DEVELOPING A CULTURALLY DISTINCTIVE PRECINCT IN GEYLANG SERAI: AN SGTOGETHER PROJECT

People’s Association (PA), on behalf of the Singapore Government, is launching an Open Design Competition to call for ideas for environmental improvements to the Geylang Serai Cultural Belt as part of the plans to develop an inclusive precinct with a strong community spirit.

The People’s Association (PA) as the Sponsor of the Competition has appointed the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA) as the Promoter to organise the Competition.

The selected design proposal will be jointly implemented by People’s Association (PA), Housing & Development Board (HDB) and National Environmental Agency (NEA).

Competition Format, Construction Cost

This is a Single-Stage Open Design Competition with an estimated S$4.3 million construction cost (excluding contingency, consultants’ fees, authority submission fees). The proposed design shall be strictly within the above-mentioned budget.

Prizes & Awards

The winning Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) will be commissioned to develop the detailed design for construction and implementation of the works on site. By agreeing to enter into the Competition, the MDT agrees to enter into a contract with HDB who will oversee the detailed design, tender and implementation of the works on site.

The winning MDT will be appointed and engaged based on a combined professional fee of 10% of the Final Project Construction Cost in lieu of the prize money.

The prize money for the two merit schemes (2nd and 3rd prizes) is SGD$12,000 and SGD$6,000 respectively.

The Site

The Design Competition calls for fresh, innovative and new approaches on enhancing the key gateway to the precinct at the junction of Geylang Road, Changi Road, Geylang Serai Road, and Joo Chiat Road to showcase Geylang Serai’s strong heritage and cultural identity and reinforce the role of the area as the ‘go to’ destination to experience Malay culture.

The Scope of Works for the design proposal shall focus on three areas:

1) Improvement works at Geylang Serai Market (Area A);

2) Improvement works at Joo Chiat Complex (Area B); and

3) Creation of a gateway at the junction of Geylang Road/ Changi Road/ Geylang Serai Road/ Joo Chiat Road (Area C).

Fig. 2: Area of Works


Site Photos of Geylang Serai Market

Site Photos of Joo Chiat Complex

Site Photos of Junction of Roads 

Jury Panel

Chairperson:

1) Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office & Second Minister for Education and Foreign Affairs

Members:

2) Mr Han Tan Juan, Assistant Chief Executive, People’s Association
3) Ms Yap Lay Bee, Group Director of Architecture & Urban Design, Urban Redevelopment Authority
4) Mr Fong Chun Wah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Housing Development Board
5) Mr Ng Chun Pin, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, National Environment Agency
6) Mr Rahmat Sawie, Community Representative; Geylang Serai Market Merchant Association
7) Mr Mohamed Zailani Bin Mohamed Said, Community Representative; Malay Activity Executive Committee Chairman

 Judging Criteria

The Jury Panel and the Technical Evaluation Committee will be looking for design ideas that:

1) Capture succinctly the vision, objectives and intent of the Design Brief;

2) Respond creatively to the Design Brief and context of the site, in particular, respecting the qualities, history and character of the existing built surroundings;

3) Are conceptually coherent and consistent as a form of impactful visual marker for the entire precinct;

4) Have unique, attractive and place-making characteristics;

5) Are physically, intellectually, socially and culturally inclusive to all visitors and users;

6) Are practical, economically feasible and financially sustainable; and

7) Are designed for safety, buildability and ease of maintenance.

Eligibility to Participate

The Competition is open to local practicing architects registered with the Board of Architects (BOA) who are aged 45 years or below on the date of submission for the competition on 19 March 2021, 12pm. The eligible architect registered for participation in the competition is required to form a (MDT) comprising

1) an Architect (AR), who is to be the registered Architect for this competition as well as the Appointed Qualified Professional (QP) for subsequent implementation of the proposed works on site;

2) a Civil & Structural Engineer (CS);

3) a Mechanical & Electrical Engineer (ME);

4) a Quantity Surveyor (QS); and

5) a Project Manager (PM).

PSPC Registered Firms for MDT

The requirement for the MDT to be led by a ‘young architect’, aged 45 and below, is part of the larger strategy to develop the younger generation and create more opportunities for them to be involved in public projects of varying types and scales. The MDT will be appointed to develop the design and oversee the implementation of the works on site.

