1. DEFORESTATION MANAGEMENT

The four studios in this section focus on developing landscape design strategies to manage and mitigate the impacts of secondary forest loss in Singapore.

AY 12/13-1 LA4701

BUKIT BROWN LANDSCAPE SCENARIO

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(Supported by Lum Shawn)

Key Themes

Socio-ecological value of urban forests; Highdensity urban development; Design strategies to minimize environmental impact of deforestation; Urban development scenarios for ecologically sustainable estates

Students: Sandilya Atreyee, Chen Jiahui, Cheong Wan Ying, Lee Xiao Ling Lynn, Li Jinmu, Patil Mayura

AY 13/14-1 LA4701

PASIR RIS WOODLAND LANDSCAPE SCENARIO

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(Supported by Lum Shawn)

Students: Chow Zhaoyu Jaden, Feng Yuanqiu, Goh Weixiang, Hu Zhijie, Kow Xiao Jun, Loh Peiqi, Uraiwan Songmunstapon, Wan Jing, Xu Haohui, Xu Lanjun, Xu Yan, Zhang Shangyu

AY 15/16-1 LA4701

TENGAH FOREST ESTATE

Tutors: Hwang Yun Hye, Feng Yuanqiu

(Supported by Lum Shawn)

Students: Chang Mei Fen Pearlyn, Chen Jumin, Chen Wei, Liu Yu, Pu Wenjun, Qian Xuanyu, Su Yuting, Tan Wenbin, Wang Yuqian, Zhang Qingqing, Widodo Amanda Dwiyani, Chandra Amanda Jennifer, Chia Ming Kuang, Neo Jasmine, Nur Afiqah Bte Agus, Wang ChaoChao, Wu Yu-Chen

AY 16/17-1 LA4701

TAGORE LANDSCAPE SCENARIO

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(Supported by Lum Shawn)

Students: Chandra Amanda Jennifer, Bai Zhuhui, Dai Junwei, Sun Hao Jen Ashley, Wu Yitong, Yan Ran

CALIBRATING

Secondary forests in Singapore are often viewed as temporary. Based on land use designations in the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Master Plan, most could become residential, commercial, institution, or reserve sites over the next 10–15 years. These urban forests presently occupy a significant proportion of land, with important functions in the socio-ecological system of the city—biological, biophysical and social-cultural. When developing forested sites, it is important to take this into account and manage long-term socio-ecological consequences.

In response to the issue of secondary forest loss, four design studios between 2012 and 2016 studied forests projected to be cleared in the near future. Situated in the south of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, Bukit Brown woodland (Studio 2012) is a living museum—a cultural and ecological hot spot— but the new four-lane highway is planned to cut through the 200ha woodland. Despite its small size (2ha), Pasir Ris woodland (Studio 2013), in the north-eastern tip of Singapore, is a haven for endangered birds and an invaluable asset for nearby residents. Tengah forest (Studio 2015) is one of the largest secondary forest sites (720ha) connecting the central to western catchment. Tagore forest (Studio 2016) is an important stopover for wildlife moving from the central catchment nature reserves; it has distinctively rich biodiversity and contains rare freshwater streams.

Common questions investigated in the studios were the following: How can we compensate for the potential socio-ecological impacts of deforestation while meeting commercial and housing demands? Should the woodland be largely conserved or could it be developed in an environmentally responsible fashion? Beyond simply preserving the site, can novel design prototypes infuse greater ecological functions and diversity into the urban context? How can design improve well-being and promote a stewardship ethic in city dwellers by bringing nature closer to everyday life?

The first half of each studio began with a theoretical understanding of urban ecology and tropical urban forests, with intellectual input from urban ecologists. Intensive fieldwork captured the spatial characteristics and locality of the assigned forests. Guided by members of Nature Society Singapore Group and environmental surveyors, students collected data for design decision-making, including types and locations of habitats, valuable plant species, animal movement, landforms, natural water flows, microclimate, soil quality, and site history. Students also interacted with residents in the periphery of the woodlands to understand socio-cultural attachment to nature. The second half of the studio was the design development stage; it included prioritizing ecological, biophysical, and socio-cultural values of the sites, envisioning future landscape scenarios based on the ecosystem value assessment, experiencing iterative design process, and applying designs.

