The Foraging Line NUS Studio 7 AYDA Competition Best Green Innovation 2021 Studio Tutor: Mr Marc Webb & Ms Naoko Takenouchi
Foraging is a culinary concept that uses local wild ingredients as a way to encourage sustainability, reduce carbon footprint, and evoke a sense of place. The interest in foraging is strengthened as the awareness of sustainability increases. With the pandemic closing up countries’ borders and threatens supply chains for multiple resources, it has grown even more popular in the current days. Taking the concept of foraging, The Foraging Line encourages the public to search for and leverage on the potentials of local resources - materials and food. Amongst the dusty and noisy factories, there is a stretch of green pocket lying underneath the existing Kranji and Yew Tee MRT track, filled with thriving wild plants and scattered fruit trees. Despite being fenced up and inaccessible, it is used as a place for respite for many factory workers. With the idea of activating this space, the project provides a series of different themed workshops for the public to learn about material wastes through collecting and recycling them. Besides, the green space also creates a foraging space that the public and factory workers can forage for food and cook. The design utilises the concept of foraging to introduce the public to local edible plants, and expand this idea beyond through harnessing the wastes sourced from the factories or around the island. Through these, the project aims to change people’s perception of the consumption process from linear to circular, thereby achieving sustainability to strengthen the city’s resilience.
site plan
[timber workshop] negotiation of boundaries
[stone workshop] expression of different materiality
Here, the boundaries between the foraging line and factories are blurred to allow for multiple acts of foraging. Openings and entrances are created to allow the public to engage with the factories by tapping on resources such as machines, tools and even craftsmanship of the factory workers during their workshop.
[fora injection of green into forage
At the middle of their foraging journey, the exhibition space and botanical gallery allow visitors to exhibit their works after completing their workshops, while learning more about different plants and materials.
age] ed vacant industrial building
[different expressions channelling of water
To express the theme of foraging, the boundaries are also blurred through the use of natural elements such as green and water, encouraging different interactions of people with the nature. Water elements are introduced into the site, expressed as small canals and water features that catch rainwater coming down from the roof. The water is then channelled back to the existing canal behind. Exisitng aluminum facade is broken down and fragmented to allow green to be injected into this vacant industrial building, creating a botanical gallery.
Hanging terraces and boardwalks meander through fruit trees, allowing people to forage fruits these tall trees, while forming shelthered paths that connects the kitchens underneath.
blu rring of buildi
[foraging at dif
of injection of nature]
ing edges
breaking down of massive facade
section a-a
fferent heights]
section b-b
finding moments NUS Studio 6 Studio Tutor: Ms Jacqueline Yeo
“finding moments” is an inclusive library that responds to the needs of the ASD hypersensitive and visually impaired by allowing for spaces that create clear directions and paths to guide different users to spaces that suit their needs. The overall form was systematically generated through hyper local responses to context and function. Main spaces inherit qualities preliminary defined through the conception of boundary models, adapted then according to the needs of their users. Main spaces with parabolic walls are created to generate sound cues for visually impaired users. These spaces are then paired with programs with sound generation qualities, such as amphitheatre, group discussion pods and braille book collection corner, utilising their sound generation qualities to enhance the loudness and clarity of the sound cues. On the other hand, main spaces with high privacy and minimal external distractions are also crafted for hypersensitive users. Placed below ground, these spaces are also tucked away from qualities of the existing trees, providing quiet spaces for the hypersensitive users. Sensitively crafted threshold spaces then serve to unify the transition between the main spaces. By engaging with the existing trees, environmental cues are generated to help craft experiential paths between scents, sounds and views, enhancing the physical circulation through the architecture. Depending on the tree heights, the interaction of trees with the threshold spaces are established differently. On the first storey, where the crown of the trees are not visible, the smell and sound of the trees craft a seamless path that connects the eco-corridor and Queenstown Library; Whereas on the second storey, trees with shorter height would grow into some of the outdoor spaces, trees with higher crowns would be served as a natural privacy screen for the reading pods around.
