Yeow Yann Herng

The Feeding Border: Reimagining Straits of Johor as Cross-Border Urban Commons

Urban Commons and Wellness

Supervisor - Dr. Zhang Ye

The Straits of Johor, which forms the border between Singapore and Malaysia, has never ceased to be a site of power contestation, rendering the waterscape into no man’s land.

In view of the fast changing international geo-political environment and through the theoretical lens of “Connectography”, this study attempts to explore the possibilities of transforming the border of separation into a shared territory that can facilitate cooperation to achieve common economic growth, greater social cohesion, and higher competence of the region.

Retrospective Narrative based on Speculative Vision:

1. Closed door meeting

On year 2020, right before Mahathir stepped down as a Malaysia’s PM again, he invited Singapore’s governments for the 10th leader retreat, to discuss about a secret plan to salvage his dented dream of Wawasan 2020. The proposal targeted the border that separates the two sides, aims to privatize the water, turning the water into profitable land. Tackling food security, a pressing issue for both Singapore and Malaysia as an opportunity, Strait of Johor will be transformed into a shared urban infrastructure for food production. Through architecture and urban design strategies, they wish to maximize the positive externalities of food production to address a series of bilateral issues arising from the separation.

2. Phase 1: INFRASTRUCTURE AND MASTERPLAN

Started with the Site Survey Report, some of the bilateral issues are identified and pinpointed on specific sites. The issues included the inadequate and inefficient physical connections; uneven development due to the geographical location and independent masterplan; territorial disputes; environmental degradation: air quality and water pollution; natural heritage and socio-culturally the indigenous groups Orang Seletar on site. Thereafter, 7 potential sites to start the projects are identified and tendered openly to be leased to the cross-border corporates to develop and expand the farmland.

On the following years, SOJ Development Guidebook are circulated, floating farms start to grow on the straits following the staged development guideline.

The development started with the main anchor towers located on the points according to the masterplan, after which the main piers are constructed for transportation followed by the junction and extensions that grow subsequently from the main pier for food production until they touch the boundary which is determined by the waterway and boat leeway. The length and spacing of the connections are determined by the functional requirement of the different farm types.

3. Phase 2: FOOD PRODUCTION AND NETWORK EXPANSION

There are 3 typology of farms. The Boatland is aquaponics farm, where corporate invested in the industrial scale fish farm using the standardized boat modules and towers to integrate aquaculture and hydroponic farming. The idea is to tap on the corporate’s nature of maximizing profit through accumulation, to expand the farm horizontally and vertically into a new floating urbanscape.

While the aquaponics are the main food supplier on site, algae and mussel farms double as the environmental bio-filter apart from producing food. The Mangrove forest are Algae farm that located to be neighbouring industrial zone to tap on the CO2 production from the factories, as the algae production require tonnes of CO2. The longlines are the mussels farm which is also the water purifying machines that clean the straits water as mussels are known to have the ability to purify water.

4. Phase 3: EMPOWERMENT AND CONVERSION

Starting from year 2030, privatized water are released and converted by leveraging off the natures of capitalist corporate. The main anchor tower and boat factory turn out to be actually a hidden architecture education place where the people are empowered to convert and re-appropriate the boats as social spaces. Also, through policy making to control quantum and lease year, the privatized farmland are slowly be converted and released to the public. This is parallel to the corporate nature of the more profit gained, the higher the social responsibility.

5. Phase 4: Cross Border Urban Commons

The farmland continue to grow which form the foodbridge, ie, using food production to literally and figuratively bridge the two sides as one. Some of the phase 1 piers are dismantled and dissolved into the new floating cross-border urban commons.

To sum up, the key virtue of the project is the about the most treasurable neighbourly love in the post-Brexit and Trump wall era. While the hidden message behind is to raise a critique on the current global food industry, which is mostly controlled by the hegemonic force of neoliberal capitalism. Through phased comprehensive masterplan and design of adaptable architecture, it demonstrates how governments can possibly leverage capitalist corporates, turning their profit-making intentions into catalysts for achieving broader social objectives – creating a cross-border commons.