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Publication HITS AND MISSES : GARDENS BY THE BAY(2014-09-19) GAN XIU PING SELENE; ARCHITECTURE; RAFFAELLA SINIOn 11 January 2005, Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Lim Hng Kiang, unveiled the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) targets to ensure that tourism remains as a key economic pillar. Within the plans of Tourism 2015, Singapore aims to be a destination of choice, a powerful tourism hub attracting visitors, businesses and talents from across the world by 2015. As such, the S$2 Billion Tourism Development Fund has been deployed to catalyze future initiatives and catapult growth in the tourism industry, out of which S$795 million to over S$1 billion were dedicated to the construction of Gardens by the Bay, which was opened on 29 June 2012. On 1 November 2010, Minister for National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan, further disclosed the key roles of Gardens by the Bay, putting forth its strategic role in realizing the City in a Garden vision, and cementing the objectives and aspirations as penned in Tourism 2015. Though the Gardens by the Bay is a valid continuation of the governments’ efforts in securing a competitive edge amongst countries, the question lies whether it being such a hit, has also truly been a miss in the overall scheme of things, especially in attaining its acclaimed national identity. As such, the essay hopes to uncover the ‘misses’ that might have been overlooked, and how these ‘misses’ could better inform and enrich the existing scheme, perhaps even provide an alternative concept on how Gardens of the Bay can be envisioned. The essay is centred on uncovering the significance of this acclaimed national identity at Marina Bay, and whether the reasons for constructing this identity are necessarily compelling.Publication THE PADANG DISTRICT : IN SEARCH FOR AN IDENTITY(2009-10-24T07:27:58Z) LOW CHEE KHIANG; ARCHITECTURE; LOW BOON LIANGThrough dissection of emblematic historical enactments, this paper hopes to depict relevancy from Padang District in the forging of a nation’s identity. The discoursing of its civic nature, will act as a decipherer to decode meanings that were generated over the changing landscape. Thus, threats that subsisted in this meaningful public place will be unveiled for future acknowledgements.Publication URBAN OASIS WITHIN THE MAXIMUM CITY(2011-05-26) NG RUILIN; ARCHITECTURE; LOW BOON LIANGThis thesis proposes an Urban Oasis in the Singapore Central Business District (CBD), which consists of a boutique hotel and spa, at the cross streets of Robinson Road and Mccallum Street. The project stems from a concern with the Singapore CBD, that despite its built up density and its location at the heart of Singapore’s Central District, the area essentially becomes dead after working hours. Maximum City is used as a framework to relook at the city, to examine the reasons for the lack of life within the CBD. Aspects of Maximum City such as people inclusiveness, optimum intensity of activity and a good quality of environment are seen as criterias for an ideal urbanized district. The design project is an Urban Oasis, one of three programmatic nodes proposed in the district strategy plan. The Urban Oasis is a space where people come to relax and enjoy elements of nature. It integrates itself with pedestrianised green streets and engages the public on the ground. This project demonstrates a new possibility of dealing with ‘prime’ sites in the city with high plot ratios, by conserving and working with an existing low rise building, (adding a high rise extension for economic viability) whilst providing a quality relaxing, green environment for the people.Publication TOWARDS A LOWER IMPACT URBAN HOUSES FOR THE INDONESIAN MIDDLE CLASS(2013-11-22) TEGUH ANDRIANUS SALIM; ARCHITECTURE; NIRMAL TULSIDAS KISHNANIWhile the Indonesian government has been providing public housing for low income household, both the provision and the financing of house ownership for the middle class has been somewhat lacking, resulting in a vacuum in the housing market for affordable urban houses. As Indonesia faces an increasing rate of urbanisation and significant growth in both the numbers and purchasing power of the middle class, this housing typology increasingly constitutes a significant proportion of future development and land use, establishing the significance of the middle class in the wider discussion of sustainability in the built environment. This paper will examine the local context of existing building practices in Indonesia against case study projects by local architects that attempt to address the demand for such houses by combining the needs for minimising both cost and environmental impact using certain alternative materials and design strategies. The findings firstly illustrate that it is possible to provide housing that addresses both concerns simultaneously and will subsequently be used in proposing adaptations to the Greenship Home rating tool to widen its appeal and applicability to establish a local standard and eventually guiding the direction of the urban housing market towards a wider adoption of lower impact designs for future housing developments.Publication GREENWAY GREENSCHOOL : BRIDGING BIODIVERSITY INTO THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT(2010-06-02T08:42:57Z) KOH HAU YEOW; ARCHITECTURE; CHEAH KOK MINGThe paradigm shift in world view from an anthropocentric perspective to an ecological one calls for the need to improve biodiversity in Singapore. The thesis investigates architecture as a medium that synergies with nature and ecology by marrying bio-remediation urban infrastructure, with an ecological program of a Greenschool that is based on outdoor environmental education, in order to create physical linkage between two forest patches as well as the social connection between public and biodiversity. The thesis explores how in regenerating biodiversity in our urban environment, the “heart-ware (inculcating ecological awareness and stewardship)” must be developed together with the “hardware (connecting fragmented landscapes with close-loop living machine technology) in order to provide an alternative co-species development.Publication INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION IN CHINA - A CASE STUDY OF �EASTERN SUBURB MEMORY � PROJECT IN CHENGDU(2013-11-14) LIU MINGXIAO; ARCHITECTURE; CHEN YUWith