visually impaired: sound reverberation & smells of trees
hypersensitive: high privacy & minimal light
Visually Impaired Users: Sound reverberation through parabolic walls, curved roof or staggering of courtyards
ASD Hypersensitive: Spaces with different privacy levels using different wall heights, diffused light through staggering of floors or opening of voids above
1st Storey Plan
2nd Storey Plan
Section B-B
Basement Plan
Elevation
Section A-A
Amphitheatre
Hypersensitive Reading Space
Courtyard & Amphitheatre
Courtyard & Cafe
A Tale of Two Rivers NUS Studio 5 Studio Tutor: Mr Roy Pang
The project envisages a new typology of architecture that collaborates with, rather than withstanding, rising sea-levels. Using architecture to manifest the changes or rising water levels, the project engages with the flood by using water as a living medium to gradually reestablish an evolving relationship between people and water over time. Geographically, Singapore is a low-lying country with more than 30% of the country’s land lies less than 5m above the sea. The average sea level has been rising since 1984 and according to researches done by Singapore climate scientists, sea level would be raised to 2.5m by 2100. Situated at a low-lying area, Balestier is identified as one of the flood prone zones. The project is located at the start of both Kallang and Whampoa Rivers, as it is most prone to immediate flood threat due to an accumulation of flood flow from the two rivers. There are three stages of changes: Educate, Transform and Adapt. The architectural structure and landscape will metamorph according to different flooding levels, to slowly engage people and change people’ perception of water.
At the tip where Kallang River bifuractes into Whampoa River, a tale of two rivers would begin....
What would happen if Balestier is in water?
Average Sea Level
Monthly Rainfall
Predicted Water Levels
2050 | +1.00m
2075 | +1.75m
2100 | +2.50m
Flood as a form of destruction?
Or...could we see flood in new light?
Current - 2050 : Educate During the first stage [Educate], the architecture is a Water Visitor Centre that would educate and encourage the public to touch and experience the water.
2050 - 2075 : Adapt As seawater rises, freshwater would slowly turn into brackish water and the water will start to flow into the architecture. The terrained ground would gradually turn into breeding ground for aquatic plants such as mangroves and fishes, slowly transforming the architecture into a water activities center, where people could observe or interact with aquatic life and conduct kayak training, preparing people for the change of mode of transport in the future.
2075 - 2100 : Transform By 2100, most of the land would be submerged under the seawater. As the architecture would no longer be needed to serve education purpose by then, it would gradually metamorph into a community farm with the aim to decentralise food resources, building resilience to potential flood impacts.
Basement Plan 2050 - 2075 : Water Visitor Centre
Mangroves could be cultivated within the site and be transplanted to the surrounding areas when they are grown, forming natural flood barriers to bad flood from MacRitchie Reservoir.
Basement Plan 2075 & Beyond : Aquatic Life Sanctuary & Kayak Training Center
The architecture is predesigned to capture the changing qualities of the rising waters, transforming people-water relationship overtime.
1st Storey Plan
Sections
Model Photos (Current & Future Water Levels)
Features
Humid Enclosure for Dry Air-Conditioned Workplaces NUS Studio 4, in collaboration with Lee Yong Soon Studio Tutor: Mr Tham Wai Hon
Singapore experiences hot and humid weather throughout the year, with a humidity level of 8090%. Hoever, humidity levels for an optimal indoor working environment should be kept between 40-65%. This project aims to provide an optimum humidity zone for dry air-conditioned workplaces by using a combination of mists and scents, delivering a multisensory experience focused around the senses of smell, touch and sight. Using everyday items like the umbrella and face misters, we envisioned a selfsustaining enclosure made up of three umbrellas at the top that will serve as a filtration system for condensate water collected from the air conditioning system. Two rings of plastic sheets underneath will then serve as zonings, creating two seperate mist cores of which one will be scented. Depending on the users’ needs and preferences, they are provided with the freedom to experiment through the manipulation of aromas and different activities within the cores. These devices serve to tickle the users’ senses in different ways, while most importantly, striking a balance between the indoor and outdoor environments. Deploying both the heat and humidity implicated in a tropical climate.
Aromatheraphy for two persons
2nd layer with unscented mist
Scented core plan + activities
The enclosure uses condensate water collected from the air-conditioning system, it is produced when a fan-coil unit cools the warm air. By repurposing the condensate water from the air-conditioning system, roughly 20 to 80 litre of water which usually goes down to the drain can be recycled daily.
cloth + sand bags charcoal + misters mist mix bowl
unscented mist
scented mist When sitting underneath the umbrellas, the misters can be controlled by pressing the hydraulic syringes switch from below.
Press to release aroma!
Gloves can be used either within the enclosure or outside the enclosure
Before
After 5 minutes
1 : 10 DETAIL
FACADE SYSTEM
Conceptual sketch of plan
Conceptual sketch of section
