SUI – GENERIS | Bachelors Design Project on Regenerative Architecture

Site Context

The site takes place in the urban context of Tanjong Pagar, a central CBD area located within Singapore. With Tanjong Pagar Plaza HDB as a testbed, a hybrid form is introduced within the void space, reprogramming and augmenting the lives of the residents, the public and nature, giving rise to new forms of collectivity.

Design Process

The design process consists of two main stages: the creation of a hybrid form and the development of a predetermined programme that is integrated into the larger prototype infrastructure. The development of a hybrid form explores the creation of porous, organic spaces that enable ecocentric modes of living between human and non-human elements.

In response to the current site conditions and the lack of support for senior residents, a co-living and working programme between residents and artists was developed. The prototype has a modular design that makes it possible to assemble and construct it in alternative sites around Tanjong Pagar, resulting in a more expansive infrastructure that has an impact on users on an urban scale.

Final Outcome

The prototype features a primitive structure, encapsulating the paradoxes of the contemporary urban condition. It is a fortress that is both impenetrable and approachable, standing against the relentless advance of continually expanding reproduction and opposing neo-liberal forces.

It provides an opportunity to reconnect people within the city, creating “connective – disconnections” through hybridisations and augmentation of the existing urban fabric, suspending and redefining the relation between the public and the private. It is an infrastructure that acts as a mediator between the human and non-human, creating a variety of atmospheres through the design of entropy (decay) as possibilities for regeneration, all the while avoiding the scrutiny of self-absorbed quantitative performances.

Conclusion: By taking Tanjong Pagar as a model, the project critiques our current anthropocene lifestyle and offers an alternative way of living through the proposal of a hybrid infrastructure that addresses the relationship between ecology, social relations, and built typology.

[This Academic Project has been published with text submitted by the student]