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SINGAPORE: The Hougang city center upgrade, which has been renovated with a fishing village theme, won a design award from the Housing Development Board (HDB), the authority said on Monday (December 28) .
The rejuvenation of Hougang Town Center, carried out by SQFT Architects, is among HDB’s 35 honorees this year for their feats of design, construction and engineering.
This is the highest number of awards given since the first iteration of the awards in 2008, HDB said in a press release.
“The large number of HDB awards given this year affirms the high standards of our industry partners and the important role they play in helping HDB provide a quality living environment for residents,” said Dr. Cheong Koon Hean , CEO of HDB.
“Our architectural and engineering consultants have shown excellent consideration of the site context and produced thoughtful, attractive and creative designs, while our construction contractors have innovatively overcome limitations and demonstrated high productivity and efficiency of the construction. We congratulate them and congratulate them on their achievements. “
DESIGN AWARDS
Seventeen projects were awarded the HDB Design Awards, the highest number to date, HDB said.
SQFT Architects’ rejuvenation of Hougang Town Center under HDB’s Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) program was recognized for strengthening the identity of the area.
The design concept was inspired by the history of Hougang, which translates to “the back of the river”, as the area at the end of Sungei Serangoon was once a freshwater swamp occupied by the Teochew community and was later turned into a busy fishing village, he said. HDB.
Given its history, the downtown area was updated with fishing boat pavilions and a swamp-themed playground with a rippled water floor design.
“Such elements strengthen the identity of the area and help increase residents’ sense of belonging, while providing an enhanced retail environment at the heart of their daily needs,” said HDB.
As well as adding vibrancy to downtown Hougang, the swamp-themed play area acts as a focal point for easy path finding. (Photo: SQFT Architects)
Among the projects that won the design award was St George’s Towers by LOOK Architects, known for their “distinctive architectural features.”
“Its striking façade makes use of various precast façade components with different window alignments repeating every six stories,” HDB said of the project at the mature Kallang and Whampoa estate.
“This, together with painting different building panels in different colors, creates a dynamic rhythm and visual interest that adds to the distinctive design of the development.”
With its imposing blocks and unique design, St George’s Towers creates an impressive facade along the waterfront. (Photo: LOOK Architects)
Each of the three blocks at St George’s Towers is interspersed with terraces in the sky on the 24th floor.
The development is also integrated with a Senior Activity Center and seating areas lined up along the boardwalk to maximize views along the Kallang Whampoa Park Connector.
To reflect the area’s past as a swamp, murals depicting facets of history are displayed on the porch and sheltered walkway, which also functions as a heritage walk.
Residents can enjoy the wide variety of common spaces at St George’s Towers. (Photo: LOOK Architects)
CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTIVITY
The 10 projects that received the HDB Construction Awards obtained CONQUAS (Construction Quality Assessment System) scores above 90, with Tampines GreenView and Meadow Spring @ Yishun among the developments that earned the CONQUAS STAR.
CONQUAS is a quality benchmarking tool used by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA): developments with CONQUAS STAR have scores above 95 to exemplify quality workmanship and good construction processes.
Ho Lee Construction’s project team had “increased construction productivity” for Tampines GreenView using Virtual Design & Construction (VDC), a 3D building visualization platform, HDB said.
This allowed the team to create virtual reality mockups of the design plans “to coordinate construction activities holistically,” avoiding aborted work during actual construction, HDB added.
The team also used a mobile app for efficient documentation and tracking of safety and quality inspections.
GreenView Tampines: The use of collaborative technology platforms increased construction productivity. (Photo: Ho Lee Construction)
Another HDB Construction Award winning project is BHCC Construction’s Meadow Spring @ Yishun.
Rather than building Meadow Spring @ Yishun with the same size conventional precast slabs, BHCC Construction used custom large panel precast slabs, reducing the number of components and installation rounds, as well as the concrete pouring and manual labor required to complete precast assembly. HDB said.
Meadow Spring @ Yishun: Custom large panel slabs were used to reduce the installations required. (Photo: BHCC Construction)
Because the site was close to an international school, BHCC Construction limited the lifting of precast components to off-peak hours and installed a device to proactively monitor noise levels and minimize disruption.
“Their use of efficient construction methods and good project management efforts earned them the approval of the judges,” said HDB.
INNOVATION IN ENGINEERING
Four consultants and contractors were recognized for engineering excellence in the development of construction, infrastructure, and land reclamation projects with the HDB Engineering Awards.
Tampines GreenGlen is the first housing project to be built using a new hybrid prefabricated and prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) system developed by HDB’s Institute of Construction and Research.
The system allows for more flexibility in forming different types of plans and also means that homeowners have more usable space in their apartments for renovation due to fewer and smaller columns and beams. Using less concrete also contributes to environmental sustainability.
Hybrid PPVC modules have fewer columns and can be joined in various ways. (Graphic: HDB)
In the land reclamation work at Changi East, contractor Hyundai Engineering and Construction used state-of-the-art methods to overcome site limitations, and also custom built a sand spreader barge to protect the existing infrastructure.
“Moving forward, HDB will continue to work closely with our industry partners as we move forward with more innovative designs and leverage new smart technologies and solutions to create vibrant, sustainable cities and endearing homes for residents,” said HDB.
