The mixed development at Clementi Town Centre and Punggol Waterway have bagged top honours in this year’s Housing and Development Board (HDB) awards, with their strong distinctive identity and character.
They won the Design Awards, along with the upcoming Build-to-Order (BTO) project at Bukit Batok, Skyline I & II, a residential development which promises to be a landmark in the Jurong Lake area when it is completed.
The mixed development at Clementi Town Centre consists of residential units, commercial tenants and transport nodes such as a bus interchange, all housed under one roof.
The new development was meant for residents from Block 436 to Block 438 in Clementi Avenue 3 who were relocated under HDB’s Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme.
Residents staying in the mixed-use development enjoy new amenities such as an air-conditioned bus interchange, commercial shops and a rooftop garden.
Other awards the Clementi Town mixed development has won include the FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Award 2012, the FIABCI Singapore Property Awards in 2011 and the merit award for “Best Design Land Transport Integration” at the Land Transport Excellence Awards in April this year.
The 388-unit project, which is 40 storeys high, almost did not come to pass.
Ong Lin, deputy director of Upgrading Programmes at HDB, said: “When we were designing this development, we could only actually build up to 28 storeys. And that was because the former Ulu Pandan incinerator was still in use.
“But halfway through the design, the former ENV told us that the Ulu Pandan incinerator would be decommissioned in 2010. And with that, we could change our design and reach 40 storeys for this development. And in a way, this helped us to build more units to benefit more of our residents.”
HDB is also recognising projects that emphasised sustainable methods of construction, with the Construction Awards.
One of the winning projects is Punggol Waterway. Eco-drains to ensure surface runoff is cleansed before entering the waterway, aerators, jet fountains and water curtains to enhance water quality are some of its winning features.
Other features such as boardwalks, footbridges and areas around the plaza have been built with recycled materials.
In addition, the waterway was constructed using green practices.
One is a “cut-and-fill” method of excavation to fill the low-lying areas around the waterway. Earth excavated from the waterway was re-used to prepare surrounding low-lying areas for future developments.
Meanwhile, the other winners are for newly-built residential projects in Punggol Spring, Damai Grove and Ghim Moh Valley, which impress with their innovation and higher productivity in the construction process.
Seven HDB Design Awards and 14 HDB Construction Awards will be presented by the HDB this year to consultants and contractors for excellence in design and construction quality in its projects.
The winners will receive their awards at the HDB Awards gala dinner on October 16.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 9 Oct 2012