SPECULATING A NEW TYPOLOGY OF HAWKER CENTRE by purnima venkatachalam

PORTFOLIO

CONTENTS PAGE

Speculating a

New Typology of Hawker Centres Hawker centres in Singapore have become “community dining rooms” – where people from all walks of life enjoy a variety of affordable and good quality food together with family and friends. They are important communal spaces where people gather, interact and forge community bonds. Over the last few years hawker centres have faced increasing pressure from food outlets that provide innovative and unique eating experiences in beautiful interiors selling food at compatible rates. Hence taking this as an opportunity I would like to speculate a new typology of hawker centres. Looking into ways to revitalize and redesign a better hawker centre that would last for more generations to come. The first part investigates on hawker centres and the issues pertaining to it and seeks to provide a workaround solution for the hawker stalls. While the second part looks into designing varied table seatings. Lastly the third part looks into the integration of rooftop gardens and urban farming on the roof which will provide fresher produce closer to homes, the Hawker centre and the wet market.

REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE

THE WAYS WE DINE

ROOFTOP GARDENS &FARMS

The Hawkers who are key custodians of Hawker culture are aged and left without succession. Soon, Hawker Centres will diminish out of existence resulting only as a memory of the past. So how do we revive this dying trade?

REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE

An introduction to Hawker Centres and the setbacks it is faced with.

Hawker noun

a person who travels about selling goods, typically advertising them by shouting.

Centre noun

the point from which an activity or process is directed, or on which it is focused.

Hawker Centre noun

INTRODUCTION

(In South East Asia) an open air complex at which individual vendors sell ready-to-eat food from small stalls.

Consolidated Hawker centres were first created in the early 1970s, when the British colonial government sought to move street vendors into defined places of business. The new government, after Singapore gained its independence, continued this resettlement programme. By 1986, it had successfully resettled all street hawkers. In modern day Singapore, hawker centres are an integral part of the country’s food culture. Currently there are over 114 hawker centres in Singapore. Each hawker centre houses between 20 to over 200 stalls, with each stall specialising in different types of cooked food. Customers would queue for their orders, seat themselves at the common seating area, and fill their stomachs with cheap, tasty food.

However, while hawker centres were traditionally celebrated as the to go place for cheap food, in recent years, hawker centres have faced increasing pressure from food outlets providing innovative and unique eating experience in beautiful interiors selling food at compatible rates. And with increase in economic success and education, younger generations are more attracted to jobs with higher pay scales rather than being a Hawker stall owner, which was seen as a backbreaking, unglamorous and poorly paid vocation.

Consolidated Hawker Centres 1970s - Now

Each stall is now provided with proper amenities and facilities such as portable water supply, electricity, and many more. Customers could now enjoy their food with a roof above their heads and chair and tables to dine in. Hence enjoying their meals in “Community Dining Rooms”.

Hawkers are the key custodians of the Hawker Culture in Singapore. However, the median age of hawkers is 60 years old (NEA, 2020). Without fresh blood to carry the traditions forward and new hawkers not having the means to have a fresh start. Hawker centres will diminish out of existence.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | INTRODUCTION

HISTORY OF HAWKER CULTURE

Hawker Centres are a microcosm of Singapore Society and have mirrored the changing life and landscape of Singapore over time. This is how Hawker Centres started. A culture so rich that was added to UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage

Itinerant Hawkers -1950s

Malay & Chinese Hawkers would use the shoulder stick with equally balanced loads.

Indians would carry their wares skilfully balanced on their heads.

Street Peddlers -1960s

(Travelling Hawkers)

(Push Cart Vendors)

During the postwar years of high unemployment. Hawking was seen as the easiest form of entrepreneurship which required minimal capital to earn good income.

Hawkers at this point of time were thought to be unhygienic and were conflicting Singapore’s image towards a modern city.

Hawkers were relied upon to supply fresh produce and other necessities.

As many joined the industrial workforce, the demand for cheap and convenient meals increased, resulting an increase in hawkers.

Hawkers also took form of street side tents. That was disorganised and chaotic.

Push cart vendors evolved based on the idea of being mobile and easily accessible to customers.

Police officers were deployed to supervise and clear out hawkers from streets and place them in Hawker Centres.

A mobile stall on tricycle shows the creativity of Hawkers in modifying their stalls.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | HISTORY OF HAWKER CULTURE

ANALYSING SPATIALLY...

Spatially analysing the varied forms of Hawking throughout the history, to identify the positive and negative aspects of each typology.

Itinerant Hawkers -1950s (Travelling Hawkers)

+ve The Itinerant hawkers and Street peddlers were flexible in the sense that they could utilize any available spots to set up their temporary stall. Hence having this parasitic nature, whereby they did not have to pay rent, they could just utilize the sides of the street or road to set up their stall. Stall were mobile, which provided easy access for customers to buy their food right at their street and near their workplace.

Street Peddlers -1960s (Push Cart Vendors)

-ve

Consolidated Hawker Centres 1970s - Now

+ve

-ve

On rainy days business would be affected as the stalls did were not sheltered.

Consolidated Hawker Centres have roofs above to shelter hawkers and the diners.

Now hawkers are housed in permanent stalls hence losing their parasitic nature.

Diners could not comfortably be seated while eating.

There is access to electricity, portable water and many more facilities.

Hawkers are confined in tight spaces with lack of ventilation making the space hot and stuffy.

Customers have proper tables and chairs with fans and lights, allowing them to dine in comfort.

With space enough for only two people to work at the same time in the stall.

Did not have facilities such as electricity and portable water and would have to carry their wares around.

From 1970 to 2020 there has been no change in the typology of the hawker stalls.

Had good air circulation, and were not caged in tight spaces like recent times.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

As a start I researched on two Hawker Centres in Chinatown CBD area. Though situated in the same area both are very different.

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

Maxwell Food Centre

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

Part of the Hong Lim Complex which consists of residential, commercial and offices. Has a market at the back of level 1. Some stalls operate 2-3 days a week. By 6.30pm most of the operating stalls start winding

Maxwell Food Centre

up for closing, while serving the dinner crowd alongside. Tables are utilized for drying vessels and utensils due to lack of space. Tables are also used when preparing for next day sales.

A popular location among locals and tourists. It is just a Hawker Centre, unlike Hong Lim which is a combination of residential, commercial spaces. Mostly all the stalls will be running at all times. Only

some will be closed. It's always busy and Hawkers only get to take a break from 4-5.30 pm before the dinner crowd arrives. Very few hawkers utilize the tables for prepping. But no one dries their vessels as they have continuous flow of customers.

An Illustration of the floor plate of Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

An Illustration of the floor plate of Maxwell Food Centre

It takes up the first two storeys of Blk 513A in Hong Lim Complex.

The hawker centre has a long stretch of stalls in 5 rows.

Stall size is smaller than Maxwell Hawker Centre

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

The Hong Lim Market & Food Centre is the busiest part of Hong Lim Complex. Built in 1978, it was one of the first few hawker centres established in Chinatown area.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

1. ( GATHERING ) near Mall entrance.

2. ( GATHERING ) near BLK 536 lifts.

3. ( GATHERING ) facing the HC

Many elderly tend to gather at the sheltered public seating, at times they bring their own chair to the spot and engage in people watching.

A cobbler would set up his stall near the lift and during the evening time more elderly would gather near the lift with their own chair and engage in people watching

For some reason people of all ages, mostly tend to face the Hawker Centre when they rest in these seating that is lined up in the middle of the transitional space.

4. ( GATHERING ) for hours.

5. ( COOKING & DINING ) front.

6. ( COOKING & DINING ) back.

When it is shady in the transitional space, people tend to linger for a longer period of time, engaged in conversations, glued to their screens or simply people watching.

