Regenerative Singapore. A carbon negative city in Asia-Pacific
As Singapore moves toward a more climate resilient and sensitive development, it has pledged to further decrease its carbon emission by 36% from 2005 to 2030. But with the underlying existential threats the world is facing due to climate change, it is extremely important that countries take a step further in tackling carbon emissions transcending mere sustainability towards a regenerative approach. The competition builds on the case to make Singapore a carbon negative (climate positive) country in Asia-Pacific region using the built environment for nature-based solutions in creating a regional carbon sink. This is also to realign Singapore’s development framework for its future needs to be climate sensitive, accounting for its carbon footprint during construction, operation and decommissioning phase to help reduce and absorb the CO2 emissions.
The broad study area: Singapore Strait Waterfront
Singapore is strategically located in an interregional route that provides the country with the role of gateway to Southeast Asia and link between the East and the West. In the Singapore Strait Waterfront converge maritime, aviation, and industrial global linkages. In addition, as a productive and economic fringe, this area also incorporates most of the mobility infrastructure and the dense urbanized living and working spaces that house the majority of the population. Despite the social and economic benefits that Singapore coastal fringe provides, this space is also the origin of huge environmental costs as the principal area of CO2 emissions.
The site is part of the Greater Southern Waterfront, which extends from Pasir Panjang to Marina East, and will be transformed into a new major gateway and location for urban living along Singapore’s southern coast. Development will take place in phases, starting with the former Pasir Panjang Power District, Keppel Club and Mount Faber in the next 5 to 10 years.
Keppel Club, Pasir Panjang Power Station & Labrador Park
The Keppel Club site will be redeveloped into a new residential precinct. Future residents will enjoy convenient access to the waterfront, nature and two nearby MRT stations Labrador Park and Telok Blangah, both of which are on the Circle Line.Currently, the Keppel area is home to several high-end waterfront properties including Caribbean, Reflections at Keppel Bay and Corals at Keppel Bay. As part of the GSW project, the government will allocate space for 9,000 housing units on the site of Keppel Club. This includes both HDB and private housing.
Built in the 1950s and 60s, the two former power station buildings, along with the surrounding disused industrial structures, form the core of the Pasir Panjang Power District. From the global understanding of the GSW and the site within Singapore and the region proposals will have to provide ideas on which will be the role of the former power plant and industrial heritage.
Currently, there are already several big companies that have offices near Labrador Park. There are already big names such as Google, Cisco and Unilever with swanky offices in the Greater Southern Waterfront. However, the GSW will also feature more commercial areas and new office spaces. This will allow more people to work near where they live. Recreation options will additionally be available in the area.
The City - Water Mosaic
In the whole design proposal, we put forward a design strategy with water as the main concept, redesign the collection of water resources in the site and divide the use and discharge of water into different levels, combined with the original water pipe and DTSS system, to form ecology, sports entertainment and water Resource utilization of island-wide water cycle relationships to address water scarcity in Singapore.
We built the first phase of drainage pipes, rainwater recycling towers and filtration systems in the site, so that the site can have more water resources for the residents to recycle and use, and the excess water can also be transported back to the DTSS system in Singapore for use. It is responsible for the recycling of wastewater in the port area back to the DTSS system for use.
We re-planned the old landscape with the grid system, and divided the site into three main areas with different sizes: Keppel club, cleaning space, power station, and connected in series with a green belt park system, combined with Singapore's island-wide park connector network. We use green belt ecology, sports and leisure methods to blur the West between the Keppel residential area and the northern HDB residential area. Coast Highway, and through the design of an ecological corridor combining water and green belts with water education at the edge of Keppel residential area, will provide a recreational trail close to mangroves and oceans for the Alexandra Garden Trail corridor, as well as a Labrador Park MRT Station. With better functions, people can get closer to Labrador Park and Pasir Panjang Power Station.
Redesign the water filtration system in the site, and design rainwater towers and catchment areas with different functions, extending to three main areas with a grid system, and divided into four parts:
01/ Keppel club, as a landscape filter water function, passes rainwater and
sewage through filtered, residents can do living,Educational, agricultural and recreational uses, while filtered water is transported to parks and power station.
02/ The cleaning area, as a wetland park, is connected to the laborador park, allowing residents to experience wetland education and sports here.Finally, the water is sent to the power station.
03/ The power station serves as a place to use filtered water to filter the land, generate electricity from biogas, and to provide public activities for community residents and to demonstrate the use of filtered water.
04/ Finally, the remaining filtered water will be transported back to the new water factory in Singapore through the dtss system to give back to the society.