As the plots targeted were slated for high-dense housing development, student proposals focused on the design of residential neighbourhoods, synthesizing social, ecological and aesthetic considerations. As development encroaches into green spaces all over the island, a set of design proposals to address the secondary forest context is imperative to manage the social and ecological consequences.

INTERWOVEN WATERSCAPE by Wu Yitong (MLA’18) mimicked the structure and systems of the freshwater streams in Tagore to create a multi-layered and water-sensitive/self-sustainable neighbourhood offering more socio-ecological services.

URBAN GREENERY AS A LOCAL HABITAT by Kow Xiao Jun (MLA’15) identified strategic movement trajectories of fauna and inserted local habitats for targeted species into urban greenery including green roofs, home yards and streetscapes promoted sustainable resource management by maximizing the use of materials

SYNC-BIOSIS by Chang Pearlyn (MLA’17) and Wang ChaoChao (M.Arch’17) proposed a phase development based on value mapping of the forest whilst considering ecological regeneration and restoration as a premptive design action.

LIVING IN A FOREST Based on a mapping of unique landscape features and elements to evoke distinctive Tengah forest characteristics, Zhang Qingqing and Su Yuting (MLA’17) developed a sense of place by integrating everyday life in a residential neighbourhood with the landscape.

Related Outcomes

Student Dissertations

Chang Meifen Pearlyn (MLA’17) Fragmentation by infrastructure development: Protecting our Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR), 2016-2017 (Poster presentation at 55th IFLA conference 2018)

Wu Yitong (MLA’17) Spatial pattern analysis of secondary forest in Singapore, 2017-2018

Student Awards

2017 SILA Student Design Awards, Outstanding Contextual Analysis and Investigation Award (Gold) & Outstanding Graphic Presentation Award (Silver), Interwoven waterscape of Tagore forest estate, Wu Yitong (MLA’18)

2016 SILA Student Design Awards, Planting Design Award (Bronze), Sync-biosis, Chang Mei Fen Pearlyn, Wang Chao Chao (MLA’17)

2015 SILA Student Design Awards, Outstanding Graphic Presentation Award (Bronze), Rethinking water sensitivity in Pasir Ris Neighbourhood, Xu Hao Hui (MLA’14)

2014 SILA Student Design Awards, Best Design Showcase & Outstanding Contextual Analysis and Investigation Award (Silver), Calibrating timescales, Singapore, Feng Yuanqiu (MLA’15)

2013 SILA Student Design Awards, Best Design Showcase & Outstanding Graphic Presentation Award (Gold), Fading edges between man and nature Bukit Brown, Patil Mayura Anil (MLA’13)

2013 SILA Student Design Awards, Planting Design Award (Bronze), Connective communities Grafting, Bukit Brown, Lee Lynn (MLA’14)

Published Papers

Tan, P. Y., Feng, Y., & Hwang, Y. H., 2016, Deforestation in a tropical compact city part a: understanding its socio-ecological impacts, Journal of Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 5, No. 1, 47–72

Hwang, Y. H., Feng, Y. & Tan, P. Y., 2016, Deforestation in a tropical compact city part b: urban ecological approaches to design, Journal of Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, Vol. 5, No. 1, 73–92

Hwang, Y. H., Feng, Y., 2016, Forest estate, Tengah design studio: ten landscape architectural tactics for managing deforestation in a high-density tropical city, CityGreen , Singapore, No. 12, 46–53

Studiobooks

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2017, Tagore Forest Estate, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789811119545

Hwang, Y. H. and Feng Y.Q. (Editor), 2016, Tengah Forest Estate, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789810990947

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2014, Pasir Ris woodland landscape scenarios, CASA, NUS, ISBN 978-981-078845-2

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2013, Bukit Brown landscape scenarios, CASA, NUS, ISBN 978-981-07-5314-6