AQUATIC LIVING IN THE TROPICS : A RESIDENTIAL MARINA FOR THE NEW BOAT PEOPLE

Abstract

" Architecture serves practical end~, it is subjected to used; but it is also shaped by ideas and fantasies, ... " Colin Rowe, the mathematics of the ideal villa Raison D'etre Aquatic living( Living on the water } will not be mere fantasies, dreams or figment in the near future as we explore our coastal water for development Singapore, a small island surrounded by water on all sides, giving her a great deal of opportunities to develop an architecture that relates to the sea and enhances its tropical island character. In the next lap, the government has also envisaged water-front and coastal living as an alternative living environment to provide more choices of housing types and lifestyles for the growing affluent Singaporeans. " Housing is expected to become more varied with a trend to move towards low-rise and medium-rise homes. ............... The feel of living on a tropical island should become stronger as we open up more opportunities to take advantage of our island heritage and our natural assets1. " " The settlement can exist in harmony with the water ......... Houses will be based near, and possibly even on, the water.2" The Issues. The thesis aims to address the following issues : The Emergence of New Architecture From The Re-New Relationship With The Sea Started from humble fishing villages to the busiest port in the world, Singapore has been associated with the sea because of its small physical size. However for the last 20 years, due to the centralised land-ward planning policies and paramount emphasis on economic development, most of the coastal regions on the Western and South-western parts of the island has been reclaimed and allotted for industries, port or related facilities, while the North-Eastern coastal region has mainly remained undeveloped. Thus, the potentials of creating a tropical island state which reflects and relates to the sea is not fully exploited and developed. Lately, as Singapore accomplishes higher living standard and economic success, the coastal area has been regained new interests for its potentials for recreation and as an alternative living environment with more open spaces and closer to recreational facilities. This new interest towards the sea has called for an architecture which responses to the sea and new way of life of the new generation. The Possibility of The Evolution of A Contemporary Aquatic Architecture from The Traditional South-East Asian Aquatic Architecture. In responding to the above, a design methodology based on the concept of Palimpsest3 is employed in the design of this thesis project. This method seeks to resurface and re-root the traditional water village which were once existed on site as an attempt to evolve an architecture that evokes the past memory of the site as well as reflects the characteristics of regional aquatic architecture in a different way for the new generation of aquatic community. The Vehicle The vehicle is a residential marina with communal boat berthing and clubhouse facilities built off the shore of Changi Point for the newly burgeoning plesaure craft and sea-lover community. The whole development is placed on the water to enable the residents to live in proximity to the sea and their boat, at the same time provide the convenience of access and relationship with the land. The Objectives : to search for an alternative living environment for the newly emergent new generation of population with new way of life, to explore alternative way of sea-ward development which maintains relationship with the land (to tap off mainland services and easy access ), to search for an appropriate architectural form which reflects the characteristics of regional aquatic architecture (e.g kampong ayer and kelong ).