The interior is always lit even during daytime, when the light shines in from the front.

The back is darker than the front part of the hawker centre and slightly noisier and stuffy.

7. ( BUYING ) Market.

8. ( BUYING ) Service Access.

9. ( OUTSIDE ) Pathway and Parking.

Is usually busy in the mornings where the stalls selling fresh produce are up and running. Around afternoon most of the shops will be closing down.

Is quite busy with pickup trucks dropping off supplies. Food delivery drivers tend to park their motorcycles in here when they head to collect food.

The pathway is usually deserted, and not many use this entrance to access the hawker centre. But the parking lots are always full.

Level 1 Floor plan

UPPER HOKIEN STREET

09 UP

SPRINKLER AND PUMP ROOM

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GENERATOR ROOM

RUBBISH CHUTE

FIRE COMMAND CENTRE

STORE ROOM HONG LIM COMPLEX HAWKER'S ASSOCIATION ROOM

UP UP

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MULTI - STOREY CARPARK N

PUMP ROOM

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

The Hong Lim Market & Food Centre is the busiest part of Hong Lim Complex. Built in 1978, it was one of the first few hawker centres established in Chinatown area.

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre Level 2 Floor plan

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RUBBISH CHUTE

TRANSFORMER ROOM

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02 UP

Is a little quieter than the front as there are lesser people gathered at the back.

There are more seating options littered all over the 2nd floor, for customers to sit wherever they please.

LVL 2LVL 2 LVL 2

< TO CHINATOWN < TOPOINT CHINATOWN CHINATOWN POINT POINT

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UP UP

Due to COVID-19 there are few safe distancing ambassadors patrolling crowded areas of the hawker centre and ensuring that everyone are following the guidelines.

TRANSFORMER ROOM

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3. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 3.

RUBBISH CHUTE

2. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 2.

1. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 1.

4. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 4. This space is like a raised up platform that looks over the Upper Hokien Street. It is bright airy and spacious. It is also hassle free as it does not have queue snaking behind seating.

TO BLOCK BLOCK TO BLOCK > 175 > 175 TO > 175

BLOCK 536 BLOCKBLOCK 536 536

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01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

Maxwell Food Centre, a popular Hawker Centre that is set on a site that used to be a Chinese burial ground. In which the Market place was first built in 1928, and later was established as a hawker centre in the year 1987.

Maxwell Food Centre Floor plan

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LANDSCAPING

ALTAR UP

LANDSCAPING

MALE TOILET FEMALE TOILET

03 02 TURFING AREA

LANDSCAPING

TURFING AREA

LANDSCAPING

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TURFING AREA

01 LANDSCAPING

MAXWELL ROAD

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KADAYANALLUR STREET

LANDSCAPING

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2. ( OUTSIDE ) Part 2.

3. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 1.

This is the fire engine access point, which is utilized as a smoking spot by the patrons, who chit chat with company while smoking under the shady trees.

People enjoying the breeze and view of the city scape while eating.

People usually buy their meals and find tables facing the Maxwell Road as this is the most well lit part of the of Hawker Centre with unblocked view and flow of wind.

2. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 2.

3. ( COOKING & DINING ) Part 3.

3. ( OUTSIDE ) Part 3.

Stalls situated in this centre aisle have great business due to its location within the hawker centre, having spacious seating areas and providing varied food options to choose from.

This aisle is less popular compared to the centre isle as it lacks spacious seating areas. Both this and the centre aisle are dark even during the day due to lack of daylight. Moreover the artificial lights are switched on only after 7pm, till then diners have to make do with the lights from the stalls.

Though this narrow corridor like space has access to unblocked view and flow of wind, the seating are not facing the view, and forces diners to face the wall.

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SOU

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1. ( OUTSIDE ) Part 1.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

I have selected Hong Lim Complex (HLC), Chinatown as my site. Havelock 2

Site analysis to understand the context and the surrounding building typologies.

OFFICE & COMMERCIAL

People Park Centre

One George Street

Chinatown Point

Fook Hai Building Great Eastern Centre WeWork

OFFICE COMMERCIAL /MIXED USE

Cross Street Exchange

HA VE

LO C

HOTELS & RESIDENTIAL

Furama City Centre

Champion Hotel City

PIC

IEN

Porcelain Hotel

Capri by Fraser China Square / Singapore

HOTELS RESIDENTIAL

Bliss Hotel

Parkroyal Collection

Hotel 81

RIN

TO N

People Park Centre

Capsule Pod

Capri by Fraser China Square / Singapore

The Bohemian Chic Hostel

Backpackers’ Inn Chinatown

RID

PARKS & OTHER PLACES MOSQUE

Masjid Jamae (Chulia) UP

PARK

Hong Lim Park

PARK

Facilities

POLICE POST Kreta Ayer Neighbourhood Police Post

MRT station exit

Bustop

Taxi Stand

Route to HLC

SITE ANALYSIS

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | SITE ANALYSIS

For this part I focused on designing for hawkers. As they are the custodians of Hawker culture. Hence I explored various ideas to enhance their working environment, as they currently have poor working environment.

REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE

FOODTRUCK HAWKERS

PERFORMATIVE COOKING

TRANSFORMABLE STALLS

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | LIST OF IDEAS

THOUGHT PROCESS & RESEARCH

Initially I felt that Hawkers should head back to streets and make the cityscape more lively. Instead of being trapped behind their counters in a tiny stall all day long.

(Food truck Hawkers)

3.0 M WHY THE FOCUS ON HAWKERS

FRIDGE

SINK

FOOD DISPLAY

POTS & PANS

CUTLERY

2.4 M - 3.2M

STOVE

Thorough the various forms of hawker stalls from 1950 to 1969, one thing has never changed the stall was mobile. It was never fixed, and was never meant to be fixed. As the name hawker itself refers to a person who travels about selling goods. Yet in Singapore we have housed these hawkers in permanent stalls. Their current setup is cramp and tight. As they have to fit a fully functional kitchen which results in a cramped stall set up with limited storage and prepping area with insufficient space for two people to work, lack of ventilation which makes it hot and humid.

HAWKER CENTRES

JAIL

Currently the set up seems to be jailing the hawkers behind their counters within ‘three walls’.

Then when I was interviewing the stall owners who were the 2nd and 3rd generation of hawkers. They shared with me that their state is much better in comparison to new stall owners as their rentals are much higher. As of 2015 the lowest rental rate in Maxwell Food Centre is $889 while the highest is $3663. Which is a huge difference in the rental rates as shown in the diagram below. Moreover for the new hawkers to accumulate regulars would be quite a challenging task as it would take a few years for customers to familiarize with the new stall. (sgchart, 2015)

Only those who were relocated from the streets in the early 1970s or allocated stalls under the Government’s hardship scheme were given subsidised rental fees which will exist until their lease expires. But this program has been discontinued since 1989. Hence new stall owners are not applicable to this scheme. The new stall owners could participate in the monthly tender exercise where they bid for the stall hence resulting in higher rent. (sgchart, 2015) (NEA, n.d.) According to David Harvey’s ‘Rights to city’ in which he argues that the freedom to make our cities and ourselves is, one of the most precious yet most neglected of our human rights. Which is why I was driven to create a new typology of hawker centres where everyone gets equal opportunities to sustain in the hawker business. As the current rental scheme alone is enough to discourage young hawkers into entering into the business.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

FOOD TRUCK HAWKING - PRECEDENT STUDIES The old Ayer Rajah hawker centre is now transformed into a traditional-meets-modern gastro park. Timbre+ is home to 35 dining options, featuring 21 hawker stalls and 14 restaurant brands.

