Vertical Nurturing Community: Reimagining Urban Housing for Intergenerational Care and Connection | Architecture Thesis

Site Context

The project is sited in Queenstown, one of Singapore’s earliest public housing estates and a mature neighbourhood currently undergoing rejuvenation. Being an important historical district that has seen several phases of Singapore’s urban development, Queenstown provides an ideal setting to explore new typologies that address contemporary demographic shifts. The intervention offers a vertical, high-density, nurturing community that helps young families and single people.

The proposed program is a mixed-use complex that combines residential apartments with communal spaces for wellness, childcare, healthcare, education, and recreation. The spatial organization of these functions aims to improve daily social interactions and reduce the logistical burden of parenting. The backbone of urban intervention is walkability, access to support services, and proximity to green and recreational areas. The project establishes Queenstown as a model neighborhood for intergenerational living and sustainable family formation by integrating care infrastructure into daily life.

Design Process

The design process started with an in-depth study of Singapore’s housing policies, demographic trends, and the challenges faced by young families. The social and spatial strategies were influenced by global precedents like the kampung spirit of early Singapore, Hakka Tulous in China, and Kowloon Walled City. Design choices were made based on a set of three fundamental pillars: lifestyle, living arrangement, and care and wellbeing. Early conceptual explorations examined how co-living and co-parenting spaces could coexist within a dense vertical form. This led to the development of adaptable, modular residential units that evolve to meet the needs of families.

At the urban level, iterative site models and spatial diagrams were used to explore ground-up communal zones and pedestrian connectivity. In order to minimize stress related to time, prototype childcare clusters were designed to be set within a short walking distance of every unit. A fine balance between planning efficiency and natural community growth was ensured by the approach, which placed equal emphasis on top-down infrastructure and bottom-up agency.

Final Outcome

The proposed design envisions a high-rise, high-density vertical community that reimagines urban living for both families and individuals. Centered around a main axis of shared facilities—including childcare centers, learning spaces, and intergenerational activity areas—the development promotes a lifestyle that blends care, connectivity, and convenience. Public spaces are layered vertically, featuring sky gardens, play decks, and shared kitchens throughout the building to foster regular social interaction. 

At its core, the concept embraces a vision of childhood that is both enchanting and grounded in collective care, allowing children to be raised within a supportive community beyond just their immediate family. The project also presents a socially conscious model that could rejuvenate ageing public housing, offering a scalable and adaptable solution.

Conclusion: By making dense urban family living not only feasible but appealing, this project serves as a prototype addressing Singapore’s fertility challenges through architecture rooted in empathy and social connection.

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