Site Information. Overall Landuse and Road Width
Demographic. N
(Including Fringe buildings)
Legend
Legend Site Building Fringe Building Water Body
On-site research was done to map all exisiting landuse in Little India.
Green Space Police Fences
A very diverse landuse pattern is observed. Sitting
Heritage and Conservation
Standing
N
Moving
Legend Conservation site
Building conservation is practiced in Little India.
Conserved buildings
These districts enrich our built environment with
Envelope control site National Monument
their diverse facades, rich ornamentation and unique architectural styles. To maintain the character of these historic districts, strict conservation guidelines have been put in place.
Gross Plot Ratio (Using same plot size as
N
Legend
URA Masterplan)
Overall Demographic Data Desktop research to find out the age distribution. Buildings in Little India are to be retained to maintain the overall low-rise scale (as seen from the low GPR). Thus urban intervention should consider the fine grain urban texture.
Snap Shot - Demographic Distribution Demographic distribution was recorded over a time interval of 10 minutes at selected hotspots, consolidated statistics are shown below.
Vibrancy.
N
Greenery.
Tree at Gathering Spots
Percentage of Green Space
Pedestrians are often drawn open spaces with
The percentage of green space differs greatly
more trees, as trees provide shade which im-
for the commercial area and residential area.
proves comfort level. 10% for commercial
Serial Vision
50% for residential.
Rule: To cover as much area as possible, and take a photo at every turn. The series of photos display the vibrancy of brightly coloured shophouse facades and diversity of human and retail activities, which contribute to the enjoyability of walkable streets.
N 1.
2.
3.
4.
Benefit of Greenery Greenery cools the ambient temper-
Benefit of Greenery
ature, enhancing thermal comfort.
Greenery can provide visual relief to
Warm
pedestrians. 5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Cool
Benefit of Greenery Urban trees and shrubs can act as sound 21.
22.
23.
24.
barrier to reduce noise pollution. They offer the added bonus of enhancing beauty and privacy. Quiet
25.
26.
27.
28.
Noisy
Shade.
Legend
Snap Shot - Human Activity Mapping
Sitting
Shadow Pattern at Different time of the day
Impact of shade on pedestrian activity types and pattern
0900
Standing
Building shade is one of the most effective cooling strategies in the urban environment. As shown below, pedestrians tend to gather at spot where there is shade. Sufficient shade should be provided to enhance the walkability of Little India.
1.
Typical condition between two rows of shophouses 0900
Walking Bicycle
Typical condition between two rows of shophouses 1200
Typical condition between two rows of shophouses 2000
Project Oasis 1200
Project Oasis 2000
Lembu Square 1200
Lembu Square 2000
1200
2.
2.
1600
1.
Legend Tree Canopy Green Space Buildings Shade
3. 3.
Lembu Square 0900
Obstruction.
Different forms of barrier Physical Obstruction (b.) Many shops make use of the space along the
Section AA’ Back-alley between Dickson Road and Upper Weld Road
five foot way to place their goods and furnitures.
Different forms of barrier
This informal spillover obstruct the pedestrian
N
Physical Obstruction
flow along the five foot way which is already very
(a.) On the urban scale, there are very limited en-
narrow.
try points to Site B, and the site is bound by wide roads which renders it as an inaccessible “archipelago”.
Section BB’ Perak Road
E
Dimension Physical Obstruction Walkway
D
Different forms of barrier Physical Obstruction (c.) Due to the spillover of commerical activities along five foot way, pedestrians are often forced to walk on the vehicular road. However, street parkings along both sides of the road leave them extremely limited space to move
Legend
about. Visual Obstruction (a.) Street parkings also block pedestrians’ view to storefront, comprimising
Dimension
the enjoyability of site.
Physical Obstruction Walkway
Section CC’ Dickson Road
Section DD’
Different forms of barrier
Section EE’
Serangoon Road
Perceived Obstruction
Hindoo Road
Perceived Obstruction
(a.) 4 lane Serangoon Road divides the tall residential buildings
(b.) Fences are installed at HDB void decks and open green spac-
and the low-rise traditional shophouses. This difference in height
es, which drive the pedestrians away from these rest stops.
contributes to making Little India an isolated archipelago. Dimension Physical Obstruction Walkway
Nodes. Nodes and “Rest Stops“ Unplanned rest stops lie on the intersections of common paths traced from following people from major nodes. These are amplified by the surrounding activities and amenities.
