SPARK plans sustainable floating hawker for singapore

SPARK plans sustainable floating hawker for singapore
all images courtesy of SPARK architects

SPARK architects has presented ‘the solar orchid’, a design for a floating hawker center capable of occupying waterscapes across the globe. providing a place to eat and socialize, the self-contained, solar-powered pods attempt to reunite the island country of singapore with its harbor, while reinterpreting a traditional and favored local pastime. the scheme complements the singaporean government’s initiative to develop floating solar islands in nearby reservoirs.

the self-contained, solar-powered pods provide a place to eat and socialize

singapore was built on an intimate relationship with the water, which has historically been an artery of culture, commerce and recreation. however, decades of rapid urban development has largely severed this connection, erasing many of the coastline’s vernacular architecture.

each individual pod accommodates cooking stalls as well as table settings and seating

responding to the city’s culture and heritage, the design reinterprets the traditional ‘hawker’, with a mobile and reconfigurable structure capable of readily populating a variety of locations. each individual pod accommodates cooking stalls, (with built-in exhaust, water, gas, electrical, waste collection and water recycling services), as well as table settings and seating. above, a protective canopy is formed from an energy-generating inflated ETFE pillow that incorporates photovoltaic cells.

the scheme seeks to reunite the people of singapore with the waterfront

‘the idea of reinventing the hawker center grew from the widely documented observation that the popularity of the traditional hawker lifestyle has begun to wane. we seek to re-energize the hawker center typology while retaining the soul of a very singaporean dining experience’, explains stephen pimbley, a founding director of SPARK.

‘we have a duty as designers to develop and propose ideas and visions that can enhance our cities, as well as contribute to making them more liveable places. history offers many extraordinary examples of visionary projects that remain on paper, serving as vehicles for debate about the future of our cities.’

each floating unit features built-in exhaust, water, gas, electrical, waste collection and water recycling services