A Journey Into Past, Present and Post-Tropicality.

The project is an investigation into notions of 'tropicality' in the context of Singapore. Historically, concepts of nature, comfort, civil behaviour and progress have been shaped by depoliticised agendas grouped under the umbrella of 'tropically'. Framing 'tropically' in terms of scarcity and affordances, the project 'unmakes' colonial vestiges of 'tropical success' which linger in our infrastructure and 'remakes' a landscape of affordances.

Spanning 4.2 km, the scheme is a socio-ecological continuum linking a threatened forest to a recognised nature reserve. Along its length, social and physical constructs of scarcity are dissected, leaving behind a new imaginary towards productive and performative dwelling practices that synthesise nature and culture.

Large data on resource management inform the masterplan while local ways of construction and material performance shape details of aesthetics and structural logic. This technicality is balanced with an ethnographic approach that challenges normative domesticity through new housing schemes. At this scale, the affective and intimate experiences of infrastructure and resource ensure that tropical bodies are placed at the forefront of this investigation into post-tropicality.

THE WINNING PROPOSAL

'A Journey through Past, Present and Post-Tropicality'

by Annabelle Tan

[ 2022 RIBA Silver Medal ]

Youtube source : RIBA Education