Honorable Mention

The Covid-19 global public health crisis has affected both humans and the environment. For instance, the significant changes in our daily lives caused by the pandemic has changed our way of living and compromised our health and overall well being.

Living in a small country like Singapore has made me more aware of how susceptible the country could be to a new outbreak or crisis. Moreover, due to the country’s land scarcity, food farms occupy about 1% of the total land use; hence we rely heavily on food imports from overseas countries to meet consumers’ demands and for the country’s food safety and security.

Therefore, we need to readily help Singapore by introducing more locally produced foods which would reduce its dependence on other countries. Also ensure that the country’s food farms are used productively and sustainably.

To aid in this process, I would like to introduce “Sage Haus”, a green design project aiming to achieve sustainable development in the long run. Located in Singapore at 26 Dempsey road, it holds historical significance, and it was once a nutmeg plantation before an outbreak of a disease that caused the whole operation to cease. This is similar to how the pandemic has disrupted our food supply chains, threatening the country’s food safety and security. The site has also provided me with the perfect opportunity to envision the future potential of this project through adaptive reuse, a sustainable way of conserving an architectural building that aims to retain its heritage and history even as it continues to serve other purposes.

After careful research and planning, I intend on incorporating the three core factors of sustainable development (Environment, Economic and Social) aspects into my proposed layout programs. These spaces are thoughtfully proposed to accommodate the environment, people, and the community.

This is how I intended for the three factors of sustainable development to be integrated:

Environment

An urban farming space allows food plantations to be grown indoors and vertically. The vertical farm is a creative way of adding productivity in smaller areas but still providing reliable and consistent harvests.

These farms are a way of tackling our country’s limited land issues for food production. It also acts as a foundation of the year-round output to stabilize our food supply chain, thus, reducing dependence on overseas imports.

Economy

The next space is the cafe. This particular cafe works alongside the existing urban farm, thus creating a farm-to-table concept. Ingredients are locally and freshly sourced. This will emphasize the importance of sustainable food production to customers.

Social

Thirdly, Exhibition and workshops. Hands-on enrichment programs to promote educational and environmental awareness.

In conclusion, the global pandemic has impacted a vast area of our lives. Threatened to halt the world from advancing to greater sustainability. Therefore, It is crucial for us as individuals and communities to take action in any way we can. Re-designing our systems to be sustainable and resilient for the well being of our future generations and environment is just one of many.