A Proposal for a Modernist Neighbourhood: Rejuvenating Crawford through a Densification and Reuse Strategy

Abstract

The residential neighbourhood to the southeast of the Lavender Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station is home to an ageing building stock and a mature demographic. The following design project investigates the upgrade potential of one of Singapore’s modernist public housing estates that is also a centrally located, socially-diverse, mixed-use neighbourhood. Rather than referring to the prevalent renewal strategy of estate-scale demolition and densification, the project proposes a strategy that upgrades the existing buildings, reorganises the public space, and introduces new programmes that cater not only to the rapidly growing creative economy, but could also attract a younger demographic to the centrally located area – all while keeping intact the existing community that has occupied one of the earliest city-centre public housing developments in Singapore. Careful on-the-ground analysis of the existing typologies, the pedestrian and vehicular connectivity, and the neighbourhood’s potential as a new centrality in Singapore led to a multi-layered proposal.