In an increasingly dense and urbanised world, park land has become increasingly valuable. Our green spaces are precious remnants of recreational respite within built up city centres. But they are also increasingly vulnerable to be sacrificed for more profitable uses.
The Sengkang Riverside Park Childcare Centre shows how we could build within parks while maintaining green spaces for people, a best of both worlds solution befitting the complex needs of dense urbanity.
Designed by Freight Architects, form of the building is gently sloping like a natural hill, and clad with verdant greens that make the building appear as a seamless extension of the surrounding park. As seen in the satellite image below, the natural building form blends into the park landscape.
While the building takes space away from the park, it does not compromise on greenery, and if anything it actually creates vibrancy with the addition of the childcare usage. It’s an interesting case study for a kind of both-and urbanism, where public and private spaces don’t need to be mutually exclusive.
Images by Jonathan Choe unless otherwise stated.
