CUBE Exhibition Showcases Urban Planning Ideas

CUBE 2011 Exhibition is now opened for public viewing till the end of February

From early February onwards, if you happen to visit Tampines Regional Library, you would definitely notice a huge exhibition that is on display on the first floor of the library. The Challenge For The Urban & Built Environment 2011 (CUBE) is an annual urban planning workshop and competition between tertiary-level students- involving 95 students from 13 local junior colleges and polytechnics- organized by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as part of its yearly educational outreach. Its main purpose is to inspire the next generation to come up with new and exciting ideas to help shape the island’s urban landscape so as to make Singapore a better place to work and play in.

Participants were given a free hand in designing what they want to see in Singapore's landscape

The five day workshop and competition was conducted from 30 May to 3 June last year. During those five days, participants were educated on real-life urban planning issues and were equipped with the basics and skills on land uses and urban design. Participants were then asked to study urban planning cases at Fort Canning, Singapore River, the Civic District and Bras Basah to identify areas for improvement. The result was a series of models showing how students would like the places to look like in terms of land usage and mapping.

Madam Elizabeth Wong, who was one of the visitors to the free exhibition, believes that CUBE provides a good opportunity for youths to voice out their opinions on how they would like Singapore to look like by creating models of the island themselves.

“I like what I saw: the enthusiasm, creativity, the way those students took care of in terms of details…I find this a good opportunity for the young to convey to the relevant authorities on what they would like Singapore’s urban planning to be like in 5, 10 years down the road,” Madam Wong said.

Visitors to the exhibition were impressed by the level of detail of the models created entirely by students

“Initially when I first saw the models, I thought it was done by the URA or the HDB (Housing and Development Board). But when I read the details on the wall, I was amazed that all of these (models) were actually created by students from scratch,” said 26-year-old Gary Ng, a full-time soldier.

Visitors taking a closer look at the models.

For instance, Temasek Junior College (TPJC), one of the participating schools, came up with interesting ideas to revamp the Fort Canning area. The theme of their proposal is ‘Rekindling Old Memories, Creating New Spaces’ and it involves the building of a street market before the Capitol Building, with shop fronts facing onto the alleyways to breathe new life into the area. The building of an ‘urban foothill’ at the former site of the National Library was also proposed. It would be linked to the Fort Canning Hill, with a library at the basement as a tribute to the demolished landmark. With sunlight streaming in through the top, the library can offer a special ‘underground’ reading experience. The desired outcome would be to have a vibrant urban setting that offers visitors both the tranquility of Fort Canning and the lively buzz of the city.

The exhibition at the Tampines Regional Library is open to the public until the end of February.