we did ok... we went ahead kasi during the final presentation... so we got a lot of questions :D hehehe... the main critique was that the approach implemented might have been too traditionally plan-focused... some groups tried to resolve the programme and ecological issues by using the architecture/typology as a solution. admittedly it might have been too conventional... brought about by the group's focus on doing something that works as a baseline (on plan) and then expounding on some opportunities with the typology... after all.. the course is environmental PLANNING... :D
hi, i sent you a messgae regarding your design in the jalan bahar site. i am taking up this site for my term 2 environmental design project. we have do design an office development here. can you please give me some rough idea abut the site. i only have the google imgae and cad drawing of the site now
Sorry for the late reply... am awefully busy with work...
Jalan Bahar is located in western Singapore, along the country's tech industrial corridor... its right next door to Nanyang Tech Univ and the live-firing ranges used by the Singapore Air Force... Its not very accessible because its a bit far from the nearest MRT line, and is underserved by buses.
Its famous for its dragon kilns, which are long ovens built onto one of the area's hills... it has loose to dense secondary forest and also has a small catchment lagoon for rainwater runoff... Environmentally, its a strategic site because it is along the bird migration corridors radiating from Singapore's central green reserve...
Currently, the government is looking to develop the site because of the huge potential for academic-industry synergy (with NTU).
What else do you want to know? :)
I'd appreciate it if you update me about your project as well.
Sorry for the late reply... am awefully busy with work...
Jalan Bahar is located in western Singapore, along the country's tech industrial corridor... its right next door to Nanyang Tech Univ and the live-firing ranges used by the Singapore Air Force... Its not very accessible because its a bit far from the nearest MRT line, and is underserved by buses.
Its famous for its dragon kilns, which are long ovens built onto one of the area's hills... it has loose to dense secondary forest and also has a small catchment lagoon for rainwater runoff... Environmentally, its a strategic site because it is along the bird migration corridors radiating from Singapore's central green reserve...
Currently, the government is looking to develop the site because of the huge potential for academic-industry synergy (with NTU).
What else do you want to know? :)
I'd appreciate it if you update me about your project as well.
Hi Thank you so much for your reply.We really needed some information.
I study in sustainable evironmental design programme in the architectural association. This is our term 2 project. we are working on "work environments" with a focus on speculative developments which typically tend to have deep floor plates. Our purpose of this exercise is to study this specific deep floor plate typology in 4 different climatic zones and provide solutions for identified problems like a limited passive zone and high energy use.
We are in the process of choosing our site in different climatic zones. We need to identify a city centre plot with moderate built density to put our project in a context. There is a person from JTC Corporation(the developers of this plot) who showed us this plot in Jalan Bahar, so we thought may be we can take it up. But after out last jury our teachers felt it is a suburban plot and not fit our purpose.
In the singapore context would you rate this plot as a suburban plot? Which area would you pick as a typical urban plot which is in a sufficienlty dense urban fabric but adjacent developments are not too tall ( 8-12 stories buildings)?
I'll try to respond from macro to micro... I'm afraid that your professors are right... Jalan Bahar is suburban... and may not necessarily meet the parameters that you need for your case... but several points:
1. Singapore, for the most part... outside the central city area... is really planned to be suburban fabric... even within planned pedestrian precincts within the HDB heartlands where we'd expect density - because of how the towers are laid out on suburban, modernist superblocks (much like Corbu's ideas for Paris) you will feel like you really are in a quiet suburb... with all the greenery and the quiet void decks and the almost antiseptic surroundings... Singapore is a unique planning model wherein density is carried in the suburbs... so in terms of context... unless you go searching for an urban site such as the Beach/Ophir Road area in Bugis... you will end up with high-rise suburbia.
2. Typologically and from the standpoint of academic rigor - the case for your project is very interesting - but I would like to question the premises... largely because the proposed building's use, typology, and supposed location or context are (I feel) at odds with each other... The deep floor plate plan for office environments (if you study typical applications) are usually plunked down in suburban contexts largely because land is cheaper in the outskirts... which economically permits speculative builders/developers to profitably construct and lease out buildings with larger footprints on larger parcels (but with usually less site coverage)... if on the other hand you were to look at real estate economics downtown... the sheer price of land will necessitate densified development, smaller footprints (because of smaller plots) and higher coverage... therefore in terms of typology, economics and urbanism - the premises don't seem to fit...
also... these deep floor plates are usually the settings for back-office and support operations which require massive amounts of equipment and teamed manpower to work... essentially these building types are not "prestige addresses" compared to downtown corporate headquarters... both cases are used differently... with different economic feasibilities and premises... but It can't be said that you can't have a big-box deep-plate typology right smack in the middle of the old urban fabric... or that you can't have towers as part of a suburban corporate campus...
