Plans to redevelop Rail Corridor unveiled

A Japanese-Singapore team that was awarded the Concept Master Plan proposes enhancing natural vegetation along the Rail Corridor to enhance its greenery and to set up activity nodes along the way for recreation, art and community events.
Nur Afifah Ariffin, Channel NewsAsia 9 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE: The Concept Master Plan for the 24-kilometre Rail Corridor has been awarded to a design team comprising Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei and local landscape firm Tierra Design.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority on Monday (Nov 9) announced the winners of the Rail Corridor Request for Proposal (RFP) awards.

The winning Concept Master Plan is themed “Lines of Life”. It plans to create community-centric spaces and experiences throughout the length of the Corridor. The concept proposals include enhancing the natural vegetation among most stretches of the Rail Corridor to create places of respite and enrich the ‘green corridor’ experience. At the same time, activity nodes are proposed all along the Rail Corridor where the public can enjoy various activities ranging from nature-based recreation, arts and cultural events, to community activities.

"The URA from the start saw an opportunity for us to work closely with the community to develop this into a very special community space. But above that, we also see enormous opportunity for us to use the Rail Corridor to enhance land around the route in a way for us to support future growth in Singapore," said Mr Ng Lang, URA CEO and chairperson of the RFP evaluation panel.

The Singapore-Japanese team plans to have 122 access points throughout, within a five-minute walk from the nearest housing estate or workplace.

"If the corridor is well connected to the neighbourhood, maybe people will use the space more. And many people's lines of life will be aggregated in that corridor. So that's the image of our design idea," said Mr Wataru Tanaka, executive officer of Nikken Sekkei.

NEW HOUSING ESTATE FOR CHOA CHUA KANG

The Concept Designs for an urban-green-blue-tapestry at Choa Chu Kang as well as the interim reuse of the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station were awarded to the team from MKPL Architects and Turenscape International.

It was announced on Monday that a 16-hectare site will be turned into housing units, surrounded by nature.

At Choa Chu Kang, the proposal was to create an attractive and ecologically-richer environment along the Rail Corridor. This would mean widening a part of the Rail Corridor and transforming it into a 50 metre-wide linear forest and ecological corridor by introducing new landscapes and planting. The linear forest will also be seamlessly integrated with existing greenery, water bodies and future housing.

TANJONG PAGAR RAILWAY TO BE HOME TO GREEN COMMUNITY SPACE

There are also plans to turn the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station as a multi-functional community building over the next 20 years. This includes creating a new green community space in front of the building, named Station Green, as well as other amenities such as a heritage gallery, auditorium and commercial spaces.

URA also launched an exhibition of the awarded proposals, which will be held at the URA Centre Atrium from Nov 9 to 28. Throughout this period, the public is invited to give their feedback on the proposals.

Speaking at the launch of the exhibition, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said: "Next month, we'll be launching the 'Future of Us' exhibition to launch the next chapter of the Singapore story. As part of this exhibition, we will be having a series of converations on how we can build our future together."

"One of the conversations is on the Future of Greening, and the Rail Corridor project will be one of many projects which will be the topic of conversation so that we can again discuss and co create together a more liveable environment for Singaporeans. So there will be more opportunities for Singaporeans to continue this dialogue on your aspirations for the Rail Corridor, and also on other green, community spaces in Singapore," he added.

URA also announced the proposed conservation of the two steel truss bridges along the Rail Corridor in Bukit Timah. The bridge across Bukit Timah/Dunearn Road spans 45 metres, and is the only Baltimore truss bridge in Singapore. It is a popular spot for photo-taking and is widely used by Rail Corridor users. The bridge across Upper Bukit Timah Road spans 60 meters and is the only Pratt truss bridge in Singapore.

- CNA/ly/dl


Rail corridor plans a good balance of greenery, development, say analysts
FRANCIS LAW Today Online 10 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE — Keeping as much greenery intact as possible for the housing concept at a Choa Chu Kang site along the Rail Corridor is a winning idea, said heritage experts and property analysts.

The green theme would be a major draw, regardless of the housing type for the 16ha site, but convenience, in the form of amenities such as schools, will also be important for prospective buyers, property analysts added.

The winning idea for the Rail Corridor Request for Proposal for the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station — a multifunctional community building for the next 20 years — was also hailed as a “pleasant surprise” by heritage experts.

