-up initiative by a pilot BID is Discover Tanjong Pagar’s eco-playground. This one is special to me obviously because I’m the MP for the area, so I have an interest in it. And I attended the eco-playground’s official opening last month. It is a unique and creative space, it enlivens the neighbourhood, it has features for children made basically from upcycled wood, seats for passers-by, and is a welcoming space for all. It also makes a wonderful space for community events, for people of all ages to gather and connect with one another. Once the space was launched, I promptly “choped” it for the Mid-Autumn Festival later this year, because I can see that it has a lot of potential. 

I am very heartened to see that various groups remain dedicated to shaping lively and endearing public spaces, especially after two years of living with the pandemic. Since COVID-19 struck, the way we interact with one another and with our surroundings has changed. When restrictions were in place, the lack of social interactions deeply impacted us. 

It is against this backdrop that public spaces are taking on a new sense of meaning and importance. They are the things that kept us going during the circuit breaker and during the restricted period. They provide a place for us to be in the presence of others, they help us feel more connected with each another, and they enhance our social and mental well-being, especially in times of uncertainty and isolation. So many people have said how being able to go to the parks and public spaces, really saved them and their mental health during the COVID period.

As Singapore reopens, it is especially timely that we make our built environment lively, vibrant and welcoming once more, so that we may reconnect with one another, and emerge from this pandemic stronger and more united, especially now that limits on gathering sizes have been relaxed. 

Co-creating well-loved spaces with the public through the SPARK Challenge 

The theme for this edition of the URA-REDAS SPARK Challenge is ‘Enlivening Public Spaces’, and it is particularly poignant today. It may sound simple, but it challenged the participants to think about how to design our public spaces to encourage and revive interpersonal exchanges, which has become more relevant than ever as we move towards a post-COVID world. The theme also called for participants to activate communal spaces in the participating shopping malls and mixed-use developments – many of which have seen lower footfalls in the past two years since the pandemic hit our shores.

In addition, the SPARK Challenge was made more exciting this year with even more venue providers coming on board. We partnered with the Jurong Gateway and Orchard precincts, and for the first time, two pilot BIDs came on board to support the SPARK Challenge too. The venue providers worked with the shortlisted participants to install the interactive installations within their participating premises, to provide fresh and interesting experiences for visitors and shoppers.

The SPARK Challenge saw many clever and creative ideas from the public. There were more submissions compared to the previous two editions of the SPARK Challenge, and with a significant number coming from the design industry and schools.

I am very inspired by the eagerness of so many individuals and organisations to contribute to enlivening our public spaces. It’s really important if you think about, because it really means that everyone has a chance to take ownership, or to contribute, or to know that your idea makes a difference to others. So let me share some of the more interesting entries, there were so many, I can only pick a few – so I will just share some of them.

I was told that one team came up with an idea, especially fitting for this digital-first era. The team used colourful displays to create an aesthetic and picture-worthy setting in Orchard Road. The displays drew visitors looking for beautiful photo spots – I mean basically it was instagrammable, so off they went there. It has helped to enliven the Orchard precinct, both offline and online. 

Also fascinating were other ideas that focused more on enhancing the physical experience with our public spaces. For instance, within Paya Lebar Central, one team introduced people ‘parking lots’, where shoppers are invited to sit and rest, and write messages to one another on whiteboard speech bubbles. It is a simple but ingenious idea, and it transformed ordinary shared spaces, such as a mall entrance and outdoor plaza, into a vibrant place of social interaction. 

I understand that the physical installations were widely enjoyed by the public, and drew visitors and shoppers to the different shopping malls and mixed-use developments across Singapore, including of course, here at Marina Square. 

Conclusion and Congratulations 

In conclusion, let me just extend my congratulations to the five finalists of the Challenge. You have put a lot of thought and effort into your design prototypes. Your visions and ideas will contribute to turning our public spaces into even more lively and vibrant places.

And I also want to thank REDAS and its members for your continued partnership over the past few months, as well as the participating pilot BIDs and precincts for hosting the physical installations dreamed up by the participants. Initiatives such as these build a conducive environment to exchange ideas on activating our public and retail spaces, and it actually just turns them into lifestyle nodes for everyone. And I hope to see more placemaking projects and collaborations being implemented at various precincts across Singapore. “Two heads are better than one” – and here we will have more than two, and so let’s continue to work together to co-create our public spaces with the community. Expand our imagination, develop innovative solutions, to meet different preferences, desires and needs. 

So please keep the ideas coming, and I hope that competitions like this will inspire us to dream up a more vibrant and well-loved cityscape in Singapore. 

Thank you very much.