REGISTRATION(Closed)
All participants must register for the Challenge by 15 July 2024, 2359hrs (SGT). Registration for the Challenge represents acceptance of all Terms and Conditions of the Challenge.
Only registered participants will receive a copy of the scaled site plan for Bukit Merah Town Centre.
SUBMISSION(Closed)
The submission must be completed and be submitted by 22 July 2024, 1200hrs (SGT). Participants will receive an acknowledgement email upon successful submission.
FAQ
Entrant may send queries in English by email to SIA Secretariat at bukitmerahtcchallenge@sia.org.sg. Such email shall clearly state “BUKIT MERAH TC CHALLENGE” as the subject heading. Only upon receipt of an acknowledgement email sent by the SIA Secretariat shall the query be officially registered for a response.
Deadline for submission of questions is 16 June 2024. Responses to all queries will be made known via posting on FAQ before 30 June 2024.
- Am I only allowed to design within the boundaries of the 3 sites within the Town Centre?
Yes. The boundaries of the Challenge are to guide participants on the extent of the area that they are expected to design. - There are existing users and tenants on site today, does my proposal need to assume that these users and tenants will remain on site in future?
Yes. Participants will also have to take into account the future users of the Town Centre based on the upcoming developments. - Will the winning ideas from the Challenge be implemented?
Yes. The concept with the highest votes will win the Top Prize and shall be adapted by HDB for implementation. - Am I allowed to submit multiple entries?
Yes, you are allowed to submit multiple entries. - How many members can a group entry comprise?
There is no limit to the number of group members that can be involved in one submission. - If I am overseas during the period of the Challenge, can I still participate?
Yes, as long as you are largely based in Singapore. Registration and submission should adhere to the instructions given in this brief and panels will be presented anonymously to the Jury for evaluation. Please ensure that your submission is uploaded on the submission platform at https://sia.org.sg/bukitmerahtcchallenge/submission/ by 16 Jul 2024, 2359hrs (Singapore Time). - Am I allowed to arrange for site visit to the Bukit Merah Town Centre?
The Bukit Merah Town Centre is publicly accessible. You are strongly encouraged to conduct your own site visits at various times and days of the week to develop the proposals. - There was an earlier exhibition on the Remaking Our Heartlands plans for Bukit Merah back in 2023. Some perspectives of the upgrading at the Bukit Merah Town Centre were on display then and also on HDB’s webpages. How would the design ideas from this Challenge be used alongside those earlier perspectives?
The perspectives showcased at the earlier exhibition and online were for reference purposes, where HDB’s intention to further engage the community to co-create these public spaces were made known. This Challenge would build upon the earlier engagements and concepts, where creative and skilled minds of the architecture field shall help to further detail meaningful design concepts. - If I am a student, will I lose out to working professionals or professional architectural firms?
The anonymity of registered participants will be preserved throughout the judging process.
The identity behind each submission will not be made known to the judges nor the public during the voting stage. - I still have unanswered queries, where do I direct my questions to?
Please email HDB’s appointed promoter at bukitmerahtcchallenge@sia.org.sg by 16 June 2024. - May I confirm that a video recording of this briefing and any accompanying slides will be disseminated and made available to those (e.g. teammates) who cannot make this zoom session?
The video recording of the briefing can be downloaded from this link. All Q&As from the briefing have been published on the website’s FAQ section for reference. - There seems to be a quite detailed concept design. I know we are allowed to propose a different design, but can someone explain the process and why this initial design isn’t taken forward? For instance, are there any issues one has to be aware of?
The initial perspectives showcased at the earlier exhibition and published online were for references purposes, and were used to facilitate HDB’s public engagement with the stakeholders and community to co-create these public spaces. There are no issues to take note of (regarding the initial perspectives) and participants can design freely. - I note that the preliminary info package includes Challenge Brief document and two annexes. Will HDB be able to share any survey drawings – in either CAD or pdf form for participants to use. This will really save time for participating designers.
HDB will be providing a scaled plan drawing of the town centre with indicative details of the finished floor levels, to all registered participants. The information will be sufficient for the submission of schematic designs proposals required for the challenge. - We noted that is a pedestrian mall on the same level as the upper plaza (Site 1), flanked between block 163 and 164. Is this included as part of the upper plaza?
The pedestrian mall will not be part of the upper plaza. - Show the “last 6 digits of the registration number”, the words digit and number suggest ONLY numbers?! But the last 6 identifiers have a letter in it….. What should we do?
Participants will be informed of their 6-digit alphanumeric identification via a confirmation e-mail after successful registration. - Please clarify – if a First Prize award of SGD$15,000 is meant to be a “fee for carrying out follow-up design work implementation as part of a consultancy” – or if the prize is meant to be a prize reward. At $15,000 for a project budget of SGD$4million – this is a 3.75% fee – very low for such a project. What are the follow-up duties for the winning scheme?
The SGD$15,000 is a prize reward for the winning entry, and participants are not required for follow-up design work. The winner/winning team may be contacted by HDB to help maintain the original design intent, as much as possible. - I’m wondering what is meant by a minimalistic render that’s said in the brief? Should it be very clean lines that are simple?
“Minimally” in para 5.3 c) of the Challenge Brief refers to the provision of artist impressions for the uses of the Upper and Lower Plaza, and the connecting staircase. - Can we have industry professionals and students in one team?
Yes. - Who will be the judges for this competition?
Members of the Jury comprise community, industry and agency representatives. We will publish their identity once the lineup is confirmed. - Should we place before and afters in the A0 board?
The participant may do so if it helps to communicate their overall design intent. Given the limited space in the A0 board, participants may also choose to include them in the A4 write-up (max. 4 pages). Apart from write-ups, the A4 write-up can also accommodate images. - Can I assume that there’s no preference whether the A0 is landscape or portrait?
A0 Portrait format is required. - Shall we include any site research or engagement outcomes in the board?
Due to the limited space in the A0 board, the A4 write-up (max. 4 pages) may include participants’ own engagements with the Merchants (i.e. shop owners) or visitors and residents regarding their concept design, and how their feedback/suggestion are incorporated in their final design concept. - Has HDB appointed the Design Consultant?
No. The appointment is tentatively scheduled to be by 3Q 2024. - If the Design Consultant has not been appointed yet, may we enquire whether would the top winning participant be allowed to participate in the subsequent HDB’s tender for the Design Consultant or would there be a conflict of interest and thus disallowing the top winning participant to participate in the subsequent HDB’s tender for the Design Consultant?
The tender for design consultant has already been called. There will be no conflict of interest as the evaluation and selection of the Design Consultant will be conducted separately, by an independent evaluation panel, with a different set of evaluation criteria. - May we also enquire does HDB has an indicative timeline on when would they be calling the tender for their Design Consultant?
The design consultancy tender is currently ongoing on GeBIZ (Tender No. HDB000ETT24000109).
The competition is organised by the Housing & Development Board (HDB) with the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) as the appointed Promoter.
Organised by:
Promoted by:
