RE-IMAGINING CITIES

12 Sep 2014

Singapore, September 12, 2014 – A showcase of bold new urban concepts for the future, featuring research, planning and design projects for Singapore and the region was launched today at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Centre Atrium. Titled ‘RE:IMAGINING CITIES – Urban Design Research in Singapore', the exhibition brings together for the first time, two internationally renowned urban design institutions: Future Cities Laboratory (FCL), a leading research programme of the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC) and the City Form Lab from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), partnered with the School of Architecture & Planning at MIT. 

The exhibition highlights FCL's strategy to seamlessly connect diverse, vibrant and culturally rich inner city neighbourhoods. It demonstrates a transformation of historic backlanes into fascinating new spaces for alfresco dining and entertainment. FCL's contribution showcases urban design analysis and proposals for three sites – Farrer Park, Lavender and Ophir-Rochor. It also highlights a specific urban public space typology in the ‘Backlanes Project' (please see Annex Afor details). 

The exhibit also showcases SUTD City Form Lab's latest research methods in data collection, measurement and analysis that support complex urban design and policy solutions in Singapore and overseas. Such research equips designers and planners with tools to better understand the effects of design decisions on the future use of the built environment. Examples of applying these methods include Bugis and the Rail Corridor in downtown, Punggol in the northeast of Singapore and Surabaya in Indonesia. 

Assistant professor Andres Sevtsuk, Director of City Form Lab said: "Planners and designers of urban environments have at their disposals new strategies, analysis methods and tools that allow us to design for increasingly complex and uncertain futures. Through this exhibit, we hope to demonstrate how some of these approaches are applied to the planning of Singapore and other cities in the region and demonstrate the complementary relationship between research and design." 

"FCL's work is designed to enhance the qualitative development of high density living in an increasingly globalised and rapidly changing Singapore," said Professor Kees Christiaanse, who is leading the Rochor+ project by FCL. 

"By reimagining the past – and in an area that not only has great historical significance, but is one of the last greater intact districts, we have found an ideal platform for urban planning, historical analysis, building technology and simulation-based research, all within an area of 2.2km by 1.6km," he added. 

Open till October 8, admission to the exhibition is free.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.futurecities.ethz.ch/event/re-imaging-singapore-urban-design-research
and
http://cityform.mit.edu/projects/urban-design-research-in-singapore