These issues might be moot/academic/beside-the-point... but I digress...I have a good friend who's a graduate of your programme and she does say that to some degree, it deals more with ecological flows and processes through buildings and less with the urbanism/planning aspects... her name's Clarice Fong, graduated a couple of years back (I forget)... but she's now a lecturer in NUS.
I'd appreciate any feedback on this subject matter. I take a keen interest in typologies because I believe that developing nations (such as mine... the Philippines) will eventually set their own direction and not merely adapt the same building types brought in by foreign consultants... and sustainability and the context of the typology's environment are key factors that drive the localization of any building type ;)
Hi I’m extremely sorry for this late reply but we were away for a tour.
I agree on the points that you have mentioned regarding plot size, density and development of office space. This seems to be a favourite model of development both in east and west. What is interesting that in the west increasingly large plots re being freed up in inner city areas but that is due to post industrial regeneration. The model is however definite and so is the trend. …bigger floor plates in the suburbs for processing work…often ending up as an urban artefact in a rural (not even suburban setting). Your views on our programme are also correct, as I have felt it before even joining it. It has its own virtues but disregards a lot of complex issues. One such issue is what you have just pointed out in your mail. We are bound by the programme and our research agenda that we carried from term 1. After much speculation we have chosen a site in the Singapore one north development near the Buena Vista station. It has some mid rise buildings which is a good context as the buildings are not too tall and would not override dictate over our environmental agenda (through their tallness). I am interested in typology myself and believe that both environment and culture should modulate building form. Of these environmental considerations, with all the current attention, are slowly influencing legislation which in near future will see the emergence of different building forms localised the site and climate. However there is this fear of the legislations themselves getting standardised due to market influences… this is already happening in some countries where LEED based insulation companies have influenced legislation. None the less I am upbeat about the developments once the global recession clears up. Looking forward to hear from you arunava
Impressive Studies! So how did you guys do?
ReplyDeletewe did ok... we went ahead kasi during the final presentation... so we got a lot of questions :D hehehe... the main critique was that the approach implemented might have been too traditionally plan-focused... some groups tried to resolve the programme and ecological issues by using the architecture/typology as a solution. admittedly it might have been too conventional... brought about by the group's focus on doing something that works as a baseline (on plan) and then expounding on some opportunities with the typology... after all.. the course is environmental PLANNING... :D
ReplyDeletehi, i sent you a messgae regarding your design in the jalan bahar site. i am taking up this site for my term 2 environmental design project. we have do design an office development here. can you please give me some rough idea abut the site. i only have the google imgae and cad drawing of the site now
ReplyDeleteHi...
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply... am awefully busy with work...
Jalan Bahar is located in western Singapore, along the country's tech industrial corridor... its right next door to Nanyang Tech Univ and the live-firing ranges used by the Singapore Air Force... Its not very accessible because its a bit far from the nearest MRT line, and is underserved by buses.
Its famous for its dragon kilns, which are long ovens built onto one of the area's hills... it has loose to dense secondary forest and also has a small catchment lagoon for rainwater runoff... Environmentally, its a strategic site because it is along the bird migration corridors radiating from Singapore's central green reserve...
Currently, the government is looking to develop the site because of the huge potential for academic-industry synergy (with NTU).
What else do you want to know? :)
I'd appreciate it if you update me about your project as well.
Thanks!
Hi...
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply... am awefully busy with work...
Jalan Bahar is located in western Singapore, along the country's tech industrial corridor... its right next door to Nanyang Tech Univ and the live-firing ranges used by the Singapore Air Force... Its not very accessible because its a bit far from the nearest MRT line, and is underserved by buses.
Its famous for its dragon kilns, which are long ovens built onto one of the area's hills... it has loose to dense secondary forest and also has a small catchment lagoon for rainwater runoff... Environmentally, its a strategic site because it is along the bird migration corridors radiating from Singapore's central green reserve...
Currently, the government is looking to develop the site because of the huge potential for academic-industry synergy (with NTU).
What else do you want to know? :)
I'd appreciate it if you update me about your project as well.
Thanks!
Hi
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your reply.We really needed some information.
I study in sustainable evironmental design programme in the architectural association. This is our term 2 project. we are working on "work environments" with a focus on speculative developments which typically tend to have deep floor plates. Our purpose of this exercise is to study this specific deep floor plate typology in 4 different climatic zones and provide solutions for identified problems like a limited passive zone and high energy use.
