A Proposal for Urban Manufacturing: Reconciling Industrial Production and New Urban Programmes in Kallang Bahru

Abstract

The inner-city neighbourhood of Kallang Bahru is home to traditional businesses and hardware traders as well as large-scale production facilities, light industry, and social housing precincts. It is under growing development pressure due to spill-over effects from the surrounding neighbourhoods and an upcoming Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. Thanks to its central location and the mix of different actors, Kallang Bahru bears the potential to reconcile industrial production with an urban neighbourhood. The ensuing design project, therefore, proposes new forms of coexistence between industrial, residential, and public programmes. The transformation strategy, based on the analysis of the production chains and the building stock, upgrades the neighbourhood into a mixed-use urban quarter, while underscoring its unique industrial focus.