Executive Partner, Henning Larsen
LEARNING FROM WATER. HOW SINGAPORE HARNESSES NATURAL PROCESSES FOR URBAN PLANNING.
In 2005, when I found myself standing in front of the evaluation-committee of the Public Utilities Board in the sweltering shade of a hawker centre after a twelve-hour flight and a quick breakfast, I was slightly dazed with fatigue and by the strangeness of Singapore. Adrenaline-driven, I gave a presentation with Singaporean partners for the office Henning Larsen to share our experiences and ideas regarding different ways to handle water in the urban metropolis. The last picture of the presentation showed a man sitting on the edge of an urban body of water that we had planned in Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz, cooling his feet in the water.
AN IMAGE AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
This image immediately triggered reactions among the committee: Whispers, smiles, approving gestures. It aligned perfectly with the vision of director Khoo Teng Chye, who had pictured the future of Singapore just like that: Water so clean that you can come into contact without hesitation. It was the right impulse at the right time in the right place, a moment of synchronism, as C.G. Jung describes: When an inner experience such as a vision coincides with an external event in a meaningful way.
Subsequently, we developed a master plan for the “Central Watershed” – a completely alternative approach to the way rainwater was previously handled in Singapore. Instead of exclusively directing it into the sea through 8,000 km of concrete canals, the plan was to manage the water where it meets the ground. Letting water infiltrate, evaporate, storing and using it in a decentralised manner – and only redirecting it when necessary – this was the new guiding principle. The goal was not to create a new infrastructure but to develop an integrated concept based on the principles of blue-green infrastructure.
This interdisciplinary approach combines water management with the enhancement of public spaces for recreation and urban nature. The result was known as the ABC programme: Active – Beautiful – Clean. The aim was to make rainwater become a natural part of every property, park and every road.
BISHAN PARK: PILOT PROJECT FOR A NEW URBANITY
In 2008, the project was still in its early stage of development – there was no other project that demonstrated this new way of handling rainwater on a larger scale. Then the opportunity came up to redesign the 60 ha Bishan Park in Singapore and transform our vision into a constructed reality. This park, created in 1960, is a green oasis in the midst of dense building developments – comparable with Central Park in New York. Renovation was long overdue. A 2.7 kilometre concrete canal running along the southwestern bank offered the possibilities of integrating water as a dynamic design element. The aim was to bring together flood protection, biodiversity, decentralised rainwater management, nature experiences and recreation.
A complex planning process began. Many elements were new, construction methods had to be reviewed approved, responsibilities and budgets had to be negotiated between authorities and a whole new fluid hydraulic system had to be modelled. Together with experts from Germany, we built a 100 m long section to test alternatives to krainer walls or willow cuttings that would be suitable for tropical environments. After all, the natural bank had to withstand heavy rain and offer living space for flora and fauna.
The park itself was designed as a flood area. Under heavy rain it absorbs water, reduces the flow velocity and hydraulic force (hydraulic overload), thereby protecting lower areas of the city. At the same time, it promotes the evaporation and infiltration of built-up rainwater, contributing to local water management in touch with nature.
RETURN OF THE WILDERNESS
Since then, the park is telling a new story to the city’s inhabitants: It has brought dynamic natural processes back to the city. In the first year alone, biodiversity increased by 30 percent. Otters playing in the river are now a popular feature on social networks – a visible expression of the wildness that has been regained.
The park landscape now offers lots of space for leisure and movement and is used intensively around the clock: Tai chai at sunrise, playing football, picnics on one of the many lawn areas, jogging in the evening. Particularly remarkable for Singapore: Direct access to the water is now permitted. Many people experience the feeling of getting their feet in the river for the first time here – and watch the guppies that were long since disappeared.
TRANSFORMATION BEGINS WITHIN
External transformation requires an internal counterpart. Over millennia, we have become increasingly estranged from nature, seeing it as something external – as an object for us to control. This made the massive modification of our Earth possible, but one of the results has been the climate crisis. However, gradually growing awareness that returning to nature in our cities and settlements is part of the solution.
The integrative power of soil, water and plants are crucial for achieving an acceptable climate future. The soil saves and purifies water, plants cool through evaporation and provide living space for biodiversity. The goal is to allow natural processes to flourish in order to create resilience that can withstand extremes. In this regard, water is a unique teacher: Always in movement, changing and yet constant. From a scientific perspective, the majority of our water comes from meteorites – which means it is older than the Earth. Maybe the water inside us was once in outer space. So why not live in harmony with rain and the weather – give nature space and time, even in our cities?
Dynamic processes, cycles and complex interdependencies make water stable – precisely because it is constantly changing. At the same time, this is a prerequisite for handling extremes. Water is the most impressive teacher: moving, uniting, powerful and yet constant – older than the Earth itself, as scientific findings have suggested. The fear of losing control must give way to a vision of natural aliveness. Having biodiversity and wilderness in our direct environment means that we are not just concerned with ourselves, but also with a larger community, greater than the human world, that ensures our survival.
A NEW STORY BEGINS
The American philosopher Charles Eisenstein says: “Symptoms are based on systems, systems are based on stories.” A new kind of storytelling is needed – one that encourages connection with nature and values flourishing over mere growth. The “Bioregions” movement shows one possible path: This movement is based on circular systems, local growth cycles, alternative economic models and thinking in terms of natural borders rather than political borders. What natural resources does a region have to offer? How much of those resources can we use without exhausting them? How can we transform cities into living laboratories where food, constructional materials and medicines are produced in a circular economy – without exceeding limits?
I am still waiting for this synchronicity between inner vision and external change. We have a picture of how our cities and landscapes could look with this kind of vision in our minds and hearts. But the physical counterpart has yet to be created. For me, reintegrating (rain)water is the first step. Modified planning processes are needed, new construction methods, standards, and ways of thinking. Open space planning for me means creating entirely different visions of city and landscape. An integrated, occasionally chaotic and dynamically changing balance between time and space for water and nature, and the requirements of modern life.
In the minds of design planners as well, a traditional image of controlled, over-designed open spaces often prevents further progress. In my opinion the combination between re-integration of water and the increasing urgency for additional biodiversity, particularly in urban areas, has the power to open up new paths. Let’s explore these paths – with patience, endurance and the never-failing agility that nature demonstrates so wonderfully.
Biography
Gerhard Hauber is a landscape architect and partner at the international architecture office Henning Larsen. Since 1996 he has played a key role in shaping the development of the office with its headquarters in Copenhagen and was involved in the establishment of locations in Singapore, Beijing and Portland. He managed projects in Germany and internationally with a particular focus on integrating water into urban spaces. Hauber is a member of the Biodiversity Advisory Board of the DGNB, teaches at multiple universities and is committed to climate-resilient urban development.
