Category: Members’ Feature Articles
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Space Crunch in Mega-cities are Forcing Us to Sea
At the same time as urban areas are recording an immense population growth, several cities all over the world are struggling with major flooding every year. Bangkok in Thailand is actually sinking and island nations like the Maldives are ghting the increasing sea level caused by climate change. There are…
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Ships are Floating Structures
SHIPS ARE FLOATING STRUCTURES The technology exists to create either. Europe is good at the product on the left. Singapore can excel in that on the right. Floating structures give the impression that ships are something else. Thousands of years ago ships are called rafts. Rafts are made of reeds,…
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No more land? Build floating real estate
Singapore is the third-densest city in the world. But unlike other large cities, it is without a hinterland. There is no buffer for spillovers. The sea has to serve as the island-state’s “hinterland”. The Singapore coastline is similar to a column of ants, made up of airports, ports, shipyards, power…
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Conceptual Design of Modular Floating Reservoir
FYP Poster on a conceptual design of modular floating reservoir by NUS Civil & Environmental student Chau Chee Chung
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Singapore’s Energy Dilemma: Would the Nuclear Option Help?
Singapore’s economic health hinges on two crucial imported resources — water and energy. While the importance of the first is seared in the public mind, the criticality of the second is appreciated only by a few. A disruption to our energy supply would have dire consequences on our economy as…
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Vision SG100: Floating cities in the sea
From my apartment, 20 storeys above the sea, I see Changi Airport straight ahead 8km to the north. Where the old container port used to be, Keppel Maritime City is silhouetted against a backdrop of a scarlet sunset 16km to the west. I am enjoying my favourite drink, my feet…
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Floating a novel idea for the future East Coast Park
Singapore planners are tasked to plan for a population of 6.9 million people. Our leading architects, engineers and philosophers have weighed in with proposals to address our land shortage. Dr Liu Thai Ker advocates better urban planning. Professor Lui Pao Chuen champions the use of the ground beneath our feet.…
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How to keep the shipyard industry afloat – on platforms
Low oil prices have dealt a blow to construction, but it is timely to explore a more efficient operating option. One of the quirks of Singapore’s modern economy belongs to a heavy industry dating back to the early 1970s – offshore rig construction. Burnished with images of steel, cranes and…
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Building data centres at sea an idea worth floating
Singapore is well-positioned for offshore data storage centres that could give local shipyards a new business niche. There was a time not so long ago when all the data I created or needed was in a box on my desk. In it were several 3.5-inch floppy disks, each with the…
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Why Singapore needs to make nuclear power work
As a pioneer generation Singaporean, two subjects keep my neurons firing in overdrive: floating structures for space creation, and nuclear power to boost the country’s energy resilience. Following on my article in The Straits Times (“Time for S’pore to say ‘Yes’ to nuclear”; March 15), here is a breakdown on…