All members of the MDT are to be employed by firms that are listed on the Public Sector of Consultants (PSPC). Only PSPC-registered firms as listed under

1) Panels 1 – 4 under the AR discipline,

2) Panels 2 & 3 for the CS, ME, and QS disciplines, and

3) Panel 4 for the PM discipline

are allowed to participate in this Design Competition.

More details are appended in the competition brief under Clause 1.8.

Submission Requirement

All submissions must reach the Promoter no later than 12 noon (Singapore date and time) on or before the deadline for submission, 29 March 2021. All submission materials, including drawings, and other documents, shall be in English.

1) Part 1: Softcopy Submission

Submission materials shall be in electronic form and submitted online to SIA via the designated link shared by SIA Secretariat. The designated link will be emailed to each participant.

  1. a) Folder 1 – Design Proposal

A maximum of two (2) A1-sized landscape format drawings, in .pdf, .png or .jpg format at a resolution of 300dpi, within the provided template format (see Appendix 3.1).

  1. b) Folder 2 – Team Composition and Track Records & Cost Estimates
  2. c) Competition Submission Form

2) Part 2: Hardcopy Submission

In addition, a maximum of two A1-sized drawings, in landscape format, shall be printed and mounted on not more than 6mm thick white foam boards. The submission boards shall be delivered to the Promoter at Wisma Geylang Serai. All submission documents are to include the Competition Registration number issued to the Architect registered to participate in the Competition in the bottom left-hand corner of the page.

Anonymity of Submission

To ensure the anonymity of all the submissions, all Architects registered to participate in the Competition and the MDTs shall abide by the following submission requirements:

1) The Design Proposal shall not bear any logo, motto, or other distinguishing feature of any kind to identify the registered Architects and MDTs.

All hardcopy A1-sized submission boards shall be wrapped in unmarked, opaque wrappers and shall be free of any logo, identification marks whatsoever; and

2) Submission Forms, Team Composition & Track Records and Cost Estimates shall be submitted in a separate Folder.

Any submission materials that fail to comply with the above requirements will not be accepted for evaluation by the Jury and the architect registered for the competition and the MDT will be disqualified from the competition. Any unwrapped and unsealed submission boards will not be accepted.

Anonymity of all Architects registered for the competition and their MDT will be preserved throughout the entire duration of the Competition. The identity of the participants will only be made known after the Jury has selected the winning scheme and the two schemes to be awarded merit prizes.

Registration

Registration to participate in the Design Competition is to be made online via the Competition Webpage, through the SIA Member Online (SMO) Portal. Participants will receive a link (via email) to download the Competition Package upon successful registration.

Registration for the Design Competition represents acceptance of the Terms and Conditions for the Design Competition. Upon successful registration, the Promoter will allocate an identification number to each team. The numbering system will be at random.

Participation Fees*: S$100.00

*Participation Fees will be forwarded to PA at the end of the project.

Briefing and Site Visits

An online briefing session will be arranged for registered participating teams by the Promoter after registration closes on 3 Feb 2021. All registered participating teams are encouraged to attend the online briefing session. Details will be shared in due course.

There will be no organised site visits. All registered participating teams are strongly encouraged to carry out site visits on your own at various times and days of the week to develop the proposals.

Kindly note that the briefing and site walk is not compulsory to participate in the Competition.

Questions & Clarifications

All questions and requests for clarifications on the Design Competition, including the Terms and Conditions and the Design Brief and Technical Requirements, shall be made in writing by email (in English) before 8 Mar 2021, 6pm (Singapore date and time), to the Promoter at design_competition@sia.org.sg. All emails are to clearly state “Geylang Serai Cultural Belt Design – Competition Query” as the subject heading. Only upon receipt of an acknowledgement email sent by the Promoter shall the query be officially registered for a response.

Responses to all queries will be made known to all competitors via email on or before 19 March 2021, 6pm(Singapore date and time), to the email addressee of the Architect registered for the competition, as declared in the Competition Package Collection Form.

The written responses to the queries shall form an integral part of the Design Brief and shall be extended to the Technical Evaluation Committee and the Jury for information.

For full details, please refer to the Competition Package (available after successful registration).

Competition Sponsor:

Stakeholders: