Our team’s design proposal takes a holistic approach to mitigate the threat and implications of the pressing issues the site is currently facing such as flooding, droughts, subsidence, overpopulation, economic uncertainty & lack of mobility.

The site is situated strategically near to the coastal line and geographically an “island’’ bounded by its surrounding edges. In addition to the rapid subsidence of land across the site, the local climate poses the challenge of high volume of precipitation annually coupled with seasonal droughts.

Consequently, an acupunctural approach is applied onto the site to derive a new multifaceted urban interface that intervenes with the land extensively with reduced impact to the existing fabric. A variety of programmes are inserted or repurposed into existing structures at different parts to activate the site and form a network of flexible design interventions to improve the mobility within the neighbourhood, while celebrating was as opposed to conventional methods.

Essentially, the intervention is an integrated scheme of housing and mixed used programmes that is weaved together by water management strategies. Performative landscape is laid across the site to achieve flood mitigation and facilitate water as a sustainable resource, streets are integrated with bioswale and softscapes to prevent water channel congestion, manage surface runoff and attenuate the damage of rapid water overflow from the river.

The new interventions include mixed-used public and private programmes to provide public amenities and community infrastructure. The current small

business/house models are integrated with communal spaces to increase liveability and density of the neighbourhood. The interventions repurposed the sunken houses into new housing with mixed programs within the community for a better living environment by the applications of canopies. Water collection encourages the community to prepare for droughts and to be less reliant on groundwater extractions.