Commenting on the plans for the Choa Chu Kang site, Assistant Professor Yeo Kang Shua, who teaches architectural history, theory and criticism at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, felt such a development would introduce a “catchment” population that would “enliven that particular stretch of the corridor” by using it as a recreation area.

“Of course, this doesn’t mean that we need to intensify every spot of the corridor and introduce ‘catchment’ populations,” he added. “The key word is to be selective. Intensify at selective areas and leave the remaining rustic.”

Mr Nicholas Mak, executive director of research and consultancy at SLP International Property Consultants, felt that with some groups wanting to conserve the land and others wanting to develop it, the current concept proposal strikes a good balance between the two.

Despite the land’s appeal as a green neighbourhood, Mr Mak described the living environment as “a bit of a sweetener”, emphasising that location and accessibility would be among home buyers’ top considerations.

Heritage experts were also mostly pleased with the winning concept for the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, which includes integrating the old station with the new Cantonment MRT Station — part of the Circle Line extension — to be built underneath. The additional exit to the MRT station will connect the two stations via an escalator.

The concept design includes plans to transform the railway station into a multifunctional community use building, which would include suggested options such as art clubs, a railway gallery, and cafes.

Singapore Heritage Society and Rail Corridor Partnership member Ho Weng Hin felt that, from a historical point of view, the concept brings back the original use of the railway station as a transit hub for the community to use.

He added that it is important for developers to consider the “design language” of the iconic site in order to ensure that the new designs “respect the scale of the old architecture”.

Asked about the Nature Society Singapore wanting the Rail Corridor to be a continuous green corridor, society president and evaluation panel member Shawn Lum noted that some stretches, such as Buona Vista, will be more developed.

“But none of these then intrude on the sensitive parts of the (nature) reserve and there is still a corridor for certain kinds of wildlife to move, in addition to people and so on,” said Dr Lum. “That balance was struck, I think, because of the long engagement process.”

The Rail Corridor Partnership that included the nature community was part of the engagement process early on, and protection of nature and the need to link nature areas formed part of the design brief, he said.


Rail corridor to offer recreation nodes, connectivity
NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 9 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE — From community farms and fishing ponds near Stagmont Ring and Pang Sua Canal, to a yoga spot and climbing wall near a Pan Island Expressway viaduct near Mayfair Park, the future Rail Corridor will offer a variety of recreation options to the estimated one million people living nearby, as well as other leisure seekers.

As for a 16ha site in Choa Chu Kang that falls along the stretch of former Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway line, it will be the testbed for a future housing concept — providing 3,000 units — that is integrated with a forest-type environment. The former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, meanwhile, will be a multi-functional community building for the next 20 years.

These are the winning ideas of the two design teams that were awarded the Rail Corridor Request for Proposals today (Nov 9), as Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong also announced the proposed conservation of two steel bridges along the Rail Corridor.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) awarded the overall concept master plan to the team comprising Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei and local landscape firm Tierra Design for its ability to strengthen the Rail Corridor’s identity, connectivity, landscape and heritage. Another design team, from MKPL Architects and Turenscape International, is behind the concept designs for the Choa Chu Kang site and the former railway station.

URA chief executive Ng Lang, who chaired the panel evaluating design proposals, said the winning teams collectively presented a “compelling vision” and captured what the community wants for the Rail Corridor — an inclusive space providing seamless connectivity, offering a range of creatively designed nodes for recreation. They also offered ideas on sensitively integrating future developments with the Rail Corridor.

The winning overall concept master plan proposed creating 122 access points along the Rail Corridor that are within a five-minute walk from the nearest housing estate or workplace.

To create a comfortable experience for users, the team proposed 21 “platforms” along the corridor that will house amenities, such as toilets, water points, shower facilities and bicycle-rental vending machines. These spots will resemble train platforms, in a nod to the corridor’s history.

The team also proposed eight distinctively-themed stretches, with design strategies aiming to integrate existing water bodies and greenery to create an ecologically richer environment.

Four of these will be community nodes, located near Stagmont Ring, Mayfair Park, Queensway Viaduct and a brick drain about 650m from the Bukit Timah Railway Station, near the defunct Jurong Railway Line.

The other four, which will be key activity nodes, are at Kranji (near the canal opposite Kranji MRT station), the former Bukit Timah Fire Station, the Bukit Timah Railway Station and Buona Vista.

A gathering space is envisioned at Buona Vista, for instance, catering to one-north workers and the Queenstown community. The former Bukit Timah Fire Station could feature a “forest walk” and offer activities such as camping.