Some intersections do no become informal gath-
Lembu Square and Indian Heritage located at the
ering rest stops because they suffer from the lack
periphery of the archipelago are the only well used
of proper amenities (e.g street lighting, bench
“stop” spots on site.
Subjective User Experience.
seating). Almost all the formal gathering spots
Maps below show the
lie outside of these intersection paths, possibly
districts that are frequently
explaining why they remain underutilised.
visited by the different user groups. N
Legend Nodes Designated “Rest Stops“ Spontaneous “Rest Stops“ Catchment (Designated “RS“) Path connecting nodes
Migrant Workers
Tourists
Locals and Residents
Conclusion. Demographic
Enjoyability
Urban Intervention Strategies . 1.
2.
Selective Pedestrianising streets.
Injecting Greenery
Pedestrianising of strategic streets
to a minimum of 50%.
Increasing green space in commercial district
where alternative vehicular service lanes exist to augment enjoyability on site.
Demographic: There is apparent racial segregation on site.
Walkability
Thermal Comfort: Due to the low-rise shophouses in Zone A, there is a lack of shade as compared to Zone B which consists of high rise residential blocks.
Legend Existing Pedestrianised Street Green space Residential Commercial Amenities
Obstruction: The problem of obstruction is worse in Zone A (Serangoon Road) than Zone B (Sungei Road).
Vibrancy: The districts marked in light yellow are more attention grabbing due to the presences of coloured facades and murals.
3.
Improving Existing “Rest Stops“ Improving upon the comfort and accessibility of ‘Rest Stops’ to inject pause into the busy urban grain.
Nodes: The dark blue represents region with well utilised rest stops.
Greenery: Residential zone (Sungei Road) has a better coverage of greenery as compared to the shophouse side.
Evaluation Based on the issues identified, proposed urban strategies will aim to 1. Retain the vibrancy/visual appeal of site 2. Improve connectivity 3. Enhance thermal comfort 4. Inject greenery to increase users’ well-being and function as carbon sinks to bring environmental benefits.
Site Selection.
Immediate Site. Site Influence on Intervention The chosen site is located at a unique five-way junction, receiving vehicular and human traffic from all directions.
Legend
The unique location would require architecture intervention to accomodate and
View from IHC
Green Space
partner the informal activities happening along the backlanes based on the type of
F&B
Five-foot Way
commercial activities.
Secondhand Electronics
Substation
Retail
Site of Intervention
24/7 Eatery
Vehicular Access
As the existing green spaces and parking lots are being taken away, the proposed building typology should also aim to return greenery/benefits of greenery in a more meaningful way.
Existing Pedestrianised Street
N
Aggregated potential sites for urban intervention
Chosen area for intervention
Site Choice for Urban Insertion 1. Existing Open Space It is an existing utilised spot for gathering, which has the potential to bridge the residential area to the newly opened landmark - Little India Heritage Centre. 2. Greenery There is existing greenery on site, but they can be designed more meaningfully. 3. Obstruction The green plot is mostly fenced up and the existance of street parking also hinders visual connection to surrounding buildings.
Programme Justification.
Arts Belt There is a proliferation of multicultural arts groups along Buffalo Road, such as English
Programmes on Site
Ad-hoc and Permanent Programmes: .
Education Catchment
Little India is an attractive meeting place for the migrant workers to
- Care and counselling
Below shows the catchment area for all the existing education facilities on site.
find their community and a sense of belonging during weekends.
- Recreation centre (Acts cafe) - English and computer classes
pore society and our economy, yet they often suffer unconscionable
- Financial literacy classes
exploitation.
- Legal advice
my; and a hip contemporary art gallery called Plastique Kinetic Worms. Proposed architectural pro-
- Medical Screening There are various organisations reaching out to this marginalised
- Cuff Road Food Programme
group, offering free services to improve their welfare.
- Shuttle Bus back to dormitories
Spell#7, ethnic arts groups such as Bhaskar’s Art Acade-
- Free dinners Migrant workers on Work Permits contribute immensely to Singa-
theatre groups Wild Rice and
gramme can partner these, connecting across Serangoon Road.
Legend Special Programmes Residential Area
Gap Identified in Existing Amenties on Site - Regional Library The map below shows the existing libraries in Singapore. Although National Library at Bugis is in close proximity to Little India, it serves a different group of users as compared to a regional library which serve the community. A regional library, coupled with existing special programmes on site can be injected to enhance vibrancy of site.
Catchment of proposed library facility Catchment of existing library facility
There is also on-going relocation of existing libraries to more accessible hubs in order to maximise
Activities Observed on Site
resources.
