Sembawang Shipyard District

The Sembawang Shipyard District presents an opportunity to transform a historically rich waterfront site into a distinctive residential and innovation hub for Singapore's Northern Region. This masterplan proposal addresses the challenge of creating a viable community in a relatively remote location while respecting significant heritage assets and coastal constraints.

Our approach leverages the site's unique assets—diverse architectural heritage spanning colonial, military, and industrial periods, prime waterfront access, and varied topography—to create a new model of waterfront urbanism. The design integrates five distinct zones: a reimagined waterfront with shore protection and water-based recreation, two high-density waterfront villages organized around water canals, a new western park buffer utilizing repurposed military barracks, an innovation-focused industrial precinct, and hillside residential neighborhoods that incorporate conserved Black and White bungalows.

Rather than following conventional centralized planning, the masterplan distributes amenities throughout the district to activate street life and create walkable neighborhoods. The industrial precinct is reconceived as a testbed for clean-tech and innovation, while flexible development frameworks allow the district to adapt to changing market conditions and emerging technologies.

This competition entry was developed for the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Singapore Institute of Architects, in collaboration with Lorenzo Petrillo from Lopelab and Rahul Mittal from Cistri.