Agropolis: Achieving Food Resiliency Through Urban Agriculture | FAP 2022 Merit

Commercial / 3rd Quarter 2022

Agropolis: Achieving Food Resiliency Through Urban Agriculture | FAP 2022 Merit

September 6, 2022

Food is a cherished element in Singaporean culture. But due to limited land—with only 1 per cent available for production1—the city-state currently imports almost 90 per cent of its food. To improve food security and resiliency, Singapore has an ambitious goal to locally produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs by 2030.

The current agricultural approach is to focus on high productivity using smart technologies. But instead of maximising agricultural output at all costs, this proposal offers a new architectural paradigm that focuses on low-energy processes and circular systems. Agropolis seeks to re-examine sustainable urban agriculture by repurposing old multi-storey car parks of Housing Development Board (HDB) residences as food production hubs in Singapore.


IMMEDIATE, SCALABLE SOLUTIONS

There are over 900 HDB multi-storey car parks across Singapore, each with an average footprint of 2,722 square metres. With a projected population of 6.7 million by 2030, Singapore would need to locally provide 32,160 tonnes of leafy vegetables per year. This goal can be achieved by converting 51 HDB car park rooftops into food production hubs.

The proposed pilot site is situated in the middle of Toa Payoh HDB Town, serving over 900 households and surrounded by 10-storey slab blocks and 30-storey point blocks. As car parks are almost always situated within dense residential neighbourhoods, it provides immediate opportunities of food production at people’s doorstep, as well as revitalising public infrastructure into public space.

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1 https://www.sfa.gov.sg/food-for-thought/article/detail/singapore-food-security-despite-the-odds


FUTURARC PRIZE 2022: MERIT

Holding a Master of Architecture degree from Singapore University of Technology and Design, Benjamin Chong Mun Choen is currently practising as an architectural designer at WOHA. He believes that combining architectural thinking with digital innovation is critical to creating new opportunities for spatial design, improving people’s lives and inspiring them to do the same for others. In doing so, the built environment should embrace human-centric spaces and value interdisciplinary collaboration to push the boundaries for liveable cities. Chong is also passionate about maker culture, 3D printing and photography.

PROJECT DATA

Project Location
Block 60A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh, Singapore

Building Footprint
2,406 square metres (6 storeys)


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