SLOW LAND | Revealing the intangibles of Singapore's Land Creation
Atmosphere and Agency
Superviser - Mr. Alan Tay
Singapore is synonymous with Land Reclamation. The engine of growth hardly rest. Its territorial expansion, mainly through landfill has altered its geographical boundary to such great extent that it is hardly recognisable within a short span of a few decades. Landfills have also displaced, make inaccessible, inevitably erasing our collective memories of the coastline affected. The thesis wishes to examine and address these conditions through speculations using alternative means of land creation. On the premise of a hypothetical, slow land formation process using Biorock technology, a new strip of land is constructed on steel rafts anchored to the seabeds with structures strengthened overtime by the accumulation of minerals dissolved in seawater. Biorock building processes are commonly deployed to grow engineering underwater structures and marine ecosystems. When the new land consists of platforms rather than landfill and when its anchorage to the seabed takes such a long time to be established, five scenarios were imagined to take advantage of these conditions. These propositions aim to surface the overlooked and the intangibles that surround coastal land creation in Singapore.
THEME 1: LAND + TERRITORY | BLURRING VS INDICATIVE
How many of us have drawn the shape of Singapore as kids? It was interesting to see how, for many, that image did not tally with the present outline of Singapore. Slowly, we are losing that ability to recognise the shape of our country. With this new technique where the extent of reclamation is no longer inhibited by the depth of the seabed but by the sovereign boundaries and the sea routes, one can consider a scenario where the limits of expansion are definitive and the land grows inwards rather than out.
THEME 2: LAND + ECOLOGY | ERASURE VS CULTIVATION
A typical image of typical land reclamation can be described as sand being dumped over a plot of Sea. It is highly disruptive, whatever that existed prior to that has to make way. These include reefs and mangroves. However, can we imagine an edge that grows? Reefs and Mangroves are rehabilitated, as the land is growing. Reefs and mangroves, however, do not merely serve ecological purposes, they actually protect us. Over time, the mangroves grow and form a defensive layer which would protect the inland.
THEME 3: LAND + SEA | DISPLACEMENT VS DEPENDENCE
Besides removing ecology, there is something even more fundamental that is being removed: the Seawater. Land has traditionally been associated with a horizontal separation with the Sea. But islands do need water. The Southern islands are resupplied via boats every 2 weeks, with water being stored in these water tanks. As such, I would like to imagine that water and land could co-exist. A desalination plant is developed to produce water for the islands. But beyond utility, it aims to go further and celebrate this new relationship with water.
THEME 4: LAND + PEOPLE | MARGINALISATION VS EMPOWERMENT
From the 1960s onwards, residents of the southern islands were forced out of their island life and thrown into the high rises. All these were done in preparation for land reclamation. Many of them who associate with the Sea, fishermen, have lost their livelihood. This sort of marginalisation, is apparent today too. People who define the land, just like the Islanders, are THE construction workers. They come from afar, to toil and create land for us, and then be pigeonholed in less than desirable environments. But is Land only for the rich? Why not allow one to level the playing field, a waterfront dormitory that houses the workers and the farmers. Nevertheless, they are even closer to their workplace!
THEME 5: LAND + IDENTITY | OBLIVION VS IDENTIFY
Land reclamation, for some, seems miraculous. A hoarding separates one from the site. And when that hoarding is removed, a vast span of sandy land emerges. It seems that the emergence of this new virgin land is really taken out of people’s sight. Therefore one is essentially outside this process, and being outside makes one oblivious. But what if the way Land was made was visible and accessible. Rather than torn down, the old Biorock factories are re-adapted as educative spaces to allow one to realise the new definition of land.
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