Mr Shoji Kaneko, an urban designer and landscape architect from Nikken Sekkei, said they wanted to keep the “very peaceful and quiet” nature of the Rail Corridor, which is very different from the surrounding urban environment.

As part of its plans for the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, the MKPL Architects and Turenscape International team proposed an additional entrance and exit for the future Circle Line MRT station that is located between the former railway platforms, to create a “distinctive sense of arrival” for commuters. The carpark near the station could become a community green space that will allow more people to appreciate the station’s architecture. Within the station building, heritage galleries and an auditorium could be found.

MKPL Architects director Siew Man Kok said his team advocated a “light touch” approach in developing the site, so as to retain the place’s original charm. Its proposed intervention for Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is “very subtle” and strove to bring back memories of the train platforms, and of travelling and arrival, he added.

The awarded proposals will be exhibited at the URA Centre Atrium until Nov 28, and the exhibition will travel to various neighbourhoods in the first quarter of next year, until which the public may provide feedback.

The URA said plans presented in the Request for Proposals exhibition are not finalised plans for the Rail Corridor. It will seek views of the community and stakeholders on the awarded proposals before refining them. The refinement of the master plan and concept designs will be refined in the second quarter of next year, and preliminary design and feasibility studies will be done in the third quarter of next year.

Implementation on various stretches of the corridor will be studied carefully and could be paced. “Implementation could be timed with other future developments on the Rail Corridor and its adjacent land parcels,” said a URA spokesperson. “We will also work with the community to look into whether certain basic elements of the Rail Corridor may be implemented first to improve the Corridor’s user-friendliness and connectivity. The implementation of certain stretches can also be dovetailed with future infrastructural works along the Rail Corridor, such as after the laying of PUB’s Murnane pipeline under the southern-half of the Corridor.”


Iconic steel bridges along Rail Corridor up for conservation
NEO CHAI CHIN Today Online 10 Nov 15;

SINGAPORE — Two iconic steel bridges along the Rail Corridor are up for conservation and could be gazetted by the end of the year or early next year.

One bridge is located near the Rail Mall at Upper Bukit Timah Road, and the other is near the Bukit Timah Railway Station on Bukit Timah and Dunearn Road. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has proposed that the two bridges be conserved.

“They are endearing local landmarks and identity markers that capture Singapore’s railway history and heritage, and provide seamless connectivity for Rail Corridor users today,” the URA said in its press release, after Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong made the announcement today (Nov 9).

Members of the public may provide their comments on the proposal for a month, with the bridges to be gazetted as conserved structures thereafter.

The two steel truss bridges were opened in 1932 and were built as part of the re-aligned former Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway line south of Bukit Panjang in 1930, the URA said.

A truss is a structure of elements that form triangular units. The bridges are two of the four remaining steel truss bridges in Singapore, and are widely photographed by users of the Rail Corridor. They were designed by United Engineers, one of Singapore’s pioneer engineering companies. The bridge in Bukit Timah is 45m long, while the one on Upper Bukit Timah Road is 60m long.

Design teams participating in the Rail Corridor concept master plan were also required to consider design solutions for the two bridges to facilitate safer crossings for different users, and recapture the Rail Corridor’s sense of place and memory.


Rail Corridor takes shape as winning plan is picked
Janice Heng, Straits Times AsiaOne 10 Nov 15;

Proposals for 24km stretch include paved cycling paths, shelters, event spaces and rainforest viewing platforms

The proposal to guide the development of the 24km Rail Corridor plans to make room for a variety of uses, creating paved cycling paths, rest shelters and active event spaces as well as quiet rainforest viewing platforms.

In coming up with its winning concept master plan for the former KTM railway land, Japanese architecture firm Nikken Sekkei and local landscape firm Tierra Design said they wanted the corridor to harmonise with the surroundings it runs through.

But the plans, which were yesterday named the winner of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) design competition, are far from set in stone, and will be shaped and refined in response to feedback.

"What we want to do now is to hear the views of Singaporeans on these proposals," said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong yesterday at the launch of an exhibition on the winning proposals that runs until Nov 28 at The URA Centre in Maxwell Road. "We would like all residents to work closely with us to study the stretches of the Rail Corridor near your community."

In the first quarter of next year, a roving exhibition will take the plans to the communities along the corridor, which runs from Kranji to Tanjong Pagar, with one million people living within 1km of it.

The public is invited to give feedback at the exhibition and online at http://ura.sg/railrfp from now until the end of next March.

