A view of One North Residences, a modern medium rise condominium with open design concept. (Photo:Google maps)
With the success of fenceless neighbourhood in cities such as Copenhagen and Hong Kong, industry players expect to see more condominiums in Singapore sharing their courtyard and amenities to the public in the near future, reported the Straits Times.
This comes as the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) encourage developers to explore more open designs.
The city-state only has one fenceless condominium – One North Residences in Buona Vista.
In fact, it has stipulated more visually porous designs in several tenders for residential developments. In the recent tender for the West Coast Vale site, for instance, the URA stated that the design for the development “shall not be wall-like” for areas facing other residential developments, but have a perimeter that is “softened through landscape treatment”.
Some developers are already looking at using gentler barriers.
El Development’s Parc Riviera Condo in West Coast Vale will feature terraced vegetation instead of a fence on the side, fronting the park connector.
“It will look porous. People can see through. But to climb into the development, that would still be a challenge,” said El Development managing director Lim Yew Soon.
Chua Yang Liang, former urban planner at URA, believes that the push for fenceless condominiums is a “step in the right direction” since a more “visually porous” boundary makes the environment look more spacious.
But with gated communities connoting exclusivity, security and safety and as long as there is still a price gap between public housing and condominiums, Professor Lily Kong, Singapore Management University’s Provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences, does not expect the idea to take off easily.
This article was edited by Keshia Faculin.
