xvstudio: punggol waterfront district, singapore

punggol waterfront district, singapore by XVstudio all images courtesy XVstudio

the new development in punggol waterfront district, singapore is an opportunity to create a new typology of mixed use residential complex, conciliating the different elements of urban space, edification and water.

the proposal by spanish firm XVstudio organizes buildings and public spaces on the basis of a single geometry which creates circulation along and across the canal and transitional spaces in between the housing blocks and the water. the continuous plaza gives access to public facilities and housing; it contains walking, cycling and sitting spaces and at the points where it meets the housing blocks it creates public leisure and activity nodes.

the waterfront promenade

with two very simple movements they created a variation of the typical waterfront block offering a maximum surface with direct views to the waterway and cross ventilation for every single apartment. the first element was to ‘crease’ the basic block and make it angular, following the direction of the waterfront promenade. the second element was to make the 4 and 5 room apartments two storey’s high in order to ensure that each house has privacy and north-south ventilation.

the waterfront

the target of the architects proposal was to achieve good energetic behavior by good ventilation and avoid direct sunlight through the setback of the built space from the limit of the slab. the private housing is organized in towers formed by the repetition and transformation of a single basic floor plan. this is initially a symmetrical three star wing, with the circulation core placed in the center. this distribution offers cross ventilation in all the apartments, good accessibility, gardens and common spaces at higher levels, and maximization of houses with views to the waterway.

site plan

model of the new development in punggol waterfront district

elevation view

section view

project info: status: competition concept: prefab program: urbanism, residential location: punggol, singapore client: housing & development board, singapore surface: 342.300 m2 time: 2009 data: international competition team: xvstudio – xavier vilalta, núria navarro, georgia voudouri, sandro ferreira, oksana luzika, aija plance, sergejs rodionovs

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