Eco-friendly features and community bonding spaces for the new centre
Singapore, 20 October 2012 – After a four-month competition,
SQFT Architects came in first, amongst 32
entries, for the design competition to
build the new Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre. Minister for the
Environment and
Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan announced this at the exhibition and
public
forum on ‘Rethinking Hawker Centres’, held as part of Singapore Institute
of Architects’ (SIA) annual
Archifest at Senja-Cashew Community Centre. The
winning design showcased practicality and made use
of sunlight for natural
lighting, while preventing glare and heat. At the same time, the proposed new
hawker
centre will maximise natural ventilation and also provide shelter and
prevent rain water splashing.
The judging panel, co-chaired by Dr Teo Ho Pin (Mayor of Northwest District)
and Dr Theodore Chan
(President of SIA), picked the winning design from SQFT
Architects, for its innovative ideas and
consideration to the history and
surroundings of Bukit Panjang. Commenting on the winning design, the judging
panel noted that the architect took care to incorporate the surroundings into
their proposal. In selecting this
winning design, the judges envision that the
hawker centre’s design will create an impressive and well-honed
architectural
presence – as it successfully interprets the brief and requirements for a
generation of new hawker
centres.
Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre will be the first of the seven new hawker
centres, which were announced during
the Budget Debate 2012, to be built. The
centre is expected to be completed by end 2014 and will minimally
house 20
cooked food stalls, 20 market stalls and 10 lock-up stalls.
A spokesperson from SQFT Architects shared: “The winning design was
conceptualised from the literal
translation of Bukit Panjang, or ‘a long spread
of hill’. As such, it features an undulating roof form that parallels
the
terrain of Bukit Panjang. Other than the key objectives of maximising natural
ventilation, harnessing sunlight
for natural lighting and preventing rain water
splashing, the design also showcased eco-friendly features. For
example, we are
designing a rainwater harvesting system whereby the collection of surface water
run-off from
drains and roofs can be collected into holding tanks and reused for
general cleaning in the hawker centre.”
Exhibition and Public Forum on ‘Rethinking Hawker
Centres’
Members of the public are invited to view all 32 entries received for the
design competition at the exhibition,
which will be held at Bukit Panjang Plaza
from 22 to 25 October, 10am – 10pm and 26 October, 10am – 5pm.
The National
Heritage Board (NHB) will also unveil their “Hawker Centres” Heritage On The
Move Travelling Exhibition, featuring the history and evolution of hawker
centres, and their unique place in Singapore’s
socio-cultural landscape.
As part of the Public Forum, Dr William Wan from the Singapore Kindness
Movement and Dr Wong Nyuk Hien
from National University of Singapore, Department
of Building shared their views on topics such as social
graciousness and
ventilation for new hawker centres. The winning architect also shared on the
concept behind
the winning design.
Future plans
NEA will be looking at the ideas and feedback received during the design
competition and may consider
incorporating these suggestions for future hawker
centres. The new generation of hawker centres will have
a mix of functions that
meet the profile of the residents and feature designs that are unique to each
constituency
or town. Besides being places where patrons can enjoy hygienic and
affordable food, hawker centres will also
include social and community spaces
that facilitate social bonding and interaction among residents.
Background info on the NEA-SIA Design Competition for
BPHC
The BPHC design competition was launched on 11 June 2012 to commemorate the
construction of the first
hawker centre after 27 years. The National Environment
Agency (NEA) and the Singapore Institute of Architects
(SIA) co-organised a
design competition for Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre, and local architects were
invited to
submit fresh ideas that could serve both the social and functional
needs of the community. Special considerations
were given to designs which
proved attractive, practical and environmentally sustainable.
Residents can look forward to visiting the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre and Market when it is completed in end
2014.
~~ End ~~
For more information, please contact
Call Centre: 1800-CALL NEA (1800-2255 632)
*Extracted from NEA Website: Click here | 
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