Bukit Canberra Receives Special Mention at Architizer A+ Awards 2025

Merging urban infrastructure with nature, Bukit Canberra has been awarded the Special Mention distinction for the Architizer A+ Awards in the Unbuilt Sports and Recreation category. Recognising projects from over 70 countries that address both global challenges and local needs, this accolade is a testament to DPA’s commitment to regenerative thinking and community-centric design exemplified in Bukit Canberra.

The architectural scheme of Bukit Canberra encompasses five broad strategies—honouring built and natural heritage, enhancing urban biodiversity, learning from nature, designing for inclusivity and wellbeing, and incorporating sustainable systems and materials—to serve residents and promote active, healthy living.

As an integrated hub housing extensive sports, health and community programmes within a natural forested terrain, Bukit Canberra is thoughtfully built around the conserved Canberra House, the former residence of British naval officers and a reminder of Sembawang’s past as a naval base. This connection to its heritage context is complemented by Bukit Canberra’s interaction with its surrounding natural environment, generating a rich sense of place that contributes to the community’s sense of identity and social resiliency. Ecological connectivity and biophilic design strategies are crucial to Bukit Canberra’s vision of a generative architecture that stands in harmony with nature and supports biodiversity amid its urban context.

Blurring the boundary between outdoor and indoor spaces, the unique application of nature-inspired hexagonal geometry in the building’s massing planning aptly responds to the site’s