SINGAPORE – In SiglapPlans are taking shape for a new integrated hub – a project that will redefine what a community club can be.
At the center of the development is a 240-seat black box theater, intended as a space to bring performing arts to the interior. The scheme will also include multi-purpose sports courts for badminton, basketball and pickleball, as well as purpose-built co-working spaces.
The hub, scheduled for completion in 2029, will be built on Upper East Coast Road and will replace the aging, 64-year-old Siglap South Community Club just 500m away.
But unlike other new community clubs, the design process for the upcoming Siglap building was led by a Siglap resident, architect Edmund Ng.
Mr Ng, 52, a Joo Chiat Municipality volunteer who runs his own architectural firm, was asked in 2022 by Joo Chiat Municipality MP Mr Edwin Tong if he would be interested in attending a brainstorming session for ideas for a new one Community to participate club.
But what began as a casual invitation to contribute to a potential new community center became a deeply personal project – Mr Ng spent almost a year researching and developing a proposal.
He talked to residents to find out what they wanted, drove around the island to check out other community clubs and studied the history of the Siglap estate.
His eventual idea drew inspiration from Siglap's history as a fishing village surrounded by plantations and calls for a sloping green facade covered with native plants for the center's exterior.
Mr Ng said there will also be layered terraces reminiscent of agricultural fields and reminiscent of Siglap's plantation heritage.
The concept is what Mr Ng calls a “non-building” – a structure that blends seamlessly into the natural surroundings.
Sustainable elements can also be found in the design. Lush greenery will act as a natural insulator to reduce energy consumption, rainwater will be captured and reused, and solar panels will provide renewable energy.
“It’s not a building you just walk into. It is a place to climb, sit, walk and experience – a living, breathing part of the community,” said Mr Ng.
Mr Ng's contributions will be made available to DP Architects, the firm appointed as lead architect, and will be used for the execution of the project.
For Mr Ng, who prepared the design concept for free, working on the new Community Hub was a way to help build a legacy that reflects Siglap's soul while meeting the property's current and future needs.
He has been involved in the community since he and his wife moved to a property in Dunbar Walk in 2014.
At that time, they distributed around 300 leaflets to neighbors to get to know them.
They told their neighbors they were not real estate agents and had no political connections. “We are just mere neighbors in the community and wanted to get to know each other,” Mr Ng said.
Within a week, some neighbors contacted them and the couple hosted a dinner for nearly 40 of them.
Mr Ng and his wife then set up a WhatsApp group chat for the estate's residents, which has now grown to 200 members.
He gradually began volunteering in community work on the property and helping out at community events. He met Mr Tong on one such occasion, at a dialogue session with residents in 2015.
Architect Edmund Ng led the design process for the upcoming Siglap building.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Mr Tong, who is also Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said that to his knowledge, this project is the first time that the resident of an estate has played such a crucial role in the design of its integrated centre.
Speaking to the media on December 4, Mr Tong said that in such projects, the People's Association (PA) usually hires a professional team first and brings in volunteers to contribute at a later stage.
This time, the primary draft came from Mr Ng and his team before the authority was contacted, Mr Tong said.
He had given Mr Ng a brief asking that the design fit aesthetically into the property and not look like a large, imposing structure.
The new hub is located about 650m from Siglap MRT station and will have a floor area of about 12,000 square meters. It will be around 30 m high, have four to five floors and have an underground car park with around 220 parking spaces.
The new hub is located about 650m from Siglap MRT station and will have a floor area of about 12,000 square meters. It will be around 30 m high, have four to five floors and have an underground car park with around 220 parking spaces.ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
In addition to art spaces, community and commercial use areas and sports facilities operated by Sport Singapore, the new center will also house food and beverage outlets.
Mr Tong said he has engaged restaurant owners in the area and assured them that the new options are aimed at complementing the neighbourhood's existing F&B operators.
“We will create parking spaces so that this Anyone who wants to visit can parkWalk across the street and visit a cafe. But we won't open another chicken rice stall. We will not compete with them,” Mr Tong said, adding that there will be no hawker center at the hub.
Mr Tong also said he intends to recruit other Siglap residents to help design and program the arts theatre.
Teoh Hai Pin, director of DP Architects, said the firm will refine and develop Mr Ng's design, ensuring it meets technical, regulatory and functional requirements while remaining true to its original intent.
“By working closely with Mr Tong, Edmund Ng, grassroots leaders and the community, DPA strives to enrich the vision at every stage – from design development to completion,” Mr Teoh added.
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