A community lawn in front of the main building of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station is an idea that URA is studying for the site’s redevelopment. - KENNETH CHIANG
SINGAPORE: A community lawn in front of the main building of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, as well as movable platforms linking the station’s existing platforms, are among ideas that the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is studying for the site’s redevelopment.
These suggestions were part of a winning proposal in a competition URA organised between April and June to collect ideas for the station’s future use.
Rail Life, the winning proposal submitted by Singaporean architectural assistant Kenneth Chiang, beat 92 other entries from around the world, including proposals from firms based in Australia and Britain.
URA said on Sept 17 that Chiang’s proposal for the former station “breathes new life into the site by innovatively integrating heritage and modern architectural elements to introduce a variety of gathering spaces for the community”.
The agency on April 22 launched the ideas competition for the site – the second such competition for the former station in nine years – with the intention of canvassing proposals that will guide the development of detailed plans to turn the station into a community hub.
On Sept 17, it launched another ideas competition for the Rail Corridor – this time, for a community node that will be established at a sheltered space below the Queensway Viaduct.
The winning team will be appointed to provide professional consultancy services for the node’s development, for a fee of $570,000.
As for the former station in Tanjong Pagar, URA said it will now “assess the ideas from the competition and distil key concepts from the feedback, ideas and proposals gathered (for the station) over the years, and study their feasibility for implementation”.
Opened in 1932, the station was the southern terminus for the Keretapi Tanah Melayu railway line within Singapore that stretched from Kranji to Tanjong Pagar, and was gazetted a national monument in 2011 – the year that the line was decommissioned.
The Tanjong Pagar station has been closed since 2016 for repair works, as well as the construction of an extension to the Circle Line, and will be repurposed for public use after 2028.
While acknowledging that there are no guarantees that his ideas will be implemented, Chiang said he hopes that any future use of the station will take on his proposal to have a variety of programmes and activities on offer so that “everyone can feel they have a stake in something” when they visit the station.
His proposal considered five types of activities – community, arts and culture, culinary, health and wellness, as well as fitness.
A basketball court and a volleyball court, for instance, can appeal to fitness buffs, while the arts and culture programming, which he suggested could be sited in the main station building, would include a heritage gallery and a handicraft workshop.
The 29-year-old, who works for a local architecture firm, told The Straits Times that he was particularly excited by the prospect of making the station’s two existing platforms more event-friendly.
Movable platform bridges could link the existing station’s narrow platforms, creating a continuous space for events. - KENNETH CHIANG
The narrow platforms are currently separated by train tracks, making them unsuitable for larger-scale events.
To overcome this, Chiang suggested that mobile platforms be installed between the two existing platforms, on the train tracks.
He said the mobile platforms make it possible to host a large event if all the platform pieces are linked, or multiple smaller-scale events at the same time if the platform pieces are separated.
Chiang said he entered the competition with “no intention of winning” and took it as an opportunity to exercise his creative skills.
Placing second in the competition was PTW Architects, which proposed that stormwater collection ponds be built at the western end of the station, which extends towards the rest of the Rail Corridor. The third-placed entry was submitted by London-based firm Acme Space.
A proposed atrium skywalk within the central hall offers visitors a unique view of the wall murals. - TIM TANG HO YIN AND CHRISTINA KONG KA YU
Receiving a special mention was a submission by Tim Tang Ho Yin and Christina Kong Ka Yu of Hong Kong. They proposed a ring-shaped skywalk to be built in the station’s main building, for visitors to observe its iconic wall murals up close.
Selected entries for the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station ideas competition, as well as for the Queensway node ideas competition, will be showcased at an exhibition in early 2025.
Those interested in submitting proposals for Queensway have until Nov 7 to do so, and can find out more at sia.org.sg/queensway-node - The Straits Times/ANN
