Features
Heartbeat@Bedok awarded BCA Universal Design Mark 2019
2 July 2019
The integrated community hub Heartbeat@Bedok was conferred the BCA Universal Design Mark GOLDPLUS award under the Non-Residential category in 2019. Credit: ONG&ONG Pte Ltd
By BCA
Singaporeans of different ages and abilities will benefit from a more inclusive built environment even as we transform the way we build Singapore.— Engineer Clement Tseng, Group Director (Building Plan and Management), BCA
The vibrant centre for Bedok’s residents, Heartbeat@Bedok, has been conferred the GOLDPLUSaward under the Non-Residential category at the BCA Universal Design Mark Awards 2019. This voluntary certification scheme is a mark of excellence that provides recognition to developers and architects who apply a design philosophy that enables everyone – the young, the old, and persons with different abilities – to participate in the community and enjoy inclusive everyday living with their loved ones.
Heartbeat@Bedok is the second integrated community hub in Singapore after Our Tampines Hub. Developed by People’s Association and designed by ONG&ONG Pte. Ltd, the architecturally distinctive seven-storey building was also awarded the BCA Green Mark Platinum Award in 2017.
Co-located health and play facilities enable families to be active together across generations. Credit: People’s Association
The complex’s polyclinic features a waiting area with dedicated spaces for wheelchair users. Credit: ONG&ONG Pte Ltd
As a key civic space serving the needs of Bedok residents, Heartbeat@Bedok was developed with Universal Design concepts from the start. More than 11,000 residents were engaged to ensure that the new building would cater to the aspirations and needs of the community and its users. The engagement sessions resulted in an integrated complex combining a community club, multiple sports facilities – including four swimming pools and sheltered rooftop tennis courts – a public library, a polyclinic, a child care centre, a senior care centre and over 40 retail shops under one roof.
With 14% of Bedok residents aged 65 and above, it was pertinent that the complex would be friendly to the elderly while also being inclusive for families with children as well as persons with disabilities. Gyms have been equipped with elder-friendly equipment while accessible toilets have also been designed to cater to elderly users and users with impaired visions. Child-friendly features in the restrooms and dedicated kid zones such as the kids’ water play area at the swimming pool ensure children are not left out, while the co-location of a kids’ playground with the 3G fitness stations also allows for family work-out sessions.
Enabling seamless mobility for all, Heartbeat@Bedok has spacious and sheltered corridors linking all corners of the development into the main 24-hour thoroughfare. In particular, special provisions have been made for residents on Personal Mobility Aids (PMAs), with PMA charging stations enabling residents with different physical abilities to extend the period that they can be out in the community and be immersed in the vibrancy of the complex.
Commenting on the 2019 winners, Engineer Clement Tseng, Group Director (Building Plan and Management), BCA said, “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.”
For more information, check out the Universal Design Guide by BCA on the principles.