Instructor
Manuel Der Hagopian (group8asia)
As cities around the world struggle with solutions to the housing shortage that affect many communities, Singapore has invested in successful creative development for a number of years. Building on this momentum the studio will explore the challenges and opportunities that arise between high density seafront housing and the urban fabric of Singapore.
In the next few years, the Tanjong Pagar Harbour will relocate to the west side of Singapore. This move will open up vast spaces for direct connections from central Singapore to the seafront. The newly redeveloped area will offer a variety of uses for residents and visitors to live, work, play, and shop.
The development zone will consist of five distinct types of Residential Mix, each with various: plot ratios, heights, land coverage and a unique relationship to the sea. Working on different blocks students are tasked with crafting innovative solutions, amidst the complex urban fabric, to create exemplary sustainable housing proposals that have a special connection with the seafront.
Throughout the studio, students will face an intense round of design projects that are designed to investigate and question the very fundamentals of sustainable seafront housing. Playful and abstract in approach, each exercise aims to highlight a sustainable concern and probe possible opportunities, from micro urbanism to macro architecture.
The studio equips each student with developing high density sustainable housing prototypes that contribute to utopian ideals of quality and distinct urban design.
