Nature lovers of Singapore rejoice — the world’s greenest city is about to go a deeper shade of green, thanks to new housing development initiatives.
Future apartment blocks will offer residents more interaction with nature, hopefully improving their quality of life in an eco-conscious manner, according to the Housing and Development Board. From this month onward, new developments will feature more outdoor corridors, spaces for urban farming, and other elements specifically designed to increase positive community interactions with nature.
The adaptations stem from an HDB design strategy, known as the Biophilic Town Framework, and its purpose is to integrate new construction with local ecosystems. The framework utilizes technology as well as extensive research on how natural environments function and how humans connect best with those environments.
Besides maximizing our enjoyment of the outdoors, buildings constructed under the program aim to be a model of sustainability. Plants on the property will be specifically selected to moderate temperature through shading and evapotranspiration, for example, and landscape mechanisms for reusing rainwater are just a few of the plans.
The Biophilic Town Framework, established in 2013, has already won multiple awards since launching its first Punggol project in 2015. The district was an early adopter of the framework, and it’s currently in the midst of constructing additional biophilic residences that will encompass 5,700 flats. These new developments are scheduled to be completed by 2020.
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