The type of activities ranges from personal to communal. Many migrant workers make phone calls at more private spaces such as the back-alley, whereas groups of local residents gather at the void deck. The architectural intervention should aim to provide both
Resource Library
pockets of private spaces and public spaces.
in Indian Heritage Centre Access by appointment only.
- e.g. Bukit Merah Public Library National Library at Bugis
to Vivocity Criteria: 1) Accessibility
The Buddhist Library (Unconventional)
2) Demographic/Human Traffic
at Geylang
Little India is a suitable location as
Non-sectarian,
it is within walkable distance to 3
host charitable activities
MRT stations.
Programme.
Urban Impact. Predicted influence of intervention on Urban-fabric
Permanent programme that can serve all users of space
Weekend Programmes By volunteers
The proposed regional library can
Residential Architectural Intervention
to open up a new gate way to Little
Archipelago Tekka Place (in progress) Activated Zone
This will facilitate the movement To address the issue of discrimination, foster relationships between different demographic groups
Legend
partner the new mall, Tekka Place India.
COMMUNITY LIBRARY/ READING CORNER
SKILLS EXCHANGE e.g English/Computer “TOOL LIBRARY”
Farrer Park MRT
of users between Little India and
Pedestrianised Streets
its surrounding, thus “breaking the
(Both existing 1.2. and proposed
archipelago“.
3.)
POETRY/STORIES “HUMAN LIBRARY” Little India MRT
Providing space for NGO one-time charitable activities
2. 1.
3.
Tekka Place
Eg. Cuff Road Food Project by TWC2 Soup Kitchen Projects HealthScreening
Legend Proposed Architecture Existing Buildings on site
Align with Urban Intervention Direction New shophouse typology to make use of the backyard space to inject greenery. This can be potentially applied to other shophouses as the new proposed typology still follow the grain of the traditional shophouse typology.
Individual Narrative. Desktop research and certain on-site verification covering basic data such as land use were
The site for architectural intervention is located at a green space which is already activated by users
conducted to better understand the general characteristics of Site B. (page 1) Three aspects,
yet with presence of severe obstruction due to street parking and fences. The experience at this hot
demographic, walkability and enjoyability, were studied in greater detail.
spot can be improved by redesigning and injecting a formalised activity to encourage and facilitate interactions between different demographic groups. (page 7)
Apparent racial segregation was observed in Site B. This can be attributed to the land use distribution. Tourists, residents and migrant workers tend to gather at different hot spots with
The programme aims to address the gap in amenities provided on site. (page 8) A regional library will
facilities that serve their specific needs. (page 1) Existence of physical barriers such as fence also
be the permanent programme on site which caters to all users, at the same time, it can also partner
contributes to this segregation. Fences at HDB void deck/playground (page 4) were to deter the
and provide space for some of the existing programmes on site, for example those reaching out to the
migrant workers from gathering, however, this failed, and the fences made the sense presence
marginalised migrant workers. The library can provide rooms and computers for the migrant workers
of these migrant workers even stronger. Residents are reluctant to use these spaces.
to upgrade their skills. (page 9) It will also serve as a space for archiving the collective social memory in the form of poetry/stories (page 9, human library) and this can be seen as an extension of the existing
Little India has the most varied range of religious, commercial, cultural and heritage bodies
arts belt nearby.
amongst the entire ethnic district in Singapore. (page 1) Diverse facades with bright colours and the rich commercial activities contribute to the vibrancy of Site B (page 2), which make the ex-
The project is strategically located to create a new gate way that better facilitates the movement of
perience on site enjoyable. However, this enjoyable aspect is compromised due to poor thermal
users in and out of Little India. Building typology comes into play to inject more greenery. (page 10)
comfort as there is an absence of sufficient green to provide shade and visual relief (page 2) and
This architectural intervention does not merely serve as amenity but also with the potential to im-
the low-rise shophouse does not provide much building shade.
prove experience in Site B on an urban scale.
Moreover, the site experience is even less enjoyable as walkability on site is hampered by the obstructions from shop spill over to traditional pedestrian five-foot ways (page 4), ubiquitous street parking along the road side (page 4) and the lack of adequate well positioned/well designed rest stops within site (page 5).
Therefore, the three main directions of urban intervention strategies are 1. Selective pedestrianizing of streets which removes physical and visual obstruction 2. Injecting more greenery and 3. Increasing the number of well-designed rest stops while improving the existing ones.
497 words (excluding page reference)