Context Analysis

The People’s Park Complex is surrounded by significant building developments within the area. The commercial and residential buildings with parks have shaped a distinct character with their own original texture and fabric in the vicinity. Besides shopping, working and living, the complex also hosted numerous notable social and cultural activities influenced by the context of the surrounding site. The site is surrounded by business and office areas, zoned for commercial use with a cluster of shophouses owned by many local businesses across the New Bridge Road and hotel development. The neighbouring hotel developments such as Park Royal and Furama City Centre, are potential locations for hosting meetings and events, boasting umpteen hotels and dedicated conference centres.

Situated just a slope above People’s Park Complex is the Pearl Hill Terrace, which is an enclave for the emerging creative class of entrepreneurs with local businesses in the commercial building. People’s Park Complex can be a potential site to attract the creative youth community and start-up entrepreneurs from the surrounding commercial areas. For instance, some of the business entrepreneurs used to operate on the rooftop car park of People’s Park Complex like the flea market and car-boot market were a collaboration between an online retailer and Lepark. Edible Gardens is another example of a pop-up rooftop garden initiated by a social enterprise.

The site is also populated by numerous HDB blocks and condominiums such as One Pearl Bank (formerly known as Pearl Bank Apartments), The Landmark Condominium, and HDB Chin Swee. The PPC site can be redefined with strategies to create a symbiotic and complementary relationship between the building site and the surrounding community. The housing area plays a key role in providing prospective residents with a healthy and resilient community by supporting ageing in place and building the common amenities in the neighbourhood.

Lastly, the site’s proximity to surrounding parks enhance the essence of tranquillity in this bustling city area. Some of the nearby hidden troves of lush greenery belt are Pearl Hill City Park, Hong Lim Park, and Duxton Plain Park tucked away in the corner of Chinatown. Pearl Hill City Park remains the main source of freshwater for Chinatown in the present day. In the coming future, it will be transformed into a hilltop and a midlevel park which will form a green chain linking to Duxton Plain Park. The Duxton Plain Park is a serene linear park that connects with the residential development of the Pinnacle at Duxton. Hong Lim Park, known as Speakers’ Corner, is a heritage park that remained as a venue for many community events. The surrounding parks bring the potential of connecting greenery to the site.

URA’s Conservation Portal, People’s Park Complex is not conserved

Source: URA