01. The Productive Bathhouse

B.A (Arch) Year 3, 2022

National University of Singapore

Tutor: Chan Wai Kin

The productive bathhouse addresses three areas of urban neglect through:

1. Resurfacing of historical connections to the former Yan Kit Swimming Complex 2. Stitching urban linkages with key contexts 3. Introduction of a circular and sustainable model to deal with the current labour-intensive management of waste wider contextual reference design parti facing page: site plan top right: floor plans bottom right: sectional perspective B-B’

The scheme proposes an adaptive reuse scenario that reappropriates the former Yan Kit Swimming Complex through a circular model of waste management and leisure.

As a result of physical obstructions and stepping levels between Tanjong Pagar Plaza and Yan Kit Road, the initial site analysis identified poor connectivity between the two locations.

In developing the programme as well as the architectural design, considerations related to the area’s proximity and future connections to the Greater Southern Waterfront were taken into account as well as historical references to the former swimming pool structure now buried beneath the Yan Kit playfield.

As a result of the Greater Southern Waterfront, there are urban issues such as the empty plots lacking culture, spirit, and neighbourhood identity; for the district to flourish, it is important to create a sense of community. Reference was also made to less tangible socio-political issues.

Is it possible to integrate a more sustainable refuse disposal or composting system within a mature estate? In the face of ageing populations and declining commercial businesses, how can existing infrastructure remain useful and relevant? In this Anthropocene epoch, does it make sense to demolish the existing fabric and replace it with an entirely new one?

Part of the existing Yan Kit pool structures will be exhumed and reappropriated as new public spaces that will revive the water-for-recreation theme. This recreational feature will be integrated with a waste composting facility inserted below. The pools have become a part of the collective memory of many of the inhabitants of that time.

The integration of the old structure with the subterranean spaces was proposed to reinforce the idea of the old pool as an active element in the daily lives of the users, strengthening the dialogue between the old and the new. Above and underneath the site, composting facilities for waste management will be combined with public leisure baths. The water is heated by pipe runoff from the composter’s heating process.

The stepwell accommodates both the served and service spaces, manifesting the hybridised relationship between leisure and production.

In the near future, the proposal could expand the potential of the circular economy at the Greater Southern waterfront, located 450m from the site. By reducing the city’s dependence on foreign labour, a sense of resilience would be built. Considering all the factors listed above, it is essential to create a sustainable and relevant model that is appropriate to its context while enabling a sense of neighbourhood and community in this unique urban setting of the old and new.