BRIDGING THE SURFACES. THE INTERFACE: A NEW BUILDING TYPOLOGY

Abstract

Crowded cities and technological improvements herald a new chapter in underground architecture. Subsurface developments have increasingly become a significant public domain in the urban environment for its economic and functional role and its potential in relieving surface pressure; hence the crux is in marrying such spaces with its ground counterpart. The thesis seeks to create a new typology of space which illustrates the integration of ground and underground spaces.

Sited on a small hill in Woodlands North, an up and coming regional center, the project manifests itself as a mixed use development, fea¬turing retail spaces, offices, hotel and a park in a naturally ventilated setting within a “topographic landscape that alternate between spa¬tial expansion and confinement, light and shadows”, imbued with both ground and subsurface attributes.The relationship between ground and underground is explored through four main aspects, namely the interface, spatial form, environmental techniques and tectonics. The proposal advocates for the joint development of the immediate aboveground and subsurface environments as an interface that ac¬commodates majority of human activities. Extension of the streets into the underground presents a vibrant streetscape, bringing users up and down as they filter aboveground underground through intimately-scaled spaces that promotes place-making and connec¬tivity. The introduction of natural ventilation and lighting, rainwater harvesting and greenery seeks to lower the carbon footprint, and overcome stereotypes associated with the underground. Parallel planning of ground and underground entities is pivotal to the reali-sation of the project.