Punggol Northshore District & Northshore Plaza

Punggol, a coastal town, is HDB’s first eco-town designed as a ‘sustainable waterfront town in the tropics’. At 844ha, Punggol will house about 96,000 units and 300,000 residents. Punggol aspires to build a ‘well-designed and community centric, sustainable and smart town’, providing quality living environment where residents are served by a comprehensive public transport system and amenities in a live-workplay-learn environment. During the development of Punggol, a suite of biophilic initiatives were introduced based on the HDB Biophilic Town Framework, to achieve greater environmental health, better ecological integrity and human well-being. Comprehensive analyses of the existing vegetation, biodiversity and hydrology were conducted to maximise ecological balance, promote sustainable landscapes. This framework was used to guide the choice & placement of plants species to soften the urban environment and enhance liveability.
The project presents the next frontier of public housing/township development. As HDB’s living laboratory, new ideas could be piloted at Punggol Northshore, and where successful, can be scaled-up islandwide to benefit many more residents. Punggol Northshore was designed inhouse by multi-disciplinary teams of architects, engineers, researchers, allowing efficient translation of research into actual implementation. Innovative design approaches and smart initiatives were implemented within the project, right at the planning stage.