Our Tampines Hub bags top BCA Universal Design Award for community-focused design

Monday, 22 April 2019

- Our Tampines Hub given top accolade as it offers a comprehensive and diverse range of services, programmes and facilities for people of different generations and abilities to interact and bond while engaging in a variety of activities
- 36 other winning developments include hawker centres, polyclinics and community hospitals as more architects and developers see the need for inclusive designs for people of all ages and different abilities in public spaces

Singapore, 22 April 2019 - The Building and Construction Authority has conferred the BCA Universal Design Mark Award on 37 projects this year. These projects were exemplary in demonstrating how buildings can be designed to not only put the needs of communities and people first but also foster inclusiveness and engagement. Singapore’s first integrated community and lifestyle centre Our Tampines Hub is this year’s sole Platinum Award winner while Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic, Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre are among the seven Gold^PLUS winners that are public sector projects.

Commenting on the 2019 winners, BCA Group Director (Building Plan and Management) Engineer Clement Tseng said, “These year’s winners have collectively raised the bar for Universal Design in Singapore’s built environment. More developers and architects are seeing how inclusive designs do not just cater to the diverse needs of people of different abilities but have come up with creative ideas that bring people together and foster more engagement among communities. With public amenities such as hospitals, hawker centres and polyclinics among our winners, Singaporeans of different ages and abilities will benefit from a more inclusive built environment even as we transform the way we build Singapore.”

Platinum Award: Our Tampines Hub

Situated in Tampines Central and the Tampines HDB heartland, Our Tampines Hub offers a comprehensive and diverse range of services and facilities that encourage people of different generations to interact and bond. The centre has a wide range of facilities that cater to people of all generations and needs. These facilities are not placed “in silos” but dispersed across the centre in clusters. Its design of spaces that maximises spectatorship promotes more interaction among different people groups and allows the centre’s many service providers to explore fresh ways to collaborate. For example, an indoor playground is purposefully located next to the children’s book section of the Tampines Regional Library.

The Library, which is on the top floor of the Hub, is a microcosm of the development; while there are adequate and separate areas that cater to the reading needs of different age groups – children, adults and seniors, it has features that cater to special interest groups among residents, such as culinary studios and a laboratory with tools, equipment and hardware kits that allow patrons to learn, create, invent and share skills.

Even as it is in the town centre, Our Tampines Hub is seamlessly connected to the surrounding residential developments with covered, accessible foot paths, and bicycle parking provisions. It also has one-stop Public Service Centre where residents can engage services from seven government agencies, e.g., HDB, MSF and WSG at their convenience.

Featured Gold^PLUS winner: Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic

Among this year’s winners is the first polyclinic to be given the Gold^PLUS award. Situated also in the HDB heartlands of a matured estate which has one of the highest number of residents, Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic is one of the few that has a dedicated alighting and boarding bay that is spacious and at the same level as the building’s main entrance. For easy navigation, each floor is given a specific colour code, and there are no steps or ramps from the bay to the lift lobby. The Polyclinic is also one of the first in Singapore to have a device that allows people on wheelchairs to be treated by a dentist without having to move out of their wheelchairs. Children can enjoy the play area at the children’s clinic – decorated like a kindergarten – while they wait for their turn to see a doctor.

Introduced in October 2012, the BCA Universal Design Mark is a voluntary certification scheme that promotes Universal Design. This scheme recognises developments, developers and architects who extensively apply a user-centric philosophy in their design, operations and maintenance of their projects and developments. It also raises greater public awareness towards user-friendly buildings. The BCA Awards ceremony will be held on the evening of 29 May 2019 at the Resorts World Sentosa. Guest-of-Honour Minister of State for National Development and Manpower Mr Zaqy Mohamad will present the award winners with a BCA Universal Design Mark plaque during the ceremony.

Annexes

Annex - BCA Universal Design Mark Award winners (1.24MB .pdf)

Portable document format version of the media release is also available (1.36MB .pdf).