Senja Close EC™

When Ng Sze Oun, the director of landscaping studio Compound Collaborative, used to live in a walk-up apartment on King’s Road, he would make it a point to visit the Singapore Botanic Gardens at least once a week. It was his go-to spot for admiring the stunning landscape design and enjoying the lush greenery. Even though he has since moved closer to his office at BCA Academy in Braddell, the Botanic Gardens still holds a special place in his heart as his favourite park in Singapore. However, with his new residence being within walking distance to Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, Ng doesn’t get the chance to visit it as often. He laments, “These days, I can only spend time in gardens or parks during site visits to developers’ projects or private clients’ properties.” Yet, Ng has always had a deep admiration for nature’s diversity and resilience. Whenever he takes on a project, his goal is to create landscaped spaces that can be enjoyed and beneficial for both people and wildlife alike. One of the recent projects by Compound Collaborative is TMW Maxwell, a mixed-use development with the unique concept of a 20-storey vertical garden. Ng sees this as an excellent example of innovative design that not only generates new spaces for people but also gives back lost ground to nature. This year, Ng has brought his experience and expertise to the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards (EPEA) 2025 as a judge. This is his second year joining the panel of six industry experts. Ng shares that participating in EPEA has opened his eyes to how much landscape design has developed and matured in Singapore. It has also provided him with an opportunity to witness how different landscape designers and developers incorporate urban design policies into their projects. He notes that the majority of the award-winning projects in the landscape excellence category demonstrate a profound respect for the surrounding landscape and nature. For example, The Reef at King’s Dock features a marine element with the use of corals in its landscape design to highlight its waterfront location. The project also boasts a 180m floating deck with a marine viewing hammock, making it possible for residents to observe marine life. The luxury condo was jointly developed by Keppel Group and Temasek Holdings and was completed in 2020. This year, it won three awards at EPEA – Landscape Excellence, Innovation Excellence, and Top Development. The push to incorporate urban greenery into the built environment has been a top-down approach, with the Singapore government taking the lead in transforming the city-state into a greener and more climate-resilient built environment. Some of the development guidelines involve strict landscape replacement area (LRA) requirements and incentives for providing green communal spaces. Currently, LRA requirements dictate that at least 40% of the development site area be dedicated to greenery, including gardens and landscaped areas. These policies are critical in striving to achieve our long-term goal of maintaining a balance between urban landscape and greenery. Ng adds that this enables developers to work hand in hand with landscape consultants to integrate green communal spaces better into their development. For example, the use of vertical green walls benefits not just people but also wildlife and pollinator insects, as it brings greenery closer to humans and serves as a safe space for wildlife. Over the years, landscape design in Singapore has started to focus more on rewilding urban green spaces. It involves transforming manicured landscapes into a managed state of wildness, where planned and spontaneous plant growth is balanced to create an ecologically diverse environment. Ng reveals that this is a growing trend that many landscape architects in Singapore are beginning to incorporate into their projects, with strong support from developers and private clients. The rewilding of urban spaces helps people feel more connected to nature at home and in the workplace. “By promoting a natural-looking landscape in our gardens and public spaces, there should be a greater acceptance of a growing network of green spaces where nature is restored back into our urban environment,” he says. This aligns with Singapore’s pursuit of becoming a City in Nature, as part of the Singapore Green Plan 2030. The plan aims to expand the network of public parks, naturalise the biodiversity of green spaces, restore urban areas’ nature, and improve the physical connection between green spaces. In land-scarce Singapore, policymakers must strike a balance between the demand for land among different groups and societal needs, such as residential development, commercial, and transportation. Ng explains that landscape architects are among the few advocates who strive to protect nature and fight for its rights. Over the past three decades, Singapore’s urban greenery strategy has focused on the development of green buildings. He remarks, “We’ve gained vast experience in using technology to control our environment.” Ng believes that the next generation of landscape planners and architects will have to think outside of the box to integrate nature and human spaces harmoniously.

Senja Residences EC is conveniently situated near the Bukit Panjang MRT station, with easy access via Chow Chu Kang Road and Bukit Panjang Private Estate. It also boasts proximity to the Segar LRT station. As residents of Senja Residences EC, you can rest assured that you will receive top-notch professional service at all times. Plus, with senja close ec just a stone’s throw away, you’ll have everything you need right at your fingertips.