WOHA: masterplan for singapore 2050

the master plan for singapore 2050

during singapore design week 09, WOHA presented ‘architects save the world and bring joy to the millions’, a masterplan for singapore for the year 2050. the projects were compiled into a newspaper titled the ‘strange times’ which had a science-fiction approach throughout, and included stories on the various structural developments of singapore’s future, along with advertising related to the tourism and agricultural industries of the nation. the newspaper was dated thursday, november 24th, 2050 a look ahead at the possibilities which lie ahead for singapore.

the masterplan 2050 draws on CPR2100, an original proposal which first introduced a coastal protective ring(CPR) around singapore, from which many of the country’s vital infrastructure systems have stemmed. the overall scheme is made-up of four quadrants: sun city, bay of tides, east coast parkland and jurong plantations.

the mirrored landscape of sun city and the singapore energy tower obilia press: photo by terence bong

sun city, is located in the north-eastern quadrant of CPR2100 and is singapore’s most successful energy harvester, acting as the country’s largest residential power plant. the goal was to provide 90,000 new housing units and to cover more than half of singapore’s energy needs. the main focus was directed on solar energy, which at the time of initiation was the most advanced technology. there are several solar power plants of different scales within the quadrant, the most iconic of these being the singapore energy tower, a 900m tall building that has the ability to harvest solar power from as much as 100 km2 area around it.

technical diagram of how solar radiation is reflected towards the singapore energy tower graphic by black

bird’s-eye view of the bay of tides development, facing towards the sea obilia press: photo by terence bong

bay of tides, also known as agrobath, is a combination of dyke, powerplant and high-density housing development. located in the poyan reservoir it also functions as a tidal lagoon. daily changes in tide levels, enhanced by what scientists call the venturi effect, generate a higher velocity of water, which flows through the constricted opening of the CPR into the lagoon. the currents allow the underwater turbines located at the opening to turn, harvesting the current energy and transforming it into electricity in the iconic white towers of development. there are also vertical wind turbines in between housing blocks, mini-islands in the middle of the lagoon with a kite generator capturing high-altitude wind currents, and PV wraps on buildings to capture an abundance of sunlight in the region on non-cloudy days. agrobath no only supplies all electricity necessary for development, but can also supply excess power back to the national grid.

east coast parkland is considered one of the most famous housing and leisure developments obilia press: photo by kai lim/terence bong

probably the most prominent quadrant is the east coast parkland(ECPL). the south-eastern quadrant is a high-density leisure dyke which accommodates housing and recreational components. more than 300,000 singaporeans call this parkland their home, and an estimated 15 million visitors make it to the park every year, making it a leisure location. considered ‘the nation’s playground’, ECPL provides its own energy needs and contributes to food security mainly through seafood farms and mushroom plantations whose crop goes straight into the 42 micro breweries located within the area.

inspired by halong bay: the mountains were built as part of the CPR development and are not a natural part of the landscape

aerial view of the various coastal components of ECPL

advertisement for mushroom beer which is produced at 42 micro breweries in the ECPL quadrant

airships advertising flights tapping into the region’s tourism industry

aerial view of the jurong plantations with a ventilation and circulation grid, hinting at the industrial belly of the lush green landscape obilia press: photo by kai lim/terence bong

the industrial and nutrition hub of the nation is the quadrant of jurong plantations. considered a bit of an agri-resort, it consists of lush rolling green fields with calmly rotating windmills. this green infrastructure was developed in order to meet the needs of a growing industrial sector as well as reach food security for the nation. to cover jurong plantation’s energy needs both agriculturally and industrially, developers pushed for the implementation of a state-of-the-art wind energy harvesting system known as the ‘dragon fly’ wind turbine S-088. dotting the lush green landscape it was designed exclusively for singapore by suzon. its design draws on inspiration from the wings of a dragonfly and has been conceived according to singapore’s low wind velocities. following the steps of agri-tourism, the plantation also plays host to a number of agri-resorts.

views from one of the green acres resort pool villas in jurong plantations

a view of the ‘dragon fly’ wind turbine S-088 systematically arranged on the plantation

a view of the ‘dragon fly’ wind turbine S-088 systematically arranged on the plantation

the suzon S-088 wind turbine developed especially to work with singapore’s light wind conditions

project info:

WOHA: richard hassell, wong mun summ, schirin taraz-breinholt, daniel fung, kahjorn jaroonwanit, amod tikhe digital rendering: obilia art direction: terence bong graphics and layout: black design advertisements: young jieyu(skidscooter), terence woon(glide), outofstock(airwash),lee tze ming(apharad), donn koh & ong zhen qi(healfast), donn koh, herlinda & tracy subisak(renew), low lin kiat(finiture)