Niche Construction in Disturbance

This project uses the Telok Blangah as the study area, demonstrating the troubled relationship between human and non-human life. I do this by looking at a range of disturbances and I reshape the study area through an evolving set of design strategies. Ultimately, the project presents my core concept of the Fifth Nature, which acknowledges the inevitability of disturbance and reframes it as an opportunity to shape new ecosystems and more-than-human humans through a process of Niche Construction. This approach allows human and non-human life to adapt, influence each other, and coexist dynamically within a changing environment. For instance, the phenomenon of urban structures being gradually overtaken by vegetation as they age can be seen not only as a negative aspect requiring maintenance for clean aesthetics of the city but instead, as a resource that can be used to start a welcomed disturbance and meaning, with different species find new ecological “niches” and form new iterative interaction networks.

In this project, nature is no longer just a static “green space” or “fixed asset.” Through the transformations of different cycles, the project gradually reveals how nature reconstructs and evolves amidst disturbances to reach the Niche Construction, achieving a dynamic balance with human spaces. The Fifth Nature is not merely a simple combination of traditional nature and urbanity but a dynamic urban ecosystem that leverages natural disturbances as opportunities to reconstruct ecological balance, shaping a more resilient and adaptable urban environment.

Timeline

Fifth Nature Timeline here showing two curves: human activities and more-than-human dynamics, with turning points marking disturbances. In the Garden City phase, humans strictly controlled nature, keeping the curves aligned. Over time, urban design embraced resilience, allowing divergence as nature’s fluctuations were acknowledged. At the climate change turning point, nature shifted from a passive object to an active force shaping resilience.

Increment Map

An incremental plan transitioning HDB spaces through three cycles—HDB, Coexistence Hub, and Adaptive Reserve Land—integrating ecological systems and human activities, leveraging disturbances to foster dynamic ecosystems, and transforming urban spaces into resilient, multispecies environments.

Land Transformation

A symbiotic system emerges, with different building levels creating habitats for various species. Activities are organized for three types of organizations: public participation, technical research, and arts and culture, each with dedicated building levels and outdoor spaces.

Transitioning from Stage 3 to Stage 4, the original old HDB is demolished for Alternative Reserve Land, while Coexistence Hubs evolve, transplanting plants and fostering nature-led regeneration with ecological and social integration.