URA chief executive officer Ng Lang said public feedback will also shape when the plans for various stretches are implemented.

"The plan for the Rail Corridor has always been not to rush in developing it," said Mr Ng, who chaired the 12-member evaluation panel. He noted that one point of consensus, which arose in the pre-competition public consultation, was that the Rail Corridor should be "an inclusive space" accessible to all. To that end, the winning proposal features 122 access points to the corridor, up from 30 currently. There are 21 planned "platforms" with amenities such as toilets and rest areas.

A paved cycling path will run its full length. Some stretches of the pedestrian path may be paved to be wheelchair-accessible. Others will remain "wild" underfoot, with the use of natural materials such as gravel or woodchips. And alongside the physical infrastructure, natural greenery along most stretches will be extended and increased as well.

"The greenery and biodiversity are very special," said Nikken Sekkei landscape architect Kaneko Shoji. "It's very peaceful and quiet."

"We wanted to keep that kind of feel, so we don't completely transform it into something different," he added.

The concept master plan also includes proposals for eight "activity nodes" along the Rail Corridor.

For instance, near the one-north business park in Buona Vista will be a space for people to enjoy activities like outdoor film screenings. In contrast, the Rail Corridor at the former Bukit Timah Fire Station runs close to a part of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve that Nature Society Singapore president Shawn Lum identified as a "diversity hot spot".

There, a forest walk and observation tower will offer a chance to view nature unobtrusively.

Dr Lum, who was a member of the evaluation panel, said it was important to find "the right combination of accessibility and tranquillity" in public enjoyment of nature.

Separately, winning concept proposals were chosen for two spots along the Rail Corridor: the historic former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and an area at Choa Chu Kang to be merged with future residential developments.

Nikken Sekkei and Tierra Design will also work on a preliminary design and feasibility study for a 4km stretch from the former Bukit Timah Railway Station to the Hillview area. This involves looking at details such as the materials and plants to be used, and estimating costs.

The URA also said two steel truss bridges, near the conserved Bukit Timah Railway Station and Rail Mall, will be gazetted as "conserved structures", with the same legal status and protection as various bridges in the Central Business District and the bandstand in the Botanic Gardens.

Additional reporting by Tiffany Fumiko Tay


Multi-function building and linear forest at two sites
Zhaki Abdullah, Straits Times AsiaOne 10 Nov 15;

The former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will become a multi-function community building while a linear forest will be created in Choa Chu Kang, as part of plans to develop two sites along the 24km rail corridor.

Plans for the sites were unveiled yesterday, at the launch of an exhibition on the winning proposals that runs until Nov 28 at The URA Centre.

Both sites were awarded to a team made up of Chinese company Turenscape International and local firm MKPL Architects, based on the strength of their concept designs.

An "urban green-blue tapestry" is planned for a stretch of the corridor near Pang Sua Canal in Choa Chu Kang. This includes widening the Rail Corridor to create a 50m-wide linear forest.

"What we want to bring back is the rusticity of the Rail Corridor, which everybody loves," said Mr Siew Man Kok, director of MKPL Architects.

The linear forest will be integrated with the existing environment as well as three upcoming housing developments, which have not been confirmed as private or public housing.

Said architect Raymond Woo, who was part of a 12-member panel that evaluated the proposals: "It is a daring scheme that allows residents at all blocks and levels to enjoy the linear forest, with sky bridges for those on the higher floors and communal farming decks for the lower floors."

A deck will also be built over part of the Pang Sua Canal, to link the Rail Corridor with existing developments in the Choa Chu Kang area.

The deck will also allow the waterway to be used for recreational purposes.

Farther south, the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station will be repurposed as a multi-function community building, and is expected to include facilities such as a heritage gallery and space for pop-up retail outlets.

The plans also call for a new public park where community events can be held, to be located where the railway station's carpark was.

The team also proposed an additional entrance and exit for the future Cantonment MRT station on the Circle Line, which will incorporate the existing railway platforms.

The team said it was mindful of the history of the station when coming up with the concept designs.

"The proposal is sensitive and befitting to the station's stature as a national monument and icon of our railway history," said Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong.

The former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is slated for community use for the next 20 years, and will be re-evaluated taking into account development plans for the area.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is seeking feedback on the submitted design concepts from stakeholders as well as the public through the first quarter of next year.

URA chief executive officer Ng Lang has said public feedback will also shape when the plans for various stretches are implemented.