Triumph at the SILA Student Design Awards 2023: Celebrating Innovation in Landscape Architecture
Triumph at the SILA Student Design Awards 2023: Celebrating Innovation in Landscape Architecture
Kudos to the Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) students for securing numerous accolades in the recent Singapore Institute of Landscape Architects (SILA) Student Design Awards 2023!
The theme ‘Beyond Just Green’ encapsulates the intellectual depth of the profession, stimulating innovative design solutions grounded in research and analysis. It seeks to highlight that landscape architecture extends beyond the conventional ‘green’ approach of designing with plants and gardens.
Embracing New River Beginnings by Zhang Wen
Silver – COEN Design Award for Best Design Showcase
Gold – Len-Til Award for Social Impact Through Design
The project seeks to propose a gesture to embrace the river spine and its historical abundance and nostalgic attachment, by tapping on its latent potential that the river hawkers and markets offer. The expression to celebrate Kluang’s community energy will be the headway to creating a new face of Kluang, in hopes of imprinting in one’s memory with unique programs inspired by Kluang, creating one-of-a-kind food culture and experience through leveraging on the key “ingredients” that Kluang offers. These programs would also boost overall site values that would positively impact local business vendors, bringing economic opportunities.
Surge-Binder by Tan Sok Vin
Gold – COEN Design Award for Best Design Showcase
Gold – ONG&ONG Award for Outstanding Contextual Analysis and Investigations
Surge-Binder is a transect which spans across the town, linking the newly introduced Kluang Linear Park to Gunung Lambak with the intention of establishing a multi-functional hydrological system which is infused with values of recreational and well-being, eco-tourism, local flood safety, and connectivity. Curated to hold and cleanse water, series of retention and detention systems, sedimentation basins and a constructed wetland are proposed, to convey water into the nearest drains and the Mengkibol River. To create opportunities for safe user interaction and biodiversity habitats, treatment systems are retrofitted into the site to accommodate a mutual shared space for biodiversity-human acknowledgement.
Beyond the Market: Enhancing Kluang through Food Tourism by Alyssa Tee
Gold – ONG&ONG Award for Outstanding Contextual Analysis and Investigations
Silver – Len-Til Award for Social Impact Through Design
A prominent occurrence across Kluang, Johor Malaysia, is the presence of eateries. Food forms a core component of locals’ lives, but they may take it for granted as they do not understand where it comes from. They are unable to form that intangible connection. A key Food Distribution spot is Kluang Market, which is unfortunately in a dilapidated state. Together with repurposing the adjacent, mono-functional Mengkibol River, revamping this popular site to bring together the different stages of the food system would enhance the lives of locals and transform the site into a catalyst for Food Tourism.
Revitalising Kluang – A Model for Sustainable Living by Amber Yong
Silver – Len-Til Award for Social Impact Through Design
Despite its agricultural history, Kluang faces challenges in maintaining sustainable plantations due to environmental degradation and economic fluctuations, impacting agri-eco tourism growth. Over the past decades, significant land development occurred, causing landscape fragmentation.
Division of mountain ownership between private and public sectors worsens this issue. My project aims to effectively integrate natural processes with productivity and environmental preservation which aids in maintaining and upholding Kluang’s unique qualities that encompass livability and improve agri-eco tourism. It is a community-driven initiative that creates awareness and expertise exchange within and outside Kluang and a model for other forest development.
SILA SDA 2023 Awards Ceremony
For further exploration of Landscape Architecture, we invite you to visit the Urban Green Lab or follow their Instagram @nus.la