27 Projects Honoured for Excellence in Design, Construction and Engineering at HDB Awards 2019
A total of 27 HDB Design, Construction and Engineering Awards will be presented this year to architectural consultants, engineers and building contractors for projects which have demonstrated excellent design, engineering and construction. Minister for National Development, Mr Lawrence Wong, will present the Awards to recognise HDB’s industry partners for their contributions in developing well-designed and quality homes at the HDB Awards ceremony on 10 September 2019. The full list of HDB Awards winners is attached in the Annex.
2 HDB’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Cheong Koon Hean said, “Even as HDB takes the lead in reimagining our public housing and applying new planning concepts and design ideas, our architectural and engineering consultants, as well as our building contractors, play a pivotal role in helping us to deliver on our mission of providing well-designed homes and a high-quality living environment for Singaporeans. I appreciate the collaboration and look forward to our continued partnership, as we push ahead to experiment with more distinctive designs and the use of innovative technology to enhance liveability and foster stronger communities.”
3 Of the 13 HDB Design Award projects this year, the recently completed Tampines GreenRidges stands out for its distinctive architectural features and is an excellent example of the new generation of public housing. Designed by LAUD Architects, in collaboration with G8A, the project is set in a park-like environment with beautiful and functional greenery, providing a sense of tranquil living in a park.
4 The first HDB housing precinct to be completed in Tampines North, Tampines GreenRidges is designed to offer abundant community spaces and connect residents to greenery, in keeping with the vision of Tampines North as “Budding Communities within a Green Tapestry”. The residential blocks of varying heights arranged in a staggered manner are interspersed with abundant greenery between them, resembling mountain ridges and offering residents maximum views out onto the surrounding lush greenery.
The varying heights of the residential blocks of Tampines GreenRidges resemble mountain ridges, thus inspiring its name. [Image credit: LAUD Architects]
5 Echoing the theme of tranquil living in a park, the building façade is creatively designed to resemble creeping greenery. Subtle twisting and colour graduation of the façade panels, from green to white, further add to the visual interest and seamlessly integrate the project with the surrounding greenery. Within the precinct, the precinct pavilions and children’s playgrounds feature timber look-alike finishes, log designs, and gentle hills, reminiscent of the natural forest environment.
The façade of Tampines GreenRidges is designed to mimic creeping greenery, integrating seamlessly with the surrounding greenery. [Image credit: LAUD Architects]
6 Central to Tampines GreenRidges is its green spine, generously shaded by trees with conical pergolas staking the entrances at either ends. This central green will link to the Boulevard Park planned across Tampines North. Small garden pockets dotted along the green spine offer spaces for quiet contemplation, and bring greenery right to the doorsteps of residents.
7 Running parallel to the central green spine are two elevated communal green areas that nest atop the two-storey car parks. With their lush landscaping, these environmental decks to the north and south of the precinct offer a multitude of communal spaces and exercise facilities to promote neighbourly interaction. Linked by internal bridges, the two decks effectively transform the car parks into green connectors, providing seamless linkways for residents within the precinct.
8 To encourage residents to adopt a sustainable lifestyle, Tampines GreenRidges incorporates many eco-friendly features, such as separate refuse chutes for recyclables at every block, space-saving dual bicycle racks, and motion sensor controlled energy-efficient lighting at staircases. Tampines GreenRidges is also installed with the Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System (PWCS), which is an automated waste collection system that provides clean and fuss-free waste disposal.
9 Designed with the concept of “multi-tiered gardens”, City Vue @ Henderson is a new landmark in Bukit Merah Town, with five residential blocks of varied heights ranging from 27 to 48 storeys. Envisioning the project to be a green oasis near the city, the consultant, Surbana Jurong, consciously weaved a myriad of green spaces into its design. From sky gardens with panoramic views of the city skyline, to the landscaped decks of the multi-storey car parks, residents are able to enjoy greenery at their doorsteps. These provisions also offer a variety of community spaces for residents to get to know their neighbours better, while enhancing thermal comfort and offering visual relief in the built environment.
10 In the construction of the project, additional care was taken to conserve the mature rain trees within the estate. By carefully designing the layout of the precinct, existing trees were preserved to retain the area’s natural heritage where possible. As a result, these mature trees, with their towering trunks and extending crowns, now provide residents with shaded comfort as they enjoy the spaces in their neighbourhood.
11 Framed by grey and white columns, the streaks of bright red on the blocks also pay homage to the location of the project – Bukit Merah (meaning “Red Hill” in Malay). Another distinctive feature of the project is the red louvered screen on the roof of the blocks, which allows for porosity of light and resembles a shining lantern at night. The tall residential blocks of City Vue @ Henderson stand out against the surroundings, creating a new urban skyline in Bukit Merah.
The unique louvered system at the rooftops allow for porosity of light and resembles shining lanterns at night. [Image credit: Surbana Jurong]
12 This year, HDB also honours three companies for engineering excellence in the development of building and infrastructure projects. Introduced in 2018, the Engineering Award underscores the importance of innovative engineering solutions in laying the foundation for a quality living environment.
13 Fong Consult will be presented with the Innovative Engineering Award (Design) for the lift upgrading works at Bras Basah Complex to provide lift access to residents and shops. As the project involved installing new lifts in an existing residential and commercial complex, the consultant had to come up with an innovative solution to overcome inherent site constraints and minimise inconvenience to the residents and shop owners. The eventual solution allowed for major structural works to be carried out, without reducing the number of car park lots in the basement or affecting the operation of the shops.
14 The Engineering Award (Construction) will be conferred to Guan Joo Construction Pte Ltd for the construction of the 2.2km sewer line that will serve the new Bidadari Estate. As the sewer line is near the MRT tracks and an existing pedestrian overhead bridge, the contractor had to mitigate the impact of construction works to nearby structures. Instead of the conventional pipe-jacking method, the manual pipe-sleeve method was adopted to reduce the extent of vibrations. As the ground was made up of granite which would make drilling more difficult, the contractor also imported diamond rock cutter heads from Japan to facilitate the works. Despite the challenges, the contractor delivered the project on time, whilst maintaining high quality and safety standards.
15 The Construction Award recognises contractors who have shown outstanding project management, construction quality and innovation when undertaking HDB building projects. This year, 11 building contractors who have demonstrated construction excellence will be presented with the HDB Construction Awards.
16 One of the winning projects is Yung Ho Spring I and II by China Construction (South Pacific) Development Co. Pte Ltd. For its excellent workmanship, the project has been awarded the CONQUAS STAR, which is conferred upon projects with scores above 95 for quality workmanship.
17 To raise construction productivity, the contractor leveraged the use of technological tools, such as robotic camera systems to capture defects and provide proper documentation records and conduct checks on the quality of architectural finishes. The use of a mobile application also allowed for better coordination of work among different sub-contractors and helped to organise construction activities holistically.
Yung Ho Spring I and II by China Construction (South Pacific) Development Co. Pte Ltd was conferred the CONQUAS STAR for its excellent workmanship. [Image credit: China Construction (South Pacific) Development Co. Pte Ltd]