TWO FACE Pizza & Taproom which was later known as Day and Night. Is a Kopitiam, home to several hawker stalls including a popular yong tau foo spot in the daytime. In the evenings, the coffee shop becomes a Western Food-serving establishment.

The incubator programme is now part of NEA’s ‘Hawkers’ Development Programme’ which was launched earlier this year. Now this programme will help facilitate a continuing flow of new and younger hawkers into the hawker trade. (Timbre group, n.d.)(NEA, 2020)

Timbre + (Precedent Study 1)

DAY

A joint collaboration between The Spa Esprit Group, celebrity chef Ryan Clift from Tippling Club and award-winning food garden specialists, Edible Garden. With an aim to act as a platform for everyone to get more in touch with the food they eat, to understand how they are grown and what exactly goes into our plate and calls us to appreciate farmers. It also has large outdoor recreation spaces that promote balanced living and the education of children and

They have used food trucks and food trailers to house the stalls instead of housing them within ‘three walls’. Which is quite similar to what I wanted to do for my 1st idea.

Unfortunately this shop is permanently closed now. Using some movable chalkboard they cover up the existing stall of the kopitiam setting and convert it into a western food serving establishment , an ingenious use of space, since the existing kopitiam stalls close by 2 to 3pm.

TWO FACE Pizza & Taproom (Precedent Study 2)

By featuring both hawker centres and restaurants it gives the consumer options of eating at different types of fnb under the same roof.

NIGHT

Concept of having the same shop but using it for two different fnb is quite unique and appealing. How can this be adapted into the New Hawker Typology?

Hawkers who cant afford, can collaborate with others and share the costs. They could use the same food truck and operate on different days. In that way maximising the rent and usage.

The concept of farm to table is heavily emphasised in this restaurant. The way they use food as a way to educate people on eating locally sourced food and appreciating farmers is commendable.

Farm to table could be adapted, allowing hawkers could grow their own ingredients and be selfsustainable. Food can be grown in under-utilized spaces like rooftops and sidewalks as well.

-Takeaways-

-About-

They even have incubator stalls for young hawkers to learn the ropes of running fnb. Which provides a great learning platform for young hawkers and entrepreneurs. They developed the incubator

programme in partnership with the Singapore government agencies. It has been in place since 2016. Whereas NEA only launched it two years after in 2018.

adults alike through farming workshops and activities. The interior is almost glasshouse like, letting in ample light and illuminating the entire space such that it brightens up anyone who walks into the space. It also has an open concept kitchen because it strips the whole cooking process bare by allowing diners to have a look at how their food is prepared.(Chen, 2016)

Open Farm Community (Precedent Study 3)

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | PRECEDENT STUDY

FOOD TRUCK HAWKERS

Designing the interior of the food trucks. Developing a new business model tailored for hawkers.

Speculating hawkers in our multi-storey carpark, utilizing the roof gardens to create a farm to table experience for the customers. Now hawker food is even more accessible for customers.

PHASE 3

PHASE 1

However I felt that this idea was ripping of the cultural significance of the Hawker Culture. Hence decided to forgo the idea.

PHASE 2

Hawker is someone who travels about selling goods. But from 1970 to 2020 our hawkers have been rooted to the same spot. Hence I want to make our hawkers mobile and easily accessible to their customers again. By allowing them to travel in food trucks around Singapore.

Speculating hawkers in public spaces such as Parks and Green spaces. Customers could enjoy nature while eating affordable hawker food.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | IDEATION

THOUGHT PROCESS & OBSERVATION

I observed that most of the stalls are blocking the view of the kitchen with their food display racks. Hence customers are not able to view what is going on in the kitchen.

WHY THE FOCUS ON HAWKERS Thorough the various forms of hawker stalls from then till now, some things have never changed the hawker food has always been affordable and delicious.

(Performative Cooking)

Heng Li Kampung nasi lemak | Nasi padang

However, hawkers have vanished from streets and are now housed in permanent stalls. Even in the hawker centre they are working in the back end, hidden behind their food display counters. Currently their stall set up seems to be jailing the hawkers behind their counters within ‘three walls’.

How do we design for an intergenerational hawker centre? That encourages interaction between young and old. How do we get people interested, and make Hawker Culture prestigious without making it expensive? How do we amplify what is good without changing the essence of Hawker Culture?

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

PERFORMATIVE COOKING - PRECEDENT STUDIES Ice cream is sold from street vendors carts. The salesmen wear regional dress costumes. And when you come to buy a scoop, the vendor show-off and put on an act, utilizing the peculiar qualities of the ice cream to perform a seamless series of magic tricks.

You have to work for your cone while laughing and having fun. The vendor will start a competition between you and him, you can actually touch the cone or even hold it but never take it immediately. In short it would take sometime to savour the ice cream, which might end in tears too.

This dumpling house is known to welcome guests earlier than usual. Guests do this simply to watch the dumplings come to life behind the glass paned show kitchen located right at the entrance, where you will see people walking up to take photographs of the line cooks in action.

Open kitchen boosts customer’s confidence in the restaurant and the brand. Customers are attracted to dine at Din Tai Fung when they see how the chefs prepare their food.

Engages customers as they get to see their food being prepared in a theatrical style. Where the chefs get to show-off their skills.

Open kitchen boosts customer’s confidence in the restaurant and the brand. Customers are attracted to dine when they see performative cooking.

In 1945, Misono, a chain of Japanese restaurants, first introduced the concept of a Western steakhouse that incorporated Japanese cooking techniques to prepare various dishes on a teppan. These novel Japanesestyle steakhouses became extremely popular with American diners.

Teppanyaki (Precedent Study 6) 32

While waiting for food, the customers are engaged by allowing them to watch the chefs make dumplings through the glass

Din Tai Fung recognizes that nowadays, customers love to see how their food are hygienically and meticulously prepared. Hence they set up this idea of ‘dumpling observatory’ in each of their outlets.

Din Tai Fung (Precedent Study 5)

Teppanyaki refers to Japanese dishes that are typically prepared on a hot plate griddle which is set onto the table. The chef will have all utensils and ingredients lined on the borders of the grill and will cook several dishes in front of diners with stunning flair and speed. It’s like a theatrical show with acrobatic shrimp and flying vegetables as the stars of the show.

It makes one feel like a child when playing with the vendor to get hold of their ice cream.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

-Takeaways-

-About-

Turkish Ice Cream Seller (Precedent Study 4)

It attracts the customers as it provides a unique experience. That goes beyond just engaging the taste buds.

Speculates the future of hawker centres, where the cooking takes place in front customers allowing them to see the hawkers in action and be able to observe the performance in the kitchen while awaiting their order.

PERFORMATIVE COOKING

This new design allows hawkers to break away from the standard stainless steel utilitarian stall setup and conceptualize and design their stall space and seating. Hence creating a premium hawker experience where each stall has its own identity and provides varied eating experience where customers get to view the performance of cooking. Customer service can be enhanced by incorporating technology. This new typology also creates a better working environment for hawkers and serves as a platform that provides opportunities for experienced hawkers to mentor youths and ensure their succession is continued. But I realised that creating something new might not lead to positive results hence I decided to forgo the idea of conceptualized stall and utilize technology to enhance efficiency of hawker centre for the next idea.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | IDEATION

EXPLORATION

I tried different stall layouts to create a spacious kitchen that would attract the younger generation to become hawkers.

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Expanding the unit size both vertically and horizontally, to maximize the store frontage and have more spacious stall at the same time.

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The space is still tight and uninviting.

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3. Shifting the cooking area to the front to allow for customers to observe the activities in the kitchen.

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1. The original floor plan of a stall 2. By allowing the front counter to move forward when needed, it will create comfortable working space for 2 or more to working in

TYPE C

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TYPE D

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01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | EXPLORATION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

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I later realized that none of this was maximizing the stall frontage and were not engaging the customers.

