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Woodlands North Coast will be a new mixed-use business and lifestyle precinct on the waterfront in Singapore’s north, with strategic proximity to Johor Bahru. It is a part of Singapore’s decentralisation plan to create self-contained regional centres and business nodes, bringing jobs closer to home for those in the north.
We worked on the concept and detailed masterplan, with masterplanner JTC and lead consultant Aedas, shaping the masterplan into one that prioritises people and liveability. With ‘smart’ and car-lite ambitions, we designed an attractive mix of industrial, residential, commercial, retail and public amenity components, stitched together by an extensive network of cycle and walking paths.
We are also working on two pilot industrial buildings by JTC within the masterplan, featuring spaces for knowledge or service businesses to co-locate with general manufacturing companies. Both pilot buildings achieved the BCA GreenMark Platinum award – the highest sustainability certification for new non-residential buildings.
Project Summary
112.4Ha site area
1.4kmwaterfront area
2GreenMark Platinum awards for sustainability
Designed for people, not cars
The masterplan prioritises people and liveability, while ensuring spaces are flexible, diverse, and well-connected to meet the neo-manufacturing, business, and innovation demands.
Key to this transformation was the transport plan. It moves private cars and heavy goods and services vehicles underground, replacing internal roads with pedestrian-focused streets, and active mobility corridors for walking and cycling.
We have blurred the lines between private and public, business and industry clusters – creating a campus-like, porous, and walkable environment to support creative collisions among different business types. The development’s central spine weaves the parcels together and is envisioned as a linear green space – open, shaded, and walkable, connecting with sustainable public transport options. It is also activated by retail, amenities, and placemaking events, fostering a sense of community among residential and employment areas.
Business and development opportunities abound with the precinct housing an Integrated Transport Hub. The Rapid Transit System station will establish a cross-border link to Johor Bahru, while the Thomson-East Coast Line connects the area to Singapore’s CBD.
‘Smart’ and sustainable
For those living and working in this new mixed-use precinct, we designed ‘smart’ technology plans and systems to match. Our design centred on enhancing mobility, sustainability, and user experience. Initiatives include enhanced last-mile walkability and associated facilities, environmental monitoring, and ‘smart’ estate strategies for waste collection, lighting and parking. Data will be collected by an estate-wide operation centre that can monitor and optimise energy and utilities, traffic and transport, waste management, and a host of other key functions.
We also proposed and designed a shared chiller plant for the two pilot industrial buildings to enhance operational efficiency, lower operating costs, and reduce the carbon footprint as compared to building separate plants for each building. Both buildings’ designs are also flexible and adaptable so that they can be connected to district-wide cooling in the future to further improve operational efficiency.
Woodlands North Coast, as part of the Woodlands Regional Centre, contributes to Singapore’s greater decentralisation plan. Arup has worked on several developments previously including Jurong Lake District, Paya Lebar and one-north.
All images ©JTC
