Singapore, Singapore
2013 - 2017
Kampung Admiralty
Maximizing land use and improving microclimate conditions, water-sensitive urban design is implemented in Kampung Admiralty to form a thriving multi-tiered landscape. Acting as a backdrop for cross-generational community life, the design centers around the needs of the area’s aging population.
Project details
Client
Housing and Development Board (HBD)
Status
Prior to development, Kampung Admiralty was an empty lot and car park between residential towers housing an elderly population, a marketplace, and a train station. Seeking to promote social interactions and well-being across an inter-generational community, the mixed-use development integrates landscape design to offer indoor and outdoor spaces for people to enjoy.
“Kampung is a Malay word meaning village and offers a reference to the local context predating Singapore’s rapid urban development. Recreating the connection to nature and strong community spirit that characterized that time, the project combines biophilia with public facilities and services.” — Agnes Chain, Senior Landscape Architect at Henning Larsen.
The project’s many facilities include a vibrant People’s Plaza with sheltered community spaces, a retail center, medical center spread out across two floors, a tranquil community park that includes a senior care center, senior activity center, childcare center, and sky terrace, as well as studio apartments for seniors.
“Kampung, which is Malay for "village," evokes memories of Singapore's pre-rapid urban development era and community cohesion. Beyond revitalizing the "Kampung Spirit," it is about reintroducing and reconnecting with nature, wildlife, and the natural elements around us. It represents a shift in our tolerance and desire for proximity to nature within the dense built environments.”
Agnes Chain
Senior Landscape Architect
01/05
A thriving ecosystem
Commissioned on a tight 0.9-hectare site with an imposed height limit of 61m AMSL, the development helms the exploration of inter-community dynamics and urban density in land scarce Singapore, where the increased stress on the ground level demands creative ways of intensifying land use.
Characterized by its terraced rooftops, Kampung Admiralty comprises a total of 1.2 acres of self-irrigating landscape with a total of 730 trees of 58 different species, over 80,000 shrubs of 66 different species, and an intricate hydrolic network. Utilizing the site’s terraced orientation, the system collects, cleanses, and stores stormwater to be reused as irrigation, ultimately allowing for more than 1 million gallons of tap water to be conserved each year. Other nature-based water retention features, including an eco-pond and a central raingarden, further support biodiversity.
Abundant greenery and biophilic value
Seeking to promote biodiversity and create green space within the urban environment, we created an extensive planting scheme which includes a tropical rainforest as well as 60% native species and occupies more than 100% of the building’s footprint. The development also includes a community farm and herb garden where residents are invited to grow edible and medicinal plants.
The abundance of greenery within Kampung Admiralty naturally lends itself to biodiversity on site, but also offers a calming environment to promote well-being and social interactions amongst its inter-generational community members, while lending a natural cooling effect within its urban surroundings.
Contact
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Country Market Director
Associate Director
Design Director, Landscape
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