Farm-a-Life
Farm-a-Life is an industrial project organised by URA to bring awareness to the concept of co-programming. The usage of co-programming is recommended in urban development for a small country such as Singapore. Farm-a-Life puts together the concepts of farming and ex-convicts' reintegration.
Farm-a-Life aimed to help ex-convicts reintegrate into society by offering interactive jobs. They work to gain experience, as well as in exchange for being able to live in dormitories. Hiring them would be beneficial as it would reduce unemployment, the amount of the homeless in the country, and chances of reoffending.
Farms were implemented to promote local products and enhance food security. Singapore is highly dependent on other countries for imported products. Farmers from different organisations will share their knowledge with the resident ex-convicts.
The farm yield will then be supplied to food courts, marketplaces, or even distribute them to nearby schools as there are plenty in the area.
The site is located at North View Secondary School, an emptied neighbourhood school in Yishun at the point of conceptualising.
Divisions: The levels of the building is divided in terms of privacy to prevent unprepared interactions
Level One
Hydroponics and vertical farming systems are placed at the courtyard of the school. Utilising the courtyard allows the vertical farms to reach their common height of about 10m. The hydroponics farms act as a ramp to access the upper floors.
Adjusting to society after limited interactions during their sentence could be challenging. The ex-convicts will begin their reintegrating process by communicating with the people they work with. After learning basic steps and procedures, they will proceed to start working on the shop floor where they can interact with customers.
With experiences and holistic skills gained, their employability rate will increase. They will be able to find jobs outside and learn to be more independent.
Level Two
Indoor farming on the second level will utilise the large space by the eating area. This could improve the ex-convicts’ confidence by allowing them to see the public purchasing and enjoying the products they worked hard to grow.
Towards the end of their time in Farm-a-Life, the ex-convicts will be given a chance to sign up for courses held within the building. These courses help build knowledge and educate them on valuable skills to apply in the future.
Levels Three & Four
Apart from gaining work experiences, the ex-convicts will have their own private quarters to occupy for the six months in exchange for labour. The modular quarters will be held at the third and fourth floors. The courses will be held at the admin corner of the third level, which is inaccessible to the public.
Necessities like showers and laundromats are provided. Male and female quarters are separated.
The three parts follow a specific timeline for the ex-convicts to follow. They will serve in Farm-a-Life for a minimum of six months and can choose to stay or leave after. If they chose to stay, their timeline will reset and they will be able to learn on other fields.
Title: Farm-a-Life
Design type: Co-programming / Urban Redevelopment
Period: Nanyang Polytechnic, Year 3 (2017 -2018)
Collaborator: Urban Redevelopment Authority
Softwares: Photoshop, AutoCAD, 3DSMax, Sketchup, ArchiCAD
Duration: 3-4 Months
