Waseda University Students Win ULI-Hines Urban Planning Competition

A gaggle of college college students from Japan gained the first-ever Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines Student Competition in Asia Pacific this previous week with their proposal to implement an city wholesome dwelling idea to rework Singapore’s Jurong Lake District (JLD).

During the ULI APAC Summit 2023 this week, the ULI and Hines awarded the highest prize within the contest to the Jurong Urban Health Campus plan, with the proposal by a group from Tokyo’s Waseda University, besting 18 entries from college students at 14 universities throughout the area.

“The quality of the proposals were quite high, particularly for an inaugural year,” Hines APAC chief govt officer Ray Lawler advised Mingtiandi in an interview on the sidelines of the convention. “Bringing the best group of students into the competition, giving them a real world sight with real world challenges and opportunities are really key to the competition.”

Begun within the US twenty years in the past and lately launched in Europe, the competitors goals to  increase curiosity in city improvement and redevelopment amongst college college students.

Points for Balance

First launched in 2003, this system within the US served as a blueprint for increasing the competitors into Europe in 2020 and into APAC this yr.

With Jurong Lake District deliberate to grow to be Singapore’s second central enterprise district, Lawler defined {that a} jury of six trade specialists assessed the proposals based mostly on their design, monetary feasibility, attainability and sustainability.

Hines’ APAC chief mentioned the three finalists, together with contenders from Vietnam and South Korea, all submitted enticing proposals however the plan from Kento Yoshino, Taichi Kawasaki, Haoyang Xu and Misato Fujii of Waseda University centered on well being and schooling, whereas offering for a habitable and linked setting that utilises areas in a multifunctional manner.

“The quality of their proposal, the thoughtfulness around the design, the financial feasibility and the balance, taking in mind what the community and government needed, were why they won. The team was well-versed, articulate, smart, thoughtful, deliberate, and took a balanced approach,” Lawler mentioned.

“We really tried to develop a unique concept that would stand out — that was the educational and the urban health for animals, plants, and humans. I think having that kind of concept to root the rest of our design was really strong,” Fuji mentioned in an interview that very same day.

The profitable proposal options neighbourhoods surrounded with community-centric facilities and inexperienced areas which are accessible inside 10 minutes by foot, biking or public transport.

Next Generation

Yvonne Lim, group director of bodily planning on the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore, lauded the Waseda group for making a heritage place for studying and innovation, whereas additionally opening up the waterfront to the general public.

“The team made efforts to embody the goals for Jurong Lake District in their plans through their provision of mixed-use developments, sustainable and car-lite features and public open and green spaces,” she mentioned.

Located within the western portion of the city-state, Jurong Lake District spans 360 hectares (890 acres) of land with the federal government planning to develop Singapore’s largest mixed-use enterprise district exterior town centre as a part of ongoing decentralisation efforts.

Lawler and Lim had been among the many judges within the APAC competitors, joined by Peter Hyland, a director with Aussie city planning outfit Urbis; Choon-Fah Ong of Singapore property consultancy Edmund Tie Holdings, Xiaomei Lee, regional managing principal for Greater China with design agency Gensler; and Dzung Nguyen, co-founder and chief govt officer of city planning and design consultancy enCity.

Lawler highlighted the significance of the annual competitors for supporting and provoking the following era of leaders in creating extra habitable and sustainable main communities.

“The students today had an extreme focus on sustainability and you have to balance the need for sustainability with the feasibility of actually being able to do the project. It was really nice to see the enthusiasm around the built environment, place-making, live-work–play, transit and sustainability,” he mentioned.