4. LANDSCAPE & URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE

This section introduces four studios that considers how landscape elements can simultaneously function as urban infrastructure, integrating contemporary disciplines of landscape architecture, civil engineering, and urban planning.

AY 10/11-2 LA5702

Everyday Cycling in Singapore I

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(With support from Tampines Town Council)

Key Themes

Infrastructure network; landscape connectivity; Mobility infrastructure; Walkable and cyclable city; Healthy urban movement; Multi-functional landscape infrastructure; Adaptation and augmentation of existing infrastructure networks; Neighbourhood walkability

Students: Yung Yvonne, Lum Geraldine, Yip Ching Lok, Toh Chong Ji, Tan Yi Wei, Hoo Xin Yu, Cheng Chu Jie, Carelnina Shiela

AY 11/12-1 LA5701

The Singapore Trail

Tutor: Rekittke Joerg

Students: Bharihoke Gauri, Guo Yunjia Lehana, Hou Suya, Lin Shengwei Ervine, Muhammad Yazid Ninsalam, Mehta Neha, Nur Syafiqah Nahadi, Nur Syuhada Limat, Sng En Ai Rebecca, Soh Han Jie, Teo Hui Yi Rachel

AY 14/15-1 LA5701

The National Mall

Tutor: Rekittke Joerg

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 18/19-1 LA5701

Everyday Cycling in Singapore II

Tutor: Hwang Yun Hye

(With support from Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC))

Students: Wang Hanfeng, Xu Yuexin, Yong Keng-Whye Raymond, Kong Lingchang, Kuan Wai Tuck Victor, Liu Xiaolei, Xu Linxin, Yao Haomu, Wang Zhe, Lam Si Yun Swan, Gao Chenchen, Fan Lei an important civic space, biodiversity icon and mobility infrastructure for Singapore in this iteration of the KTM railway project.

A “BACKYARD” NETWORK FOR CYCLING by Hoo Xin Yu (MLA’11), proposed the retrofitting of underutilized local access roads in a residential estate to create safe and pleasant cycling routes that minimize pedestrian and vehicular conflicts.

EVERYDAY CYCLING, EVERYWHERE CYCLABLE by Liu Xiao Lei, Kuan Victor, Xu Linxin, and Yao Haumu (MLA’19) aimed to address mobility gaps in the Gimoh and Biopolis areas through three strategies: 1) diversifying mobility networks, 2) modifying topography and microclimatic conditions, and 3) introducing new cyclist friendly amenities and information systems.

Physical infrastructure, by which we mean the essential connective systems and pathways that move humans and materials across space, traditionally lies within the purview of civil engineering. However, dissatisfaction with the unintended societal and ecological consequences of these systems and pathways has prompted designers to question the supremacy of engineering logic in their design and placement and to seek alternatives. As ecosystem services become more valued by cities, blue and green landscape elements are increasingly conceived as a form of infrastructure that needs to be preserved, augmented and created. The four studios under this theme responded to the opportunities offered by Singapore’s urban landscape to create new infrastructure networks.

Everyday Cycling in Singapore I (MLA’13) and II (MLA’19) were interlinked studios exploring how the car-oriented landscape can be retrofitted to promote cycling, while supporting other social and environmental functions. In Singapore, a mere 0.9% of the working population commutes via bicycle. Physical obstacles, unshaded pathways, and conflicts with vehicular and pedestrian traffic create a daunting commute for potential cyclists. In the first studio, students considered how various business and residential districts can be retrofitted to become more cyclistfriendly at a range of urban scales. The second studio was specifically sited in One-North, a technology and innovation hub where 46,000 employees work in research facilities and business offices. In this studio, students considered how retrofitting cycling amenities may help to alleviate traffic congestion woes in the district. Key questions driving design projects included the following: How can more people be convinced to cycle rather than drive?

How can the car-oriented landscape be retrofitted to be safe and pleasurable for cycling? What other socio-environmental functions might these new cycling-friendly routes support?

The Singapore Trail (Studio 2011) and The National Mall (Studio 2014) were studios linked to proposals for repurposing the defunct Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) railway line that once transported goods and people between Singapore and Malaysia. In many cities, obsolete infrastructure networks present important opportunities for new forms of landscape connectivity. Compared to other popular railway repurposing projects, such as the Highline in New York or the Promenade Plantee in Paris, the KTM railway is massive –running across nearly the entirety of the islandstate from North to South. The Singapore Trail studio emphasized the potential of the KTM as an ecological connector and refashioned the old railway line as a linear national park linking adjacent parks and nature reserves. In this studio, students focused on preserving the spontaneous vegetation along the railway and selectively inserted new amenities to enhance user experience without detracting from the quality of the existing landscape. The social dimensions of this cross-island connector were highlighted in The National Mall. In this studio, students proposed extending the railway line to the Marina Bay promenade, thereby creating a direct link between industrial fringes, residential heartlands, and the epicentre of business and tourism in Singapore. The old KTM was envisioned as an important civic space and mobility corridor, where the increasingly diverse Singapore population might meet and associate.

Related Outcomes

Student Dissertation

Cherlyn Lim Li Xuan (MLA’16) Assessing connectivity for a seamless cycling experience in the Tampines intra-town cycling network, 2015–2016 (Oral presentation at GASS conference 2016)

Gauri Bharihoke (MLA’12) Study on Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTM) Railway for Everyday Cycling.

Guo Yunjia Lehana (MLA’12) Politics, Public Participation and Public Space: An Analysis on the Public Participation Process in the Design of the Rail Corridor in Singapore

Hou Suya (MLA’12) A Framework for Identification and Evaluation of Culture Landscape: Case Study of Singapore KTM Land

Lin Shengwei Ervine (MLA’12) The Intersection of Aesthetics, Ecology and Economy in the Planning of Clementi Woodlands along The Green Corridor

Neha Mehta (MLA’12) Visual Landscape Quality Assessment of The Singapore Trail

Nur Syafiqah Bte Nahadi (MLA’12) Is the Public’s Perception of Nature an Important Factor in the Design of the Singapore Trail

Nur Syuhada Bte Limat (MLA’12) The Aesthetic Value of Spontaneous Vegetation and its Conservation as a Possible Strategy for a Landscape Corridor Design in the KTM Track

Sng En Ai Rebecca (MLA’12) The Linear Park and Urban Liveability: A Study of Singapore’s KTM Railway Land

Soh Han Jie (MLA’12) Environmental Education in Parks: Influence of Naturalness on User Experience in Singapore

Teo Hui Yi Rachel (MLA’12) Assessment of KMT as an Ecological Corridor in Singapore

Student Awards

2012 SILA Student Design Awards, Contextual Analysis & Investigations Award (Bronze) , Studio 11/12-2, The Singapore Trail

2012 Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) – “Journey of Possibilities” Competition, 1st Prize in Inclusiveness, Accessibility and Resolving Conflicts category, The Singapore Trail, MLA’12

2011 SILA Student Design Awards, Planting Design Award, Backyard network for cycling, Hoo Xin Yu

Published Papers

Feng, Y. & Rekittke, J. (2015). “Ideas for a ‘National Mall’ in Singapore: an academic approach to revive the former rail corridor site.” CITYGREEN , Issue 11, p.56-65.

Studio Books

Hwang, Y. H. (Editor), 2019, Everyday cycling in Singapore 02: prototyping a cycling network for OneNorth district, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9789811401879

Hwang Y.H. (Editor), 2011, MLA studio: Everyday cycling in Singapore, CASA, NUS, ISBN 9810899750