A landscape-led master plan for an era of coexistence with nature –
The Singapore Rail Corridor

Singapore has a small land area, which is slightly larger than Tokyo's 23 wards, and is hot and humid, with few resources and industries. Since the 1960s, when it gained independence, greening and environmental policies have been major pillars of the country. The concept at the time of the country's founding was "Garden City," but in the 2000s it was changed to "City in a Garden." Currently the country adopted "City in Nature" as its national strategy, and the regeneration of the Rail Corridor was one of its initiatives.

The Rail Corridor is the nickname for the former railway site that was abandoned and returned by Malaysia in 2011. It is a vast space 24 km long and totaling about 100 hectares that runs north to south across Singapore. Examples of utilizing abandoned railway sites include the Promenade Plantée in Paris (1986) and the High Line in New York (2011), but the Rail Corridor is on a scale that is unparalleled. Moreover, since it is not on an elevated track but is located at ground level and directly connected to the town, its regeneration had a huge impact on the citizens, making it a truly major national project.

For the international design competition held in 2015, the organizer, the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), requested the “regeneration of an extraordinary public space that stimulates the senses.” There were no restrictions on what to build, and 10 key areas called “nodes” were designated within the 24 km site, with different design proposals requested for each node.

The title of the proposal by the Nikken Sekkei team was “LINES of LIFE.” It reimagined the Rail Corridor as a space symbolizing a lifestyle that connects the diverse people and ecosystems along the line, and outlined specific strategies to transform it into an attractive public space.

The concept “Stitching the nation with lines of life,” aimed to regenerate the railway that once divided Singapore's territory into east and west as “stitches” connecting communities. The use of “LINES” instead of “LINE” reflects the vision that the countless “lines of life” created by the diverse people who visit and interact here will sew the nation together.

Looking at Singapore, it is certainly clean, sophisticated, and green, but it also feels artificial and somewhat cramped. A space where people can take a break from modern, controlled daily life is lacking. While attractive as a space for movement, it is more like a front garden for one's home than a long green path. By enriching this garden, we envisioned a new lifestyle centered on public spaces.

In developing the proposal, we assembled a cross-disciplinary team that included urban designers and landscape architects from Nikken Sekkei, as well as local landscape firms, engineering firms, and experts from various fields. What the project members valued most was the principle of “landscape first.” True to this motto, we visited the site multiple times, walked along the Rail Corridor, and conducted detailed surveys and analyses repeatedly.

The most difficult part was how to organize, visualize, and share the vast amount of information. This is because the 24-km-long Rail Corridor, which runs through the country, includes not only urban areas but also various other areas such as nature conservation areas and industrial zones. In addition, Singapore is a multi-ethnic country with a diverse population and communities.

First, we defined the “four values” and “three goals” of the Rail Corridor and created a “matrix” dividing the 24 km into eight stretches. The matrix organizes information about each area, including current land use, challenges, anticipated activities, and topography and vegetation. From this, we derived “six stories” that will bring diversity to the Rail Corridor.

By interpreting the land, understanding its history and context, and deciphering the community, we ultimately gain insight into Singapore as a nation. We then distill the unique character of each area and its value into 10 nodes, integrating them into a cohesive 24-kilometer-long public space. This approach to planning is the “landscape-driven master plan” that Nikken Sekkei envisions.

This “matrix” and these “six stories” served as guidelines that brought together project members from different countries, fields of expertise, and scales of responsibility, enabling them to communicate from a common perspective. Through this landscape-oriented approach, proposals that combined local and global perspectives were finalized, and five teams were selected as finalists in the first round of judging, which included 64 teams from around the world. After the second round of judging, the team was selected as the winner in the master plan category.

In 2016, design work for the pilot development zone finally began. Workshops were held for local residents, and interviews were conducted with the Singapore government, citizen groups, and experts, with their feedback incorporated into the master plan. In this way, a new public space was created that is neither purely top-down nor bottom-up, but rather a collaborative effort with citizens.

After visiting the site shortly after its partial opening in 2021, the local people were walking in the forest, tourists were relaxing in cafes and taking photos, and people of various races and ethnicities were using the Rail Corridor on a daily basis. When revisiting in 2024, development had progressed beyond the initial area, creating a unified landscape stretching from the downtown area to the nature conservation zone. Witnessing the Rail Corridor seamlessly integrated into the new post-pandemic lifestyle of the city was a profound experience. Seeing this scene firsthand, we felt that our vision had finally been realized, and we once again recognized the environmental and social significance of this project.

Once a negative element that divided Singapore, the Malay Railway has now been transformed into a true public space connecting cities. The bustling nodes serve as catalysts, linking various areas and bridging divisions. In this, we sensed the strength and value of public spaces.

What we learned from the Rail Corridor is the importance of taking a long-term perspective and considering the intrinsic value of a place. We also recognized the importance of fostering an awareness that transcends the boundaries between public and private sectors to connect public spaces. In the coming years, Japan will likely see a surge in the regeneration of public spaces alongside the regeneration of urban infrastructure like the Rail Corridor. However, in Japan, there remains a strong mindset where the public and private sectors operate independently, and there are few collaborative projects between the two sectors.

In the first place, there should be no boundaries between the public and private sectors in public spaces utilized daily. First, it is essential that private development and public space planning do not operate in isolation, but instead share a vision and plan that encompasses the overall integrity (totality) of spaces transcending public-private boundaries, as well as the flexibility (tolerance) to adapt to changes over the long term. Even in the development of public facilities such as parks, roads, and waterfront areas led by administrative bodies, it is only when relationships emerge that allow mutual benefits to be shared across boundaries with surrounding private properties that urban life becomes richer and healthier.

Nikken Sekkei will continue to explore new forms of nature-rooted public spaces by leveraging the insights gained from the Rail Corridor project. We also aim to expand this movement through various projects both domestically and internationally.