Central Weave @ AMK is a public housing development that offers a high-density living environment with multiple amenities and unit types to meet the needs of various age groups and users. Community gardens, landscaped play areas and fitness facilities promote an active and green lifestyle, while passive environmental design strategies such as ABC Water Features promote sustainability while bringing residents closer to nature. The project also utilises a novel standardised layout across 4-room, 5-room & 3Gen flats with regular dimensions for bedrooms, toilets and kitchens. This approach exemplifies HDB’s drive to achieve higher construction productivity and efficiency.
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Central Weave @ AMK
Residential Architecture Multi-Unit (Under Construction)
Firm
Housing & Development Board, Building & Research Institute
Architect/Designer
Chong Shyh Hao
Design Team
Dr Johnny Wong, Tan Sze Tiong, Yeo Hock Chai, Wan Khin Wai, Chia Yu Hsien, Brian Low, Liow Bee Leng, Kong Jia Hng, Teh Cheong Foo, Leonard Cai, Lloyd Ng, Renee Tay, Gan Zi Qing, Bay Pei Lin, Zacary Tan, Eugene Lim, Zeng Jixuan, Khoo Kent Loong, Lim Mei Shan, Sarah Soo, Xu Jingyi
Project Location
Ang Mo Kio, Singapore
Country
Singapore
Photographer/Copyright
©Housing & Development Board, Singapore
Social Media Handles
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Website URL
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The development is well-served by the Ang Mo Kio (AMK) public transport hub comprising MRT and Bus Interchange. Its proximity to the town centre gives residents access to a wide range of amenities like a polyclinic, hawker centre and market. The residential blocks follow the existing urban grain with green ribbons interweaving between the buildings, which is where the precinct gets its name. All buildings are oriented with facades towards north and south to reduce solar heat gain and improve thermal comfort. The ribbon concept is translated onto the façade with staggered vertical lines running up the façade, simulating a basket-weave texture.
Connectivity to nature and the public realm is enhanced by the orientation of proposed amenities to its surroundings. A public plaza faces the direction of AMK town centre, serving as an energetic reception area. Meanwhile, a more private courtyard at the ground level between the buildings is insulated from the hubbub of the public thoroughfare and town centre. It is densely planted with a rain garden to both cool the area and dampen the noises passing through the space to make it an intimate space for residents. The roof garden, equipped with communal amenities like allotment gardens and a running track, overlooks the lush greenery of the public park, AMK Town Garden West. It also features a 9-storey cascading water feature that collects rainwater and slowly discharges it into a catchment basin in the central plaza. The water collected throughout the site is passively filtered through various green spaces and detained before being discharged into public waterways.
The project adopts modular design and large-scale standardisation to improve construction productivity and resilience. The units have a standardised unit plan with a common fixed module comprising 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets, and kitchen. Most of the structural elements are precast in 2D, and the toilets use prefabricated bathroom units (PBU)s. Structural columns are integrated with the façade to create an internal column-free space, making the unit layout more flexible for residents. The facade’s interweaving pattern is created through repetition of two different façade types, which can be made from a single precast mould, reducing the labour to cast the components while preserving the visual interest of the façade design. Similarly, the roof fascia can be casted all from a single mould, removing the need to use external formwork, allowing the construction to be carried out more safely.
Overall, Central Weave @ AMK is a thoughtfully designed public housing development that seamlessly integrates with the surrounding environment while providing residents with a comfortable and convenient living experience. Despite being a dense urban site, the project incorporates lush greenery throughout, employing biophilic and passive green features to promote sustainability and a healthy lifestyle.