SUSTAINABLE FLOATING TOWNS FOR THE SINGAPORE OF TOMORROW | Singapore | 2023
Project:
Torrisi & Procopio Architetti for the Ministry of National Development (MND), Singapore
Sustainable Floating Towns for the Singapore of Tomorrow is a pilot project presented to the Ministry of National Development of Singapore (MND). The proposal promotes the possibility of urbanizing the islands around the city through the use of Very Large Floating Structures, as an alternative to land reclamation.
As a highly efficient world class city with a thriving economy, benign climate, minimal wave action and low wind speeds, Singapore can be considered an ideal location for projects like this. Also, in the recent decades because of land scarcity and a growing population Singapore has expanded its territory by using land reclamation, a practice that is unsustainable in the long run.
In such a context, the present research aims to address the following challenges:
- HOW TO FACE POPULATION GROWTH IN A LAND-SCARCE CITY?
- WHAT INNOVATIVE URBAN PLANNING SOLUTIONS CAN BE EXPLORED FOR THE FUTURE?
To the first question, our answer was to propose as a viable solution the possibility of urbanizing the 3 groups of islands around the city by planning 3 New Towns for at least seven hundred thousand new inhabitants.
As for the second question, we wanted to propose a method. In particular, we found it helpful to look back to the past of the city and follow the same principles that characterized the urban planning of Singapore over the past 40 years: our urban planning is indeed inspired by the PROTOTYPE OF A CITY created by dr. Liu Thai Ker, the master architect of modern Singapore.
According to this model Singapore was divided in 5 Regions, in turn divided in 26 New Towns, then in Neighborhoods and Precincts.
In such a model, a NEW TOWN is the core concept of the prototype. Unlike other part of the world, where the satellite towns generally refer to small isolated towns on the edge of a metropolitan area, in the Singapore plan a new town is a major planning unit, the key to the success of an urban plan that works very well.
A New Town is indeed a self-sufficient part of the city with minimum land area of 15 square kilometers and a population from 150,000 to 300,000 inhabitants.
In our project, each of the 3 groups of islands will encompass an area large enough to allow the planning of a New Town with the characteristics described above. With some exceptions as we will see later.
SOUTHERN ISLANDS
The Southern Islands development initially covers an area of 8.3 square kilometers and it is estimated to accommodate a population of 70,000 inhabitants distributed in 7 neighborhoods.
These magnitudes of numbers are not enough to create a self-sufficient new town, however the total area could be extended and the number of residents increased when all the activities of the port of Singapore will be moved westward, allowing the new development to reach the size requested by the prototype of city.
The Southern Islands are part of the Central Region, and the new development will be built both on land and on water. This new development should be strongly characterized by touristic and economic activities, like an extension of the Singapore Central Business District.
In general all the neighborhoods built on land have a higher population density than the ones on water.
Most of the Southern islands are not affected by the new development and their lush vegetation as well as their existing buildings are entirely preserved.
WESTERN ISLANDS DEVELOPMENT
The Western Islands development covers an area of 15.7 square kilometers and it is estimated to accommodate a population of 150,000 inhabitants distributed in 15 neighborhoods. Exactly the same numbers suggested by the prototype of a city.
This new development is part of the West Region of Singapore, and the new neighborhoods will be built on those islands currently occupied by industrial areas and by the landfill of the city. All these structures will be moved away to free up land for the new neighborhoods.
EASTERN ISLANDS DEVELOPMENT
The Eastern islands development is part of the North-East region of Singapore and includes two islands: PALAU UBIN and TEKONG ISLAND
At Palau Ubin the new development covers an area of 13.7 sq.km and it is estimated to accommodate a population of 100,000 inhabitants distributed in 10 neighborhoods.
At Tekong the new development will be much bigger: 58 sq.km with an estimated population of 400,000 inhabitants distributed in 40 neighborhoods.
At PALAU UBIN, with the aim of preserving the lush nature of the island, the new development is built mainly on water and it is a low-impact urban plan with low population density. Tekong is instead developed mainly on land with a high population density but, just like the other islands, with its own system of parks that links the neighborhoods to each other. Given the size of the island, this means kilometers of connections in the lush greenery, again in accordance with a model of a modern garden city.
