PAYA RAMBLA AIRFIELD PARK
Transforming the airfields of Singapore's Paya Lebar Air Base into a national-level destination park. Subdivided into distinctive zones, it is tied together by the former runway - now a wide 'rambla' promenade embedded with solar pavers.
Project Type
Master Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Design
Client
Year
URA
2020
Awards
Honorary Mention, "Runway For Your Imagination" Ideas Competition (URA. Singapore, 2020)
Paya Rambla Airfield Park is a concept proposal developed in response to a call made by Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for ideas on how to transform the runway of Paya Lebar Airbase after the military moves out. The airbase will gradually be relocated from the 2030s onwards, opening it up for redevelopment.
Although the competition brief focuses only on the transformation of the 3.8 km-long and 75 metre-wide runway to commemorate the district's aviation heritage, the Paya Rambla proposal goes a step further and calls for the safeguarding of the entirety of the base airfields surrounding the runway as protected public realm. It argues that the airfields and runway should be considered a heritage landscape artefact with historic and cultural values, and deserve to be treated similar to heritage buildings.
Paya Rambla proposes the transformation of the safeguarded airfields and runway into a unique multi-zoned national-level destination park for Singapore.
The distinctive and multi-functional sub-zones of the new national park complement and respond to its immediate adjacencies, as set out in the Wooden City master plan. The sub-zones address important themes and issues such as sustainable energy, food security, circularity, social equity, resource self-sufficiency, heritage, health and well-being.
A proposed restoration of the original route of historic Tampines Road leads to the manicured landscapes and welcoming water features of the Gateway sub-zone. To the north of the road is the Energy Park sub-zone, which combines a public park with a wind and solar farm that harnesses renewable energies that power the adjacent smart industry 4.0 industrial park adjacent to it, as well as the mixed-used neighbourhoods beyond.
The Forest Allée sub-zone cuts a wide forest-lined public promenade through a sustainably-managed commercial forest and links it to the recreational trails of a community forest that further connects to the northern and eastern coast of Singapore. The Food Park sub-zone is sandwiched between a mixed-used neighbourhood and sizeable farms practicing regenerative agriculture. It will feature allotment gardens which are leased by the community to grow and sell their own produce. The former tarmac of the runway will host weekend or seasonal farmers’ markets, pasar malams, food festivals, or food trucks.
The Events Park sub-zone features an expansive lawn and plaza to host large-scale events and crowds. It sits in front of a heritage and tourism precinct anchored by the conserved former Paya Lebar Airport, which is proposed to be adaptively re-used into an aviation-themed integrated resort hotel.
Sandwiched between a proposed museums precinct and a substantial wetland park is the Arts Park sub-zone, which will feature land art in the form of artificial mounds made from construction debris. These knolls become a good vantage point in viewing outdoor sculptures scattered throughout the park, as well as for views of the adjacent wetlands. Lastly, the Sports Park sub-zone will contain fields and courts for the physical recreation needs of the surrounding mostly residential mixed-use neighbourhoods.
Solar Rambla
The distinctive sub-zones of the Airfield Park will be anchored and stitched together by the 3.8km-long and 75m-wide former airport runway. To showcase the historical layers of this area's landscape, the original width and length of the runway will be kept intact to form an iconic and memorable "rambla" public promenade. To maintain the integrity, flexibility, and multi-functionality of this grand public realm, design interventions will be kept to a minimum and will be easily relocated or disassembled. Solar pavers will be embedded as much as possible along the entire length and width of the promenade in order to harness the solar potential of this vast public open space.
Update: The Wooden City proposal has been awarded an Honorary Mention at the “Runway for Your Imagination” ideas competition for the redevelopment of Paya Lebar Airbase. The open international competition was organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA), in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Architects and Singapore Institute of Planners.