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2. Allowing for shared cooking between 2 stalls.

To attract the younger generation to become hawkers the hawker stalls have to be more spacious and flexible for customization and conceptualisation of their own stalls to show their individuality.

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1. Expanding the unit size vertically in plan.

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TYPE B

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PART PLAN

I incorporated FIRE few other facilities that help COMMAND with running the hawker centre efficiently and CENTRE minimising the workload of hawkers. UP

STORE ROOM HONG LIM COMPLEX HAWKER'S ASSOCIATION ROOM

PUMP ROOM

UP UP

INDUSTRIAL DISWASHER

F F

01 03 UP

LVL 1 PART PLAN

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CONCEPTUALIZED STALLS

TRAY RETURN

FOOD VAULT 01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | IDEATION

01 CONCEPTUALISED STALLS The stall units are now made bigger to provide customers and hawkers better dining experience. The stall fronts and seating can be customized and personalised by the hawkers, to show their creativity and individuality

Heng Li Kampung

OR D

nasi lemak | Nasi padang

G N I R

KING O O

EXPERI

EN C G IN

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | IDEATION

TOUCH POINTS

Some moments experienced in the hawker centre and programmes taking place.

2.7 M

ORDERING

Now customers have a dedicated queuing space hence they would not be queuing in between the seating area. Making it a pleasant dining experience.

Fig 1. Long queues

Fig 2. Existing stall front

STOVE

FRIDGE

SINK

FOOD DISPLAY

POTS & PANS

CUTLERY

2.4 M

During peak hours as seen from (Fig 1) long queues tend to snake in between the seating areas making the diners feel uncomfortable.

Fig 3. Things inside the stall

COOKING & EXPERIENCING

MENTORING PROGRAMME

Usually Cooking happens at the back end of the kitchen blocked by the food display case as seen from (Fig 2); hence restricting customers from viewing. Moreover cooking in a tight space of 2.7m x 2.4 m and having to fit it all the things as shown in (Fig 3) results in having a hot and humid working environment for the hawkers

National Environment Agency (NEA) has an existing programme created this year in hopes to encourage aspiring hawkers. Well experienced hawker who choose to Mentor get paid $500 per training month as part of its benefits reduced rental rates could also be implemented.

Now the stall size is expanded the customers have the opportunity to observe the performance of cooking happening within the kitchen. And the hawkers get to work in spacious and well ventilated environment.

This would then allow younger hawkers to learn the ropes of running a successful business from well experienced hawkers. As for the older generation hawkers they might also secure a successor to pass down their tradition for more generations to come.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

02 TRAY RETURN An initiative pioneered in Timbre Plus (Fig 4) which later was applied in 2 other hawker centres. This could be implemented in the design to reduce the workload of the hawkers and cleaners.

Fig 4. Timbre + tray return area

Diners pay a $1 deposit for an RFIDtagged tray at a food stall and, when they are done with their meal, they drop it off at the conveyor belt. 44

When the conveyor belt with RFID reader detects that a tray has been returned, a machine returns the deposit, and the tray carries on towards the washing station.

The cleaners collect the trays and load in the conveyor belt industrial dishwasher that washes 50 vessels per minute. 01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | IDEATION

03 FOOD VAULT A concept developed by OUE Re:Store (Fig 5) features a wall of automated food vaults where the pre-ordered food is collected. Without the stress of long lines and crowds, at their selected collection time, customers arrive and unlock the vault using the mobile app to collect their food. The digital screens on the vault display their name and order number for easily identification.

ORDERING PROCESS : 01

DOWNLOAD THE APP

SELECT THE DISH & COLLECTION TIME PROCEED TO THE FOOD VAULT APPROACH VAULT WITH YOUR NAME AND COLLECT ORDER

03 04

Then the customer could choose to head out or dine in the Hawker Centre

Fig 5. Food vault in Downtown Gallery

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | IDEATION

THOUGHT PROCESS & OBSERVATION

Spatially having more space has a lot of benefits. Stalls that have more space are able to cater for more services and are able to make more profit. That is because they have more space for storage of raw ingredients, more space to cook multiple orders at the same time.

(Transformable Stalls)

There are some stalls that operate in the wee hours when most of the stalls closed. What if the wall in between stalls can be shifted against the closed stall to open up for more space? This can increase productivity for the stall in use and also gains this parasitical nature that the street peddler used to possess.

Owns

CHATTY

UNCLE ONG

Economic rice stall

QUICK-WITTED

DEBBIE

generation hawker in his family

AGE

PROFESSION

Hawker

MARITAL STATUS

Widowed

merged into one 2 stalls

years of experience

2nd I started off by looking into 3 different stalls in Hong Lim Complex. The main thing I noted was that majority of stalls occupied only one unit. Only 8% of stalls occupied 2 or more units. Those who occupied more units were mostly in their late 30s and 40s who were keen in expanding their family business and tapping on technology and innovative ideas to increase efficiency and sales.

Owns

A proud alumni of ACS (Anglo-Chinese School). Loves to chit chat with customers and neighbours during free time. Has a son and a daughter, lives with Son and his family. But is left without a successor to take over his business which saddens him a lot.

into 1

staff for each menu

generation hawker in the family

AGE

PROFESSION

Hawker

MARITAL STATUS

Single

of experi 27 years

KRISTEN CHOONG 46

years of experience

4th

2 stalls merged 3 stalls,

CHOONGS

varied menus

Owns

METICULOUS

ence

3rd

JILL CHOONG 45

generation hawkers in the family

AGE

45 - 46

PROFESSION

Hawkers

RELATIONSHIP

Sisters

The sisters have been helping their mother in the stall since young. Jill stepped in at the age of 18, while Kristen later joined after quitting her own export and import company. Their mother has issues with her legs due to long hours of toiling in the kitchen. Hence the sisters relentlessly researched in utilizing automation in their cooking to achieve food of same quality and richness of flavour but with lesser manual labour. Which helped to hasten the process and reduce their sufferings.

Upon hearing that her great aunt wanted to sell away the stall, she decided to step in. Initially the stall only did night service, once she took over, she seized the opportunity of serving the office lunch crowd in the prime CBD area. Hence crafted new menus specially for the lunch crowd, while retaining the traditional night service menu as well.

They have similar reasons for choosing to be a hawker, for their family decided to close down their business for good as they were unable to manage, hence these relatively young hawkers decided to quit their jobs to step in as a hawker to retain their family business.

1 48

STALL

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

Uncle Ong has one of his stall in HLC called Hengli Kampung Nasi Lemak Nasi Padang # 02-69.

CHATTY

Owns

HISTORY

DONE BY ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA | CNA

Had been helping out his parents in their stall since young. He would serve the customers by remembering and bringing their correct order to their table. At

OPERATING HOURS Monday - Saturday 8.30am - 7.30pm Sunday Closed

Economic rice stalls at each stall 2 staffs

that time, there wasn’t the luxury of tables with numbers but yet he could easily serve 5 customers and not mess up their orders.

DONE BY ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA | CNA

UNCLE ONG

years of experience

2nd

generation hawker in his family

AGE

PROFESSION

Hawker

MARITAL STATUS

Widowed

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

This is the common set up which 92% of stalls in Hong Lim Complex possess

STALL

Stall Front & Tight Entrance. Entrance of 600 mm just enough for a person to walk through, lined with oil cans and boxes.

Tight stall set up. Every inch of the space has been maximized for usage.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

Debbie owns Tang Kay Kee Fish Head Bee Hoon, # 01-70/43, in HLC. A back to back stall configuration that allows her to provide and explore varied menus.