We are in the process of choosing our site in different climatic zones. We need to identify a city centre plot with moderate built density to put our project in a context. There is a person from JTC Corporation(the developers of this plot) who showed us this plot in Jalan Bahar, so we thought may be we can take it up. But after out last jury our teachers felt it is a suburban plot and not fit our purpose.
In the singapore context would you rate this plot as a suburban plot? Which area would you pick as a typical urban plot which is in a sufficienlty dense urban fabric but adjacent developments are not too tall ( 8-12 stories buildings)?
Thank you.
Arunava
Hi Arunava, (how should I call you?)
ReplyDeleteI'll try to respond from macro to micro... I'm afraid that your professors are right... Jalan Bahar is suburban... and may not necessarily meet the parameters that you need for your case... but several points:
1. Singapore, for the most part... outside the central city area... is really planned to be suburban fabric... even within planned pedestrian precincts within the HDB heartlands where we'd expect density - because of how the towers are laid out on suburban, modernist superblocks (much like Corbu's ideas for Paris) you will feel like you really are in a quiet suburb... with all the greenery and the quiet void decks and the almost antiseptic surroundings... Singapore is a unique planning model wherein density is carried in the suburbs... so in terms of context... unless you go searching for an urban site such as the Beach/Ophir Road area in Bugis... you will end up with high-rise suburbia.
2. Typologically and from the standpoint of academic rigor - the case for your project is very interesting - but I would like to question the premises... largely because the proposed building's use, typology, and supposed location or context are (I feel) at odds with each other... The deep floor plate plan for office environments (if you study typical applications) are usually plunked down in suburban contexts largely because land is cheaper in the outskirts... which economically permits speculative builders/developers to profitably construct and lease out buildings with larger footprints on larger parcels (but with usually less site coverage)... if on the other hand you were to look at real estate economics downtown... the sheer price of land will necessitate densified development, smaller footprints (because of smaller plots) and higher coverage... therefore in terms of typology, economics and urbanism - the premises don't seem to fit...
also... these deep floor plates are usually the settings for back-office and support operations which require massive amounts of equipment and teamed manpower to work... essentially these building types are not "prestige addresses" compared to downtown corporate headquarters... both cases are used differently... with different economic feasibilities and premises... but It can't be said that you can't have a big-box deep-plate typology right smack in the middle of the old urban fabric... or that you can't have towers as part of a suburban corporate campus...
These issues might be moot/academic/beside-the-point... but I digress...I have a good friend who's a graduate of your programme and she does say that to some degree, it deals more with ecological flows and processes through buildings and less with the urbanism/planning aspects... her name's Clarice Fong, graduated a couple of years back (I forget)... but she's now a lecturer in NUS.
I'd appreciate any feedback on this subject matter. I take a keen interest in typologies because I believe that developing nations (such as mine... the Philippines) will eventually set their own direction and not merely adapt the same building types brought in by foreign consultants... and sustainability and the context of the typology's environment are key factors that drive the localization of any building type ;)
Cheers! and Good Luck!
Kick Ass!
Hi
ReplyDeleteI’m extremely sorry for this late reply but we were away for a tour.
I agree on the points that you have mentioned regarding plot size, density and development of office space. This seems to be a favourite model of development both in east and west. What is interesting that in the west increasingly large plots re being freed up in inner city areas but that is due to post industrial regeneration.
The model is however definite and so is the trend. …bigger floor plates in the suburbs for processing work…often ending up as an urban artefact in a rural (not even suburban setting).
Your views on our programme are also correct, as I have felt it before even joining it. It has its own virtues but disregards a lot of complex issues. One such issue is what you have just pointed out in your mail.
We are bound by the programme and our research agenda that we carried from term 1. After much speculation we have chosen a site in the Singapore one north development near the Buena Vista station. It has some mid rise buildings which is a good context as the buildings are not too tall and would not override dictate over our environmental agenda (through their tallness).
I am interested in typology myself and believe that both environment and culture should modulate building form. Of these environmental considerations, with all the current attention, are slowly influencing legislation which in near future will see the emergence of different building forms localised the site and climate. However there is this fear of the legislations themselves getting standardised due to market influences… this is already happening in some countries where LEED based insulation companies have influenced legislation.
None the less I am upbeat about the developments once the global recession clears up.
Looking forward to hear from you
arunava
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/feb/06/prince-charles-slum-comments
ReplyDeletehave a look at this link. this talks about western planning model imported in a developing context