Share redevelopment ideas for former Jurong Bird Park site
A hawker centre in Jurong Hill’s lookout tower that overlooks the treetops, terraced water catchment areas, and a flying fox over lush greenery.
These were among the ideas proposed by some 140 students in November 2023 for the site of the former Jurong Bird Park, which moved to Mandai in 2023 after over 50 years in Jurong.
They had participated in the last edition of the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Challenge for the Urban and Built Environment (Cube), a competition that gives tertiary students an experience of urban planning and design.
From Oct 19, a new competition will give the public an even bigger chance to shape the future plans for the 39.2ha site – about the size of 55 football fields – that comprises the former Jurong Bird Park, Jurong Hill Park and The Village, a commercial development.
Reimagining Former Jurong Bird Park And Jurong Hill, which is organised by JTC Corporation and URA, aims to generate ideas that reimagine and transform the site for both work and play by integrating industrial units with recreational spaces and amenities.
The proposals should also consider how to sensitively retain iconic landmarks within the site – such as the Jurong Hill lookout tower and the Garden of Fame at Jurong Hill Park, and the 30m-high man-made waterfall and Pools Amphitheatre at the former Jurong Bird Park – said JTC and URA in a release on Oct 18.
The competition is part of efforts to engage the public in URA’s next draft master plan, which will be unveiled in 2025 to guide Singapore’s development over the next 10 to 15 years.
URA launched three other competitions in 2024 to get the public’s ideas for redevelopment plans. They were for the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Raffles Place Park, and a part of the Rail Corridor site under a Queensway viaduct.
This is the first time JTC is running an ideas competition that is open to the public.
Mr Lim Teck Leong, URA’s director of physical planning for the western region, said at a media briefing on Oct 18 that students participating in Cube were keen on preserving the greenery and heritage features found on the site of the former Jurong Bird Park, and the recreational spaces they proposed reflected that.
Speaking on the new competition, he said: “We look forward to seeing creative and impactful proposals to reimagine the site, including new uses that can be introduced sensitively to complement the site’s heritage, greenery, topography and sense of openness.”
While Mr Lim said the site’s future zoning has not been decided, JTC and URA said that shops could potentially be introduced in Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim and Sungei Lanchar to enliven the site, which is surrounded by industrial areas catering to food manufacturing, logistics and precision engineering.
Ms Jan Seow, JTC’s group director of the land planning and redevelopment division, said that the site holds special memories for many Singaporeans, and she hopes that the essence of the public’s ideas drawn from the competition will feature in JTC’s eventual master plans and urban design guidelines.
She expressed a hope for a wide range of proposals and bold ideas “that give the agencies the scope to imagine and redevelop this place without losing the heritage, without losing some of the greenery, but yet (be) able to cater to Singapore as part of its economic push for the next lap, and also to cater to the recreational needs of our people”.
There are two categories in the competition: open and professional.
Members of the public can win up to $6,500 in the open category, which students from tertiary institutions can also participate in.
Those who are trained in architecture, urban design, urban planning, real estate, environmental planning and related fields can win up to $10,000 in the professional category.
Those interested can submit their proposals at go.gov.sg/jbp-ideas-competition. Submissions close on Jan 18, 2025.
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