Singapore Digest - April/May 08

You’ve seen the China Digest on FFW by Bert over the last months and now, we are proud to bring you FFW’s Singapore digest; a quick summary of events affecting Singapore’s built environment. We will be giving a summary of events over the last month and also give a peek into what we can look forward to in the near future. If it’s important, you can be sure that you’ll find it here in our digest on FFW.

Recent News

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SLA’s first ever spatial challenge

First map exhibition showcasing 135 years of maps from 1819 to Japanese Occupation to pre-Independence of 1954.

The recently concluded SLA Spatial Challenge is an initiative of the Singapore Land Authority aimed at encouraging the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology in Schools. Supported by the Ministry of Education and ESRI Singapore, the Challenge is organised for Pre-University students to increase the awareness of GIS in students, and encourage innovative use of GIS in Singapore.

This initiative leads us to think of how Google Earth have changed the way architects analyse site conditions. In fact, this challenge by SLA is reminiscent of the multiple mashup competitions that we see on the Internet today, most of them using Google Earth and Google Maps APIs.

The competition was won by Raffles Junior College whose project involved coming up with a model for entrepreneurs and startups to search for and select the best location, in terms of traffic, rental and market comparatives, for their shop. The first and second runners-up were Millennia Institute (Team 2) and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science respectively.

Imagine that architects have these GIS data at their fingertips, how would they respond to these information?

To accompany this competition, SLA and the National Archives Board (NAS) have co-organised their first-ever historical map exhibition. Themed “From Emporium to Singapore City: Mapping the Journey”, the exhibition revisits 135 years of Singapore’s history (1819-1959) through maps. Together with historical photographs and documents, the iconic maps on display tell compelling stories on different facets of Singapore’s transformation from an unknown fishing village to a bustling British Emporium of the Far East and a World City in 1951, awakened from the turmoil of the Japanese Occupation. The archival maps over the centuries and decades also touched on SLA’s mapping journey from paper to digital.

If you are one who’s interested to understand the layers of Singapore’s urban morphology, these cartographic treasures will definitely help you along.The public can visit the map exhibition which will tour three regional libraries and Atrium@Orchard for a few weeks. Details of the map tour are:

MOE (Level 1):	24 April to 1 May (2pm-5.30pm)
Ang Mo Kio Community Library (Level 1):	2 May – 12 May (2pm-5.30pm)
Jurong Regional Library (Level 1):	13 May - 25 May (2pm-5.30pm)
The Atrium@Orchard:	26 May to 1 June (2pm-5.30pm)

For more information visit the SLA website. Also, see the related CNA Report.

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Blueprint for Jurong unveiled

URA plans to transform Jurong Lake District into a unique lakeside destination for business and leisure

As part of the Draft Master Plan 2008 Review, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) today announced the blueprint for Jurong Lake District. The vision for Jurong Lake District is to transform it into a unique lakeside destination for business and leisure in the next 10 to 15 years.

Jurong Lake District consists of two complementary precincts, Jurong Gateway and Lakeside. These refer to the areas around the Jurong East MRT Station and Jurong Lake in the west region of Singapore.

The key proposals for the Jurong Lake District are as follows:

• The area around the Jurong East MRT Station (to be known as Jurong Gateway) will be developed into an attractive commercial hub serving the west region, outside the city centre
• A new and unique leisure destination will be created around Jurong Lake (to be known as Lakeside) with edutainment attractions for the whole family
• Jurong Lake will be brought closer to Jurong Gateway through the introduction of possible new waterways and pedestrian linkages
• The sense of greenery will be heightened with new landscaped open spaces and park connectors at the street-level and skyrise greenery in buildings
• An integrated network of pedestrian walkways between buildings and public facilities will be created.

For more information, see the site plan and artist impressions showing the key plans for Jurong Lake District.

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NParks & SLA create more than 30ha of space for tree banks

Inter-agency project sees more than 11,000 trees nurtured on State land for future use

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A Green city, A Garden in a City, A City in a Garden; all of which aptly describes Singapore’s built environment. In a continuation of efforts to upkeep Singapore’s image as a Green City, the National Parks Board (NParks) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) – tapping on each other’s resources and expertise - have embarked on their biggest tree-banks project. Four sites in Sungei Tengah and the West Coast area are being used to nurture young, high-value trees to meet future demands for landscaping in Singapore. These trees are expected to liven up Singapore’s streetscape and add more than a touch of greenery in upcoming significant NParks projects such as Gardens by the Bay, the Streetscape Greenery Masterplan and new park developments.

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UOB Kay Hian offers highest bid for site at Scotts Road
View Larger Map

The tender for the transitional office site at Scotts Road/Anthony Road has attracted strong bids.
UOB Kay Hian put in the highest offer at S$34 milllon, 16 per cent higher than the second bid. The bid works out to more than S$242 per square foot per plot ratio.The almost 8,700-square-metre site is offered on a short-term lease of 15 years.

The site is near to an MRT station and is located just outside the central business district and as office supply continues to be tight, the site has potential for amalgamation with an adjacent land parcel.

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Singapore Developers in overseas developments
Singapore developers are still going strong, developing plots in developing countries in the region. If you are interested, here are some that have been reported.

CapitaLand acquires site to build IT park, office complex in India- CNA

CapitaLand, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala join hands to develop properties- CNA

KepLand secures option to develop residential site in Vietnam- CNA

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Public Call for Participation in the DesignSingapore-Venice 2008 Studio

The DesignSingapore-Venice2008 Studio proposes to study the relation and opportunities between Architecture and Interactive Digital Media, in creating a unique and thought-provoking experiential presentation to be shown at the 11th Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition,
taking place in Venice from 14th September to 23rd November 2008.

The call for proposals closed on 25th April 2008. Now we wait to hear more news on what Singapore will bring to the upcoming Venice Biennale.

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Nominations for President’s Design Award 2008 Now Open
Nominations to be in by 23rd May

The Award was first launched by The President of the Republic of Singapore in November 2005, during which the Award trophy was unveiled as well. Nine recipients of the Award – two Designers of the Year and seven Designs of the Year – were selected for the inaugural awards in 2006.

The Award entered its second cycle in 2007. Last year, the Award was conferred on seven Designers of the Year and seven Designs of the Year. For more information, visit the official website

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URA’s A•UDE Promotion Programme (7th Cycle)
10 Apr 2008 - 11 Jul 2008

The A•UDE Promotion Programme is set up by the Urban Redevelopment Authority to encourage and support private organisations and individuals who wish to carry out outreach activities in the areas of architecture and urban design (A&UD). It aims to encourage an active design culture among designers and end-users by co-funding, up to 50%, A&UD-related activities including exhibitions, publications, multi-media productions, research studies and competitions that would promote excellence in architecture and urban design in Singapore.

For more information, visit the homepage or email aude@ura.gov.sg.

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Coming Soon

Singapore Draft Master Plan 2008
May 2008

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is expected to unveil the Draft Master Plan 2008 in May 2008. The last review was done in 2003.

The Master Plan is the statutory land use plan that URA develops to guide Singapore’s development over the next 10 to 15 years. It is reviewed every five years, and translates the broad long-term strategies as set out in the Concept Plan into detailed plans for implementation.

The Draft Master Plan 2008 will continue to focus on providing Singaporeans with a good quality of life with more recreational choices and better living environments.

A key focus of the Draft Master Plan 2008 is also to continue to sustain Singapore’s economy with new growth areas like the Ophir-Rochor corridor and Jurong East. Beyond the Marina Bay and city centre as the main commercial centres for Singapore, more commercial hubs will be developed outside the city centre to accommodate new growth.

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World Cities Summit 2008
23-25 June 2008

World Cities Summit is a premier international conference series on effective public governance and sustainable development of cities. The inaugural event in 2008 will focus on urban development and environmental sustainability issues under the theme “Liveable and Vibrant Cities”. The discussion topics will address the challenges of developing cities that are both liveable and vibrant. It will cover issues related to excellent urban infrastructure, clean environment, climate change,good quality of life and economic competitiveness.

The World Cities Summit 2008 is organised by the Civil Service College and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Ministry of National Development and will be held from 23 to 25 June 2008. For more information, visit the official website.

Adib is the co-founder of 5ft Creatives and a designer at Farmwork. He likes to walk on the FiveFootWay.