REJUVENATION OF UBIN TOWN: WELCOME TO OUR COMMON 'BACKLANE'!

Abstract

Pulau Ubin is often regarded as a place full of heritage, specifically environmental and cultural heritage, as it is the last place in Singapore where things remain as they used to be in the past. Although it is this particular fact that makes Pulau Ubin so endearing to many, it is not feasible to freeze the island if we expect to maintain or even increase interest of mainlanders and tourists in the island. The thesis aims to address the issue of shrinking and ageing population in Pulau Ubin – specifically in Pulau Ubin Village (to be renamed Ubin Town) where most of the remaining of human activities and residency are located – by injecting new residents into the island and the village. To encourage people from mainland Singapore to move to the island, Ubin Town - the centre of the island – has to be rejuvenated to provide sufficient communal amenities and commercial job opportunities to prospective residents, to adapt and repurpose abandoned structures, and to conserve and restore structures of cultural heritage significance. Kampong spirit, a component of the Ubin Way (of life) as described by those who are familiar and passionate about the life in the island, is an essential part of social heritage in the island and the village. However, heritage can only be sustained when there is an actual memory and significance associated with the place. The thesis aims to sustain the existing kampong spirit in the face of new residents joining the village community, in the short run and the long run (after the current existing residents pass away). By studying the existing typology and developing an adapted and hybrid typology, the thesis attempts to demonstrate a possible method to sensitively integrate new residents into the existing community while respecting and building upon the town’s kampong spirit. Common spaces are created between old and new spaces in the form of public spaces and threshold spaces along the common ‘back lane’, to ensure that residents have ample opportunities to interact with their neighbours, and the public get to experience this interaction. This ‘common back lane’ is made accessible to the general public and visitors – for kampong spirit is an essence to the authentic Pulau Ubin experience.