Owns

HISTORY

DONE BY ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA | CNA

Kay Sook, Debbie’s great grandfather, started the stall in 1940 as peddler in Hokkien Street. He was known as the man that doesn’t wear shoes, just to save few more

OPERATING HOURS Modern Lunch Bowls 11am - 2.30pm (Mon - Fri) Traditional Dinner 5pm - 10pm (Tues - Sun)

DEBBIE

stalls merged into one menus 2 varied

for 2 staff each menu

cents for the family. Then Debbie’s great aunt took over and shifted into HLC when hawkers were cleared from the streets.

DONE BY ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA | CNA

QUICK-WITTED

years of experience

4th

generation hawker in the family

AGE

PROFESSION

Hawker

MARITAL STATUS

Single

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre - Google Maps

lunch service 2 stalls are utilized. m MarketDuring & Foodthe Centre During the dinner service only the front stall is utilized. The back stall is where the young hawkers experiment new dishes. 2/25/2021

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre - Google Maps

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

Stall Front

Back End

A more open view of the kitchen in comparison to most of the stall set ups with display case that blocks See inside the view of the kitchen. Google

Image capture: Nov 2019

https://www.google.com/maps/@1.2853845,103.8456535,2a,59.6y,216.05h,82.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4c7Q71XBoxUAAARFUpSvhw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

455615,2a,85.7y,29.68h,88.4t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGTKfmR62jWkAAARFUpSvgg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

A peculiar system handled by Debbie’s Great Aunt who insists on mental calculations, collecting payment in her tiny bowls and tins and hollering out orders.

The tables near the back end is swamped with prepping ingredients, boxes and stools.

Image capture: Nov 2019

Ordering & Payment System.

STALL

Contact-less Ordering & Payment System. To prove her great aunt that there is a better system, Debbie tests out contact-less ordering & payment system.

1/2

Skip the Queue Pamphlet. Office Crowd can before hand notify their order via Whatsapp. Then pick up their order without having to wait in the queue. On top of that Debbie does marketing via social media regularly posting about menus and cooking in the stall.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

The sisters own Ji Ji Noodle House, # 02 - 48/49/50, HLC. They utilize automation in their cooking to increase revenue and reduce manual labour.

DONE BY ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA | CNA

extraordinary wanton noodles, eventually becoming a specialist. However due to years of toiling in the kitchen her veins ruptured spilling blood all over the floor.

DONE BY ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA | CNA

OPERATING HOURS Monday - Saturday 6.00am - 8.30pm Sunday 6.00am - 6.30pm

CHOONGS

Owns

HISTORY

Lai Yaw Kiew, Mother of the Choongs took over her father’s stall (started in 1963) at a young age when he fell sick. She was passionate in creating her own

METICULOUS

stalls, 2 stalls merged into 1

KRISTEN CHOONG 46

years of experience

3rd

generation hawkers in the family

AGE

45 - 46

PROFESSION

Hawkers

RELATIONSHIP

Sisters

JILL CHOONG 45

A hawker can have 2 stalls under their name. In the case of the Choongs I believe 2 stalls are under their mother’s name, using her Government’s hardship scheme that provides subsidized rental. While the remaining stall ought to be tendered in the open market under the name of either of the sisters.

Stall 50 - Storage

Stall 49 - Washing & Cooking

Stall 48 - Ordering & Cooking

Has their old signboard and the shutters are half way closed, utilized as their storage, which by right is not allowed by NEA.

Stall 49 and 48 are merged and recently renovated.

Menu board is in this stall as indicator for customers to order food from here.

Ordering & Payment System.

Automated Equipments.

Extended Work Area.

The have activated payment machine that reduces human contact and increases efficiency.

Automated equipments have been repeatedly tested for increased efficiency and reduction of manual labour, without compromising on taste and quality. Hence, the sisters are able to run the 3 stalls just by themselves, their mother and an assistant.

They would occupy the tables outside occasionally for making their handmade wanton while seated during their break time.

STALL

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | RESEARCH

I observed some hawkers stacking boxes to create a table space to have their meals.

Foldable table that can be activated for hawkers use as an extra table space for them to have their meals.

How the transformation works

Outram Park Fried Kway Teow Mee

Hiong Kee Dumplings

Teo Heng Porridge Stall

Uncle how was your sales today?

Today business was quite good.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | FINAL IDEA

Walls can be shifted against closed stalls to activate more space for the stall in use. There are holes for hawkers to communicate with each other from within their stalls.

How the transformation works.

2.1 M

CLOSED STALL

Stall that operates during odd hours.

3.3 M

2.7 M

OPERATING STALL

STANDARD STALL SIZE

Ya ya can can

Uncle can try this dish and tell me how it taste?

Stalls operating during the normal hours. With hawkers trying out each other dishes and chatting with one another.

01 | REVIVING HAWKER CULTURE | FINAL IDEA

Hawker Centres are fondly known as Singapore’s community dining rooms. As people of different races no mater their financial background are able to dine under one roof and enjoy their meals. However there are times when some of us feel hesitant to sit next to strangers and share table with them. How can we improve the dining experience?

THE WAYS WE DINE

USER JOURNEY MAP

I did a user journey map of both individual and group diner to find out possible opportunities for a design intervention.

What kind of food is that ?

What should I eat ? Where should I eat ?

So crowded... Queues everywhere... ( GROUP ) Discuss with friend /family member on what to eat or try

THOUGHTS

Do I have time to queue ?

The stall has no queue is the food nice ? ( IF ALONE ) Do I order / chope seat ? ( GROUP ) Friend / family member chope table while the rest go and order food.

I have special dietary requirements. Is there vegetarian option ? I’m allergic to nuts.

( IF ALONE ) All the tables are occupied, I don’t want to share table with strangers, I rather eat at my desk

Time to eat :)

Now where is the tray return station...

( IF ALONE ) “ Uncle I wanna Ta-pow “

( GROUP ) Friend /Family member guarding the table has to politely refuse strangers from occupying seats.

Scans for the tray return station

Get and pay for food

Get seated and dig in

NETS scan to pay. Cashless transaction

Click photos of food , with food and post on IG / social media #Hawker food # Hawker Culture

Stand and make decision

Asks the hawker if the food contains nuts, shellfish and etc. See crowd

Go for the shortest queue if short of time Asks the hawker if have vegetarian option.

INTERACTION

At MRT / Office / Home

Walk towards Hawker Centre

Check for Hawker Centre Location using Google map

Check reviews online for good food if have time to research.

Walk up and down the aisle to see the food options

Queues up to order and seek clarification on the ingredients.

PHYSICAL

D DIGITAL

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | RESEARCH

FINDINGS & TEMPORARY SOLUTIONS

These are the wants and needs of the diners. I have split them into two categories, an online solution and an on-site solution.

FINDINGS FOR

ONLINE SOLUTION

FINDINGS FOR

ON-SITE SOLUTION

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | FINDING & TEMPORARY IDEA

RESEARCH & OBSERVATION ON-SITE

I observed that people are hesitant in choosing their seats and are uncomfortable in sharing seats with strangers. Hence to create a better seating I felt that it was important to understand the current seating design.

5.55 M

DINING AREA

5/6/2021

The earlier Hawker Centres did not have fixed table and chairs. Hence the hawker brought their own foldable tables and chairs. Some customers from other stalls brought their food to sit in Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

seats provided by a different stall owner. Hence leading to dispute among hawkers Moreover these tables and chairs were worn out and broken and were never Hong Lim Market & Food Centre - Google Maps replaced by the hawkers. 5/6/2021

Hence to end this problem the developers decided to provide fixed tables and chairs. Asduz Zaman and his team who were part of the hawker centre development had to- Google figure Hong Lim Market & Food Centre Maps

out how to space the tables apart. So that people could move around easily. Hence they tried out and finally decided that there should be 1.5m gap in between tables for comfortable movement.

Hong Lim Market & Food Centre

1.65 M SEATING

In Hong Lim Complex the walkway in between tables is only 0.9m, although Asduz Zaman and his team set the standard of 1.5m walkway. Resulting in a tight setting. The team also studied Although in my opinion This above image shows human behaviour. The odd leaving people seated in the set of Google a seat in between See inside gaps in-between two tables diners table with gap in between See inside made a better actually have a reason. That separation than this gap. them that was designed gap in between tables was The above image shows by Asduz Zaman and his intended to make people how 3 people utilize a team. Yet the users felt that think that they are sitting in six seater circular table leaving a seat in between https://www.google.com/maps/@1.2853916,103.8457806,2a,75y,330.42h,68t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sqxZg2FZpGUAAAARFUpSvuw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 1/2 https://www.google.com/maps/@1.2853074,103.8455231,2a,75y,329.5h,63.54t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sA-YX0Tx8B44AAARFUpSvnw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 separate tables, when they leaving a gap in-between them was a better separator. don’t want to share tables themselves. Note this was with someone else. before COVID-19. Image capture: Nov 2019

Google

Image capture: Nov 2019

0.90 M WALKWAY

1.50 M SEATING

1.50 M

WALKWAY / QUEUING

However the floor tiles of HLC have clear indication of queuing and seating area. Whereby the queuing area is in yellow while the seating area is pixelated with different colours.

1/2

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | RESEARCH

THE WAYS WE DINE

We go to hawker centres alone or with people we know. Interaction happens only with people we know. We usually don’t prefer to share table with strangers and see it as an invasion of privacy. Which was probably why NEA initiated Vibrant Hawker Centre Programme to increase public ownership and community bonding in Hawker Centres.

The Pasar Geylang Serai Merchants’ Association is made up of a group of shop owners and hawkers operating their businesses at Geylang Serai Market. Since 2019, they brought various music performances by live band and cultural

groups into the hawker centre to celebrate major occasions like Hari Raya, National Day and Deepavali. Holding events has helped to enliven the hawker centre and its surrounding areas even beyond the usual peak period during Hari Raya.

Starter Culture was founded by a group of university students who seek to demystify the techniques of fermentation, generate interest and appreciation in the preparation of artisanal food. Since 2018 the workshop received 74

Founded by Ms Fay Tan, Artfully Yours started out as a home-based art studio offering art programmes for all. Since 2018, Artfully Yours has carried out many workshops ranging from hawker food themed paper mache making sessions,

bath “bomb” making sessions to art jamming sessions in various hawker centres. Encouraging people to talk to each other while participating in the activities, helping to bring people together and keep the hawker centre energy alive.

PLATTER & LID TABLE

CONNECTED TABLES

D I N I N G A M ON G GREENERY

overwhelming support from patrons as well as the public and they carried out many fully-subscribed workshops at hawker centres sharing their knowledge on food fermentation methods to make food items like achar, kimchi, and many more! 02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | LIST OF IDEAS

Initially I wanted to burst the bubble and allow for interactions among diners by changing the standard 6 seater to 10 seater tables. But later I realised that it was against human nature to start a conversation with strangers.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

A squiggle

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

To a S-shaped table on plan UP

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Split into a C-shaped table, that allows people to walk through PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | IDEATION

PLATTER LID & TABLE

To retain the warmth of food we would place a lid over it, what if this idea was translated into the design? Where by the table becomes the platter containing people who are a blend of ingredients, a multicultural society with different cultures and lifestyles. The tables becomes the space where conversations build up and the warmth pulsates from these conversations and are then retained within the lampshade that forms like a protective cover containing these conversations and radiating warmth. Creating an intimate space within a public space. FRONT VIEW

A section of the space.

BACK VIEW

The back part of the hawker centre is dark, hence it will create a nice atmosphere if the light radiates only from the stalls and the tables. 78

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | IDEATION

INTERDINE

YOUR PLACE AT THE TABLE

Table surface slopes up into normal table height

Done by : Gaia Crocella, Umeå School of Architecture (UMA) | Sweden Concept : Interaction + Dining A student project that looks into bridging the gap between the refugees and local community using food as a medium for language exchange, culture exchange and culinary exchange. The tables allow the users to be part of a bigger group or shift somewhere else.

Table circles around existing trees.

Table folds up into bar height table.

Done by : ADHOC Architectes, Canada Concept : Installation + Reappropriation Invites passer by to imagine a new way of sharing a moment collectively and safely at the same table during the COVID-19 period. A large structure and graphic arrow placed at the entrance of the park signals the beginning of the project. Leading to a discovery of tables connected together.

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | PRECEDENT STUDY

CONNECTED TABLES

I wanted to incorporate connected tables into the hawker centre setting as I wanted people to feel connected to one another as though they are all dining, not only under the same roof but also the same table as well.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Modules that didn’t work well. PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PROTOTYPE 1

PROTOTYPE 2

PROTOTYPE 3

FINAL MODEL

Design that was traced over the built model.

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | IDEATION

The railing at the site were about 1.5m high, which gave a caged feeling and block the sunlight. What if the railings were lowered down and utilized as a bar table with planter box growing herbs and plants, which the hawkers can utilize in their cooking.

+ Railing hung Bar table

= Railing hung Planter rack

Plant-A-Bar I want to create a railing version of Plant-A-Bar, which is a combination of a mini bar table and a planter box.

Sectional view of existing site.

Sectional view of proposed design.

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | IDEATION

Rendered image of the dining area in Hong Lim Complex.

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | IDEATION

The transitional space outside of the hawker centre can have outdoor seats. Then there can be a play area with the hawker centre for young families to dine.

With curved forms for kids to explore and play. Later I realised that it is risky for children to be playing inside hawker centre as they might run into patrons carrying food.

The curve form acts as a boundary line containing children while at the same time engaging them.

02 | THE WAYS WE DINE | IDEATION

Singapore is mostly dependent on other countries for food resources. Hence this project aims to speculate the growing of our food resources in the rooftop of Hong Lim Complex. By integrating aesthetic gardens and urban farms on the roofs.

ROOFTOP GARDENS & FARMS

Integration of gardens and urban farming on the roof of Hong Lim Complex.

Hong Lim Complex has ample of rooftop space, that resemble concrete barren lands. Making the void deck area appear very lifeless and dull.

Hence I believe the addition of rooftop gardens can make the space lively for the residents and community to enjoy.

The remaining spaces can be utilized for Wet Market stall owners to grow their own fishes and vegetables. Which will provide fresher produce closer to homes, the Hawker centre and the Wet market.

Our humble Hawker Centres and Wet Markets mark the checklist for almost all the components of Food Security. But as to access of resources to produce food is questionable...

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

EXERCISE CORNER PLAYGROUND

UTILITY SHED LIFT MACHINE ROOM

BLK 531 A

RC CENTRE

STC

RAINBOW FAMILY CARE CENTRE

BLK 538 PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

LIFT

BLK 535

STC

For Singapore is mostly dependent on other countries for our food resources only less than 10% are locally produced.

As of 2019 Singapore has produced only Fish (5%) Vegetable (4%) Eggs (26%).

LIFT

BLK 536 47

STC

COUNSELING AND CARE CENTRE

STC

COUNSELING AND CARE CENTRE

STC

CENTRE OF ACTIVITY & RECREATION FOR THE ELDERS

MSCP

40 A

STC STC

STC

FPRM

STC

LIFT

BLK 535

STC

KRETA AYER SENIOR CITIZENS' CENTRE

BLK 532

STC

SENIOR CITIZEN CORNER

LIFT

STC FPRM

STC

BLK 533 STC

SERVICE LIFT - B

STC

BLK 531

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

STC

Space can be optimized for commercial production for the wet market. With both Indoor and outdoor farming taking place. This space is almost hidden. With only a service lift access to this area.

