The Kallang Kolam Ayer masterplan sits across two districts either side of the Kallang River and Pelton Canal. The sites are positioned between the culture, heritage and arts district and an existing residential community and industrial estate with around 1.3.km of river frontage.

It outlines a vision for a new kind of neighbourhood on Kallang’s and Pelton Canal’s waterfront that could demonstrate how industrial can be integrated with mixed urban areas and create a community platform supporting industrial innovation.

The masterplan creates a market driven development that understands the changing landscape in the industrial, business and human needs. One strategy is to bring more living into the district by providing flexible and adaptable loft space – these spaces can be adapted to many different types of residential and live-work uses.

Our four-point plan sets out an approach to how the sites become a key component in the broader Singaporean Industrial Ecosystem.

• First to market – a knowledge network to propel the future of industry, health and community.
• Second life – A holistic approach to the circular economy – second life in manufacturing, building and reskilling and upskilling of human resources. Remanufacturing ideas, knowledge and practices to provide products with a second life.
• Third place – a transition to industrial anchors for development, showcasing skills in the local, regional and global community. Kallang Kolam as a destination where people spend time and work.
• Fourth and fifth industrial revolution – harvesting what Singapore does well, advanced technologies and synergies between human health and machines. Taking action beyond adapting technology and digitalisation into mass customisation and personalisation.

Connecting to the surrounding community and taking advantage of diversity

Kallang Kolam Ayer site master plan is uniquely positioned between the Sports Hub, heritage districts, culture and arts district, healthcare district and existing residential community and industrial estate. The urban design strategy respects and integrates with the surrounding context through a connected network of open space, while also promoting integration in the business and industry ecosystem.

Shifting to a circular economy

The circular economy strategy will look at capitalising on the on the potential of urban manufacturing. Based on Kallang and Kolam Ayer's existing industries, it enjoys some synergy with surrounding clusters/nodes eg Novena Health City, logistics, printing and construction. This highlights a potential to create sharing platform circular economy connections. This is done by the locations of the relevant buildings and the spaces between them, designed to create interaction and sharing. The strategy will also look into closing the loop in energy, water strategy, waste, circular bioeconomy devoted to sustainable wellbeing as well as maintaining a skills base and promote activity which maintain the value of human resources.

Working with the existing structure

The masterplan structure is planned carefully to keep the existing trees, routes and spaces as well as reusing some of the existing factories to retain the distinctive qualities of the local identity. These will all however be enhanced by the proposed plan of works. Kallang Avenue is characterised with mature trees with big canopies, which will be transformed into park connector. The existing factories will be kept with an adaptive reuse strategy to showpiece a piece of history in the estate and turning the vehicular road into a pedestrianised street known as Heritage Row.

The result is a Singapore Makers Land - a land of opportunities, possibilities and solutions for businesses and people alike.