SINGAPORE: Towers built from old shipping containers, farms and theme parks were some of the ideas proposed to redevelop the Pasir Panjang Power District, as part of the Government’s plans to transform the Greater Southern Waterfront.
An exhibition launched on Monday (Jan 13) showcased proposals from the ‘Power-Up Pasir Panjang’ competition, which invited people to imagine the district in the next 15 to 20 years.
This redevelopment is the first step to transform the Greater Southern Waterfront, said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.
Announced in August by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the Greater Southern Waterfront project will convert 30km of Singapore’s southern coastline into a residential, recreation and working space.
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Out of 79 submissions, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Singapore Land Authority (SLA) chose 10 winners.
“We are very excited by the ideas received from the competition. Because these ideas give us a better sense of the wide range of possibilities for the Power District,” said Mr Wong.
The concepts from the winning proposals will be combined into a brief, he added.
Developers will give feedback on the brief in a Request for Information exercise, also launched on Monday.
WINNING PROPOSALS
Held from April to June 2019, the competition allowed participants to submit ideas under two topics: The first, a master plan for the whole Power District; the second, ways to re-purpose Power Station A.
The 15-hectare Power District comprises two decommissioned power plants A and B, oil and gas tanks, and additional buildings such as a pump house and a staff apartment block.
Merging Scapes is a project by four Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) students. (Photo: Hendrinko Teguh Sangkanparan, Nur Fadhilah Binte Nordin, Sally Tan, Lun Ci Min)
“There were many good ideas … some suggested converting this into a mixed-use district, hotel, events venue, gallery space, indoor park, an urban farm, a theme park, co-working space, space for creative industries,” said Mr Wong.
Winners of both topics fell into two categories – a tertiary category for students, and an open or professional category for others.
Four Masters students won first in the tertiary category for topic one, proposing to integrate a closed-circuit water system with a mixed-used residential and cultural space for the entire district.
“(Our design) ties into Singapore’s initial struggle with water,” said Ms Nur Fadhilah Binte Nordin, 22.
Re:interpret & Re:generate proposes the use of shipping containers to build two towers. (Photo: Swee Yew Yong, Dang Bao Bao, Stephen Shen Yi Zhe)
A group of architects won a special mention in the professional category in topic two for their plan to redevelop Power Station A. Their proposal involves building two towers out of old shipping containers on top of where the power plant’s chimneys used to be.
One tower will be used as a hotel, while the other will be used for artists-in-residence.
The group wanted to recreate the chimneys, as it is “what makes a power station a power station”, said Mr Stephan Shen, 27.
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The project also celebrates the history and heritage of the power stations, added Mr Swee Yew Yong, 27.
“Redevelopment for Singapore does not mean having to tear down or demolish all our old buildings,” said Mr Wong.
“Here, we can keep these historical buildings and give the old power stations a new lease of life.”
More information on the Request for Information exercise can be found at URA’s website.
