URA marks half a century of planning with an exhibition and four books on urban design
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SINGAPORE – The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) turned 50 in 2024, and is celebrating with a showcase of the winners of the URA Architectural Heritage Awards 2024 at The URA Centre.
The agency has also launched a collection of four books on urban design in Singapore in a special box set to mark its 50th anniversary. These are available to the public on its website as free e-books.
This year, big conservation projects such as the Bukit Timah Railway Station and Bukit Timah Truss Bridge were recognised along with smaller projects like the Former 17, 19 & 21 Jiak Kim Street Warehouses.
Although URA was formed in 1974 as a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (MND), its conservation programme was finalised much later.
The challenge in the 1970s was to transform Singapore from a Third World country beset with poor living conditions, under-developed infrastructure and a struggling economy into a modern metropolis.
In its early years, URA was responsible for the renewal and redevelopment of the city centre into the Central Business District. It also re-envisioned Marina Bay for longer-term needs.
In this light, the URA was one of the pivotal agencies that helped in pole-vaulting Singapore to First World status.
Then in 1989, two separate national development entities – URA and MND’s Planning Department and Research and Statistics Unit – merged to consolidate urban planning functions under a single authority still called URA, which became operational on Sept 1, 1989.
The reorganisation marked the beginning of URA as Singapore’s national planning and conservation authority.
The merger was designed to create a more streamlined and integrated approach to urban planning and to give URA more planning autonomy over the island.
The Architectural Heritage Awards was established in 1995 to recognise well-restored monuments and conserved buildings in Singapore, as well as the people behind these landmarks.
Besides honouring best practices in technical restoration, these awards also spotlight projects that sustain and strengthen the intangible values of heritage buildings for the community.
One objective is to celebrate the involvement of diverse expertise such as building owners, architects, engineers and conservation specialists.
The collection of four Singapore Urban Design Guidebooks by URA launched in conjunction with the agency’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
PHOTO: URA
At the inaugural Urban Design Roundtable organised by URA on Nov 13, Ms Indranee Rajah, Second Minister for National Development and Finance, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, looked back on URA’s five decades. She said that as a land-scarce city-state, Singapore faces the unique challenge of planning for the needs of a country with limited space, which is a push to innovate and think creatively.
The roundtable, held at the School of the Arts Drama Theatre, was titled Shaping Liveable Cities Through Urban Design. It brought together industry players to share ideas and insights on the role and impact of urban design in shaping sustainable, vibrant and liveable cities.
It also marked the completion of a collection of four Singapore Urban Design Guidebooks by URA.
This is the first time that urban design work has been comprehensively documented in Singapore. The guidebooks feature extensive and well-illustrated case studies that reflect the interplay of contexts, challenges and considerations shaping many places.
They are also replete with stories and interviews that not only retrace URA’s past and current urban design efforts in planning and designing Singapore, but also contributions from partner agencies, developers, building owners and industry professionals.
In her speech at the agency’s anniversary celebrations, Ms Rajah said urban design affects everyone.
“By necessity, we have planned for a compact city, where our dense urban environment makes urban design essential in ensuring a good quality living environment for all Singaporeans.
“Our approach to urban design also includes building resilience against environmental challenges. We integrate carefully planned drainage and green corridors to help manage flood risks, while our shaded walkways and urban greenery reduce the effects of urban heat.”
Info: The URA Architectural Heritage Awards 2024 and New Gazettes exhibition is on till Dec 30 at The URA Centre Atrium, Level 1, 45 Maxwell Road, from Mondays to Saturdays, 9am to 5pm. To download free copies of the Singapore Urban Design Guidebooks by URA, go to str.sg/skSq