STC

BLK 532

LIFT

STC

5TH STOREY EXERCISE CORNER

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Space can be optimized as gardens, and community gardens for the residents.

Which is why Singapore government has set goals to locally produce its own food (30% by 2030).

Through urban farming and high tech farming. Hence the need to cultivate new farmers.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

HONG LIM COMPLEX

The complex is a combination of commercial and residential units. The first 4 floors are shops and offices the rest are residential units.

HA VE

LO C

SO U

IDG

IEN

RIN

SE G

TO N

PIC

RESIDENTIAL & COMMUNITY SPACES

SHOPS & OFFICES UP

HAWKER CENTRE & WET MARKET N

GATHERING MRT station exit

Bustop

Taxi Stand

COOKING & DINING

BUYING & SELLING

Route to HLC

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

THE COMMUNITY SPACES These spaces in general don’t have much human traffic. Due to COVID-19 places are closed. PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT some VERSION

EXERCISE CORNER PLAYGROUND

Club Rainbow (Singapore)

Counselling and Care Centre @ Blk 535

UTILITY SHED LIFT MACHINE ROOM

BLK 531 A

RC CENTRE

STC

RAINBOW FAMILY CARE CENTRE

STC

LIFT

BLK 535

Hong Lim RC

STC

LIFT

BLK 536 47

STC

COUNSELING AND CARE CENTRE

BLK 535 STC

STC

COUNSELING AND CARE CENTRE

STC

CENTRE OF ACTIVITY & RECREATION FOR THE ELDERS

MSCP

40 A

STC STC

STC

FPRM

STC

LIFT

STC

KRETA AYER SENIOR CITIZENS' CENTRE

BLK 532 Kreta Ayer Senior Citizens’ Centre

STC

SENIOR CITIZEN CORNER

LIFT

STC FPRM

STC

BLK 533 STC

SERVICE LIFT - B

STC

BLK 531 LIFT

Counselling and Care Centre @ Blk 536

STC

Centre of Activity & Recreation for the Elders @ Level 5

BLK 532 LIFT

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

BLK 538

LIFT

STC

5TH STOREY EXERCISE CORNER

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

Senior Citizen’s Corner 96

Centre of Activity & Recreation for the Elders @ Level 4 03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

It is a common scenario where places that are prescribed as senior citizen corner are seldom used, and Hong Lim complex houses one such place. Hence I wanted to make the senior citizen corner lively. So I researched on some senior citizen corners in Singapore that has the lively kumpung spirit.

MUNDANE SENIOR CITIZEN CORNER

LIVELY SENIOR CITIZEN CORNER The void deck of Block 603, Yishun Street 61 It was officialy opened as a senior citizen corner in 1997, since then the space transformed into an informal second home decked with festive decorations, where residents young and old gather regularly to chat and have regular potlucks together. The space is filled with household staples such as rice cookers, refrigerators

stocked with fresh groceries, a television, a sink and potted plants. There are even toys for the young, including a miniature slide, kick scooters, bicycles and a foosball table. The kumpung spirit is so strong that the parents entrust their wards with the seniors gathered in the void deck and head off to run some errands.

The void deck of Block 601, Clementi West Street 1 An informal communal space that resembles entered an airy living room with festive decorations. The area has a wooden table, an assortment of old deckchairs, a kettle, cabinets, and even a clock and Chinese calendar - all left by residents and used by 10 elderly men from nearby blocks, have made

the spacious void deck their own. They sit around, read the papers and chat about life over tea, biscuits and oranges. They even have their own kettle and have some umbrellas for people to use during the rainy days. Any item placed there is for anyone to use, creating a wounderful community spirit in the void deck.

The users have more authorship, such that they are able to bring in their own furnitures, kitchen appliences, donate free food and drinks and decorate the space. Making a void deck, a

public space into an intimate space such as a living room or a dining hall just like in our homes, bringing the community closer in a more familiar setting.

Senior Citizen’s Corner in HLC

Why don’t people gather here? 98

I believe that the fixed chairs and table limit movement and appropriation of space for users to make it their own. The fixed furnitures almost assign what is to be done in the space. Hence

limiting the users to add their own personal touch to make the space more familiar and homely. Which is probably the reason why most of the senior citizen corners remain empty.

What makes these spaces special?

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

FURNITURES Has an array of old furnitures donated by residents and stackable plastic chairs for seniors to utilize

BIRD CORNER

POTTED PLANTS

The arch openings have hooks for hanging bird cages. Allowing seniors to bring their feathered friends into the space.

Seniors can bring in their flowerpots and add a touch of greenery in the space

THE SENIOR CITIZEN CORNER

PANTRY PLAY AREA

Has appliances and fridge stocked with free food and grocery. Encouraging people to donate and take only what they need.

Has an array of pre-loved toys and games donated by residents, for children to play.

UMBRELLA STAND Has a couple of umbrellas for anyone to use when needed.

INDOOR PLAYGROUND

NEWSPAPER CORNER

Allows for kids to play in the shelter under the watchful eyes of the seniors

Has free newspapers and magazines for senior citizens to read.

View of the newspaper corner and pantry with some furnitures.

100

View of the play area filled with pre-loved toys and games.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | IDEATION

THE SENIOR CITIZEN CORNER

A view of the senior citizen corner where young and old can gather and interact with one another.

We love to gather around to watch our beloved birds chirping away merrily. While we also chat with each other.

102

My friends and I regularly gather in the senior citizen corner for an interesting game of chess and chat over a cup of coffee later on.

I trust the seniors to watch over my child while I’m running errands. The indoor play area keeps my child engaged, allows her to meet new friends young and old.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | IDEATION

AESTHETIC GARDENS

Roberto Burle Marx is a Brazilian landscape architect who is well known for revolutionizing the garden aesthetic. Among the many modes of design representation he also used painting as a technique to design landscapes.

Hence I thought of using drawing as a technique to sketch some contour lines that would later form as a design for the roof top aesthetic gardens of HLC.

Roberto Burle Marx

Burle Marx’s design proposal in painting for the rooftop garden of Ministry of Education and Health building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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The actual rooftop design resembles the painting from plan view.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | IDEATION

01 WORKSHOP AREA

AESTHETIC GARDENS

Gardening workshops can be conducted in this space

02 STORAGE ROOM Gardening tools, water hose and etc. are stored in here

03 SHELTERED SEATS Sheltered seats are littered around the aesthetic gardens.

04 COMMUNITY GARDEN Open community garden that is elder-friendly.

04 EXERCISE CORNER Existing exercise corner in HLC

04 05

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03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | IDEATION

Urban farming is the growing/producing food in a city or heavily populated town. There are many ways to integrate it into the environment. These are some of the most common types of urban farming.

COMMUNITY GARDEN Community gardens are common spaces where people of different demographics come together to create and sustain a gardening space in their locality. Not only does it beautify our city with blooming flowers, vegetables, spices and fruits, it is an

HYDROPONICS Hydroponics is a popular method of growing plants that uses only chemical nutrients and water. Below are the many different types of hydroponic systems, most of which alter how the water flows and reaches the plants.

Rooftop Farming is the cultivation of fresh produce on the top of buildings within the Central Business District (CBD) of major cities.

These gardens promote healthy eating, combats loneliness, creates an active lifestyle and reduces dementia risk for the elderly.

Farming within the CBD also allows for produce to be picked at just the right time and delivered “fresh” with reduced transport distance & times.

Rooftop Farming allows for a completely organic form of farming. This means it often has no pesticides or insecticides that would normally be found in trace amounts in traditionally farmed produce

Expensive

High Maintenance

Man-made cycle

INDOOR

OUTDOOR

Indoor vertical farming is the practice of growing vegetables in vertically stacked, climate-controlled environments. As plants respond best to red and blue lights ‘Grow lights’ are incorporated into indoor farming, emitting lesser heat than regular lights.

Outdoor vertical farming is the practice of growing vegetables vertically to maximize the use of the available space for vegetable cultivation. Plants are healthier as no pesticides are used. It is a more sustainable and cost effective growing method as the energy consumption level is lower than indoor farming.

Since the climate factor is taken out of the equation the plants are in constant production and pest free resulting in fresher, healthier and faster harvest.

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Aquaponics is a growing method that involves fishes and plants being grown in the same environment. Where the fish waste provides nutrients for plants, that absorb and provide clean water for the fish.

ROOFTOP FARMING

opportunistic platform for friends and neighbours, to come together share their knowledge and experiences.

However the energy consumption level is high as the Grow lights and air-conditioners are always in operation.

AQUAPONICS

However plants depends on sunlight for growth, hence slower harvest in comparison to indoor farming.

VERTICAL FARMING

Slow Growth

Can use Pesticides

Affordable

Low Maintenance

Natural cycle

Fast Growth

Cannot use Pesticides

Don’t need Soil

Best for Leafy Greens

Quicker Growth

Higher Yields & Profit

Aquaponics and Hydroponics are both types of Hydro culture gardening techniques (a method of cultivating plants without soil. Instead nutrient rich water and a soiless medium is used.) Hence the possibility of adverse environmental impacts are reduced as there isn’t a need to use pesticides to control pest.

It is easier to grow leafy greens such as lettuce basil and etc. using these systems rather than growing nutrient hungry crops such as tomatoes, beans and etc. As these fruiting crops absorb more nutrients than leafy greens.

Because these plants are placed in systems that don’t use soil, they are able to grow at a rate of 30-50 percent faster than their traditional soil-based counterparts. This quick growth occurs because the plants have access to a higher amount of oxygen. The additional oxygen helps to encourage root growth and nutrient absorption.

Plants that are grown in a hydroponic system or aquaponics system are typically able to yield around 30-40 percent more than other growing methods. Higher yields are produced by decreased insect pressure and the plants receiving higher amounts of food on a consistent basis.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

COMMUNITY GARDEN

THE GARDEN MODULES I have a few modules in the community garden where some are elderly friendly.

Open Garden

Edible Garden

Herb Garden

This module is the regular squat and gardening type, which some elderly prefer to do.

A Rooftop community garden located in Dover Crescent. Known as ‘Petals, Greens & Friends’

Benjamin Ee a 63 year old retiree wanted to create a community garden that brings people together.

The RC allowed him to transform 3 plots totalling more than 200sqm, into a community garden.

This module allows the user to stand and garden without having to bend down

Open garden does not have fence allows anyone to come and pick herbs and plants for free without taking part in the gardening process.

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More residents began to take more interest and would pick some herbs, some in-return would help out with gardening or give donation.

The rooftop garden became a place where the community bonded, they would have various activities and potlucks on a regular basis.

This module allows the user to sit and garden as well, very helpful for elderly with knee issues.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH & IDEATION

COMMUNITY GARDEN

The open community garden becomes a place for everyone to come together and gather for regular activities.

Now that I am retired I spend my free time tending to the community garden. Gardening keeps me active and relaxes my mind.

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I just finished cleaning and weeding the garden. Now I am going to gather some herbs from the Open garden to make some tea.

We are collecting some of the harvest from the garden and prepare for our monthly community potlucks happening here later today.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | IDEATION

ROOFTOP FARMING

( HYDROPONICS & AQUAPONICS )

PHASE 1 | GERMINATION

The seeds are planted in pre cut foam cubes or

in a more sustainable ground coconut husk.

(2 days)

Seeded manually by dementia patients.

PHASE 2 | GREENHOUSE

The sprouts are then placed in greenhouses

Nutrient Film Technique where macro-micro nutrients are dissolved in water. This system saves water by recirculating usable nutrient rich water.

Seeds take 2 days to germinate in the dark.

(14 days)

Here the plants grow for about 2-3 weeks

PHASE 3 | GROWTH

(25 days)

ComCrop is the first commercial roof top farming company operating since 2013 in Singapore. That uses a combination of hydroponics and aquaponics with vertical farming to create a sustainable way of farming to grow green leafy vegetables.

Initially ComCrop started off as a community farm founded in 2011 by Allan Lim. Trained as an engineer, he aims to find a solution for Singapore’s unique challenge of growing food with limited land. Hence he experiments various methods and technology.

Vertical farming takes up only half the space of normal farming. And with the combination of aquaponics technology, this hybrid farming uses 90% less water than traditional farming, which makes it even more environmentally sustainable.

COMCROP

Then the plants are transferred into growing towers. That utilizes Aquaponics system.

Tilapia fish can be bred while growing vegetables. As the fish excrete waste containing ammonia that can be used as a fertilizer for plants.

Ammonia enters the system and gets broken down into nitrates. That is absorbed by the plants, returning the clean water back into the fish tank.

PHASE 4 | PACKAGING

However too much of ammonia in the fish tank can be too harmful and result in death of fishes. This is the only downfall of this system.

(1 day)

800

90%

COMCROP grows

of leafy vegetables annually

Takes 6 weeks to grow from seed to harvest.

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Produce is immediately weighed and packed into boxes.

By afternoon the produce are packaged and delivered to shop.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

INDOOR FARMING

( HYDROPONICS )

PHASE 1 | GERMINATION

The seeds are planted in pre cut foam cubes or

in a more sustainable ground coconut husk.

(2-5 days)

Using vacuum seeder or automatic robot arm.

PHASE 2 | NURSERY

The sprouts are then inspected for rotting.

Then placed in ambient lighting for 12hrs.

(7-10 days)

To allow them to get adjusted to light.

PHASE 3 | GROWTH

From carbon dioxide level to temperature, every aspect of plant growth is fully controlled.

Plants only need red & blue lights to photosynthesise.

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Produce is harvested and immediately sent for packaging.

Then placed in lower intensity grow lights.

(21-27 days)

Different combinations of red & blue lights are tested for best results. The lights emit lesser heat than LED lights, hence can be places closer to plants.

PHASE 4 | PACKAGING

Takes 5-6 weeks to grow from seed to harvest.

The seeds take about 25 days to sprout.

Sustenir is an urban farming company in Singapore operating since 2014. It uses high-tech methods such as controlled environment agriculture (CEA), vertical farming, and hydroponics to grow non-native plants such as strawberries and kale.

Co-founder Benjamin Swan came up with the idea in 2012 and experimented in growing impossible products in impossible places. He learnt to change characteristics of the plants to achieve more palatable products according to the customer preferences.

They use 96% less water than traditional farming and don’t use pesticides at all. They use technology to ensure lower energy consumption. Producing non-native plants locally also reduces the ecological footprint from transport and food waste.

Nutrient Film Technique where macro-micro nutrients are dissolved in water. This system saves water by recirculating usable nutrient rich water.

(1 day)

By afternoon the produce are packaged and delivered to shop.

03 | ROOFTOP GARDENS AND FARMS | RESEARCH

THE AQUAPONICS GARDEN

The aquaponics garden is where fish and leafy greens are grown, and maintained by the wet market stall owners.

01 FISH TANKS The tanks contain Tilapia Fishes, which can be harvested as well.

02 GREENHOUSE @ LVL2 Seeds are nurtured in the greenhouse till they germinate into young plants.

The young ones can visit the gardens and learn about aquaponics

03 PACKAGING AREA

Plants are harvested and immediately packaged

The Hawkers can come right up to the garden and hand-pick the produce for their stalls.

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