the post-industrial movement, major Chinese cities such as Chengdu are now undergoing the transformation of various industries. Since most of the old industrial factories lack economic values and create pollutions in the urban city, it is inevitable that the factories will be relocated and redeveloped, freeing up the land for new developments. In the case of Chengdu, most of the factories were demolished or relocated during the late 20th century, so there was not much of an industrial heritage left in the city then. However, with the appearance of “Wu Xi Suggestion” (无锡 建议)1 which approved the state protection on industrial heritages starting in 2006, together with the success industrial redevelopment such as Beijing 798 and Shanghai “the bridge 8” (八号桥), cities started to combine industrial redevelopment and new industries, in the hopes of achieving both economic value and industrial heritage conservations. Thus began the top-down industrial conservation project in Chengdu. This dissertation looks into the industrial heritage conservation movement in Chengdu, investigates the reason for the new movement and the current industrial heritages situation in the city. Through the case study of top-down conservation project “Eastern Suburb Memory” (东郊记忆), this dissertation will propose three key aspects (spatial quality, artifacts and value) of the industrial heritages as the key point of industrial conservations. With a thorough analysis of the three aspects in relation with the “Eastern Suburb Memory”, the government’s inability in leading the top-down projects will be further elaborated upon. The conclusion is that for the benefit of future industrial conservations, it is vital for the government to adopt the proposals in the three areas aforementioned.Publication TYPOLOGIES OF COMMON AREAS & THEIR IMPACTS ON SOCIAL INTERACTION AND BONDING IN SINGAPORE PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES(2016-01-06) WONG SHI MEI MANDY; ARCHITECTURE; TAN BENG KIANGThe typologies of public housing in Singapore have constantly been changing to meet a variety of needs and aspirations. As more new flats are introduced, it is important to foster a sense of social interaction and bonding between neighbours and towards a stronger sense of belonging. Through the literature review, it is proven that common areas are primary spaces that offer highest opportunities for interaction and exchange. However, in the new typologies, there is less emphasis on the planning and design of common areas which can have an impact on residents when comes to social interaction and bonding. This study investigates the impact of the different typologies of common areas in affecting social interaction and bonding among residents. Apart from covering the different typologies, selected case studies were further analysed by qualitative and quantitative methods. These methods include assessing the spatial analysis and measuring social interaction and bonding through surveys and interviews with the residents.Publication USING EVOLUTIONARY ALGORITHM AS A DESIGN TOOL FOR THE MULTI CRITERIA OPTIMIZATION OF CATENARY STRUCTURES(2012-01-17) LEE XIAO WEN RACHEL; ARCHITECTURE; PATRICK JANSSENThe aim of this paper is to demonstrate the use of Evolutionary Algorithm to optimize catenary models. The processes of optimizing structures using the conventional model of physically hanging strings and weights are long and tedious. The resultant model forms a catenary shape and hence is called a catenary model. During physical modeling experiments, vertical forces of the self-weight of the model and the predicted imposed loadings are taken into account. Evolutionary Algorithms is a method which is able to automate the above process. It is a set of rules, which follows the process of natural selection, in order to solve problem within a finite number of steps. This set of rules contains the parameters which dictate different variances of the catenary models. The natural selection comprises of evaluation criteria necessary for the selection of a successful catenary model. The advantage of applying this method is the ability to include horizontal forces, such as wind load. This paper will (i) introduce what Evolutionary Algorithm is and how it is applied; (ii) give a detailed outline of the experiment which demonstrates the use of Evolutionary Algorithm to optimize catenary models; (iii) problems faced using this method, future explorations of this topic and conclusion.Publication TRANSIT SCAPE : A GATHERING SPACE FOR FOREIGN WORKERS(2009-10-30T05:16:20Z) TOH MINGHUI; ARCHITECTURE; HO KONG FATT RICHARDThe Thesis begins by understanding Public Spaces in Singapore and the issues faced with urbanization. Within this context, Little India was chosen as part of that study. According to URA's Masterplan 2008, existing plots of open areas in little India are stated for development. However because of current economic and social issues with developments in Little India, these plots of land are left untouched, awaiting development. Thus this thesis attempts to reengage such spaces during their 'interim' periods and to transform these spaces into a temporary place that would contribute and support the activities in and surrounding Little India. Further studies reveal that specific to Little India, the group which will be likely most affected are the foreign workers who come into little India during the weekends in large numbers to spend their leisure time with friends and to engage in a variety of recreational activities. Thus this thesis project aims to design a gathering place in Little India, focusing on the current needs of the foreign workers and the demand for gathering spaces. Relating to the Urban typology of Little India and employing Shipping Containers (given their ability to be deployed(growth) and removed(decay) easily) as spatial modules to create these gathering nodes. The growth is projected along 3 phases, assessing and meeting the demands at the site as it grows over time. Eventually its 'life' ends with the site being developed and the containers transported to another selected 'interim' site. The following are suggested keywords to describe the nature of the project: 1.Transient 2.Impermanent 3.DeployablePublication CANOPIES IN TRANSIENCE: SHARED SPACES FOR A CHINESE BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND SECULAR CHILDREN'S LIBRARY IN PUNGGOL(2017-10-11) TEO EE; ARCHITECTURE; CHAN KOK HUI JEFFREY