Transcript of a Presentation by the ARC Studio Architecture & Urbanism, URA Centre, 7 May 2002

The Blocks

We’ve set very stringent rules to the blocks.

• 1) Avoid all trees to be retained.
• 2) Provide as little block-to-block facing as possible.
• 3) As little western-facing blocks as possible.
• 4) Provide as much unobstructed views as possible.
• 5) Give Tanjong Pagar CC as big an opening as possible.
• 6) Provide as much air and light penetration throughout the entire site as possible.
• 7) Be as open as possible

We were actually quite afraid of creating any canyon effect. If you have fifty-storey blocks very close to each other and you don’t get light down there, its going to feel damp and dark all the time. And in public housing we realise that the more open it is the easier it is for you to retain the programme they stated. If it is dark, chances of a ghetto-effect taking place is higher. [Text has been cut as it would have been unclear without the visuals. The editors.]

Finally, we arrived at this. A combination of a slab block and point blocks. It became a string-train on a string around the side. Originally, when we first started thinking about the greens of the building, we felt that the smaller pockets were difficult to programme and maintain in the long run, so it was not really a sustainable device. So in this case we have the opportunity to create a green that was massive enough to house more potential programmes. We also like the idea that the blocks are slim but when strung together by the green. It creates a very powerful silhouette.

This is a diagram we did to study the sun exposure on the building. Basically, we tried to see how the sun would move throughout the year. It actually comes at different angles to the faces and the incidence, the higher the angle, basically the more protected it is. So for these three faces, out of a total of fourteen faces, get high sun exposure.

• Density
• The Ground
• The Layers
• The Façade
• Flying Green
• Discussion

Last modified: 30 October 2002