Design Team
Tay
Kheng Soon
Eugene Seow
Tan Kok Meng (later phases)
Design Data
Client:
Singapore Scout Association
Main Contractor: Unora Design
Structural Engineer: Engineering Design Partnership
Quantity Surveyor: RJ Consultants
Site
Area: 74,597 sq m
Site Coverage: 3.2 %
Plot Ratio: 1: 0.032
Gross Floor Area: 2,387.30 sq.
Located at
Jalan Bahtera, off Lim Chu Kang Road, this campsite of the Singapore Scouts
Association provides a rural enclave for boy scouts from local schools.
The retreat occupies a relatively large plot of 12 hectares. Surrounded
by thick, wild vegetation, it provides a rare setting in Singapore's largely
urban context.
The initial accommodation completed by the practice in 1986 consisted
of six ground-hugging blocks - an assembly hall, a canteen/store, a dormitory,
and 3 washroom blocks - laid out in an apparently random and informal
manner, exuding a spartan sense of rusticity through deliberate use of
natural materials and their minimalist treatment.
The assembly hall, with its exposed timber trusses radiating from 24 perimeter
columns, is the most prominent block. The dominance of its hipped roof
is balanced by the linearity of the long dormitory blocks and the circular
washroom blocks. A new 7-storey high steel tower was added in 1994. It
incorporates several obstacle courses in a single structure. A number
of A-frame timber accommodation huts were also added which provided a
close relationship to nature Both the site layout and architecture reinforces
the camp occupants' constant awareness, and hopefully, appreciation of
nature. The pervading sense of wildernessevokes associations with some
of neighbouring Malaysia's rural environments.
The layout adopted by Akitek Tenggara is reminiscent of the ambiguous
boundaries associated with vernacular kampong architecture. The roof materials
create a subtle memory of the time when galvanised-steel profiled sheets
were a common roofing material for upgraded kampong houses in Singapore
as indeed they still are throughout the so-called 'developing world'.
"The process of seeking of identity is no less than the process by which man understands his position historically and defines its processes and its products which satisfies his spiritual and his material needs in balance".
"When scouting first began, its aim was towards the character training of young boys and their classroom was the open outdoors. On this basic principle and special feature of scouting, the design approach of this camp took root.
The objectives of this design was thus to create a campsite as close as
possible to the first principle of scouting, a camp to practise and experience
the natural open-air environment.
The most important design criteria was to restore and remould the wildness
of this site and reduce to the minimum the actual building content both
physically and visually. Thus in the site planning, much of the site is
left for camping and the main buildings for assembly, administration and
dormitories are confined to the corner of the site by the main entrance.
All the ancillary buildings are subdued and integrated into the natural
landscape. Trails are interwoven between the campsites with nooks and
corners located incidentally for casual, informal and spontaneous gatherings.
A landmark and focal point for this camp is the assembly hall. Its large
sheltering roof is supported on pillars carved and branded with records
of worthy deeds and events from the past. It is a building form which
recalls images of a tribal past, very rustic and earthy and this theme
is carried throughout the buildings of the development as well.
The design aims to give the boys a totally different and heightened experience
of nature and of a tribal community entirely removed from concrete urban
living. The camp is to be a natural classroom for undisturbed observation,
contemplation, evaluation of nature and to learn the art of survival.
Hopefully, campers return as better citizens in society after the exposure."
- Akitek Tenggara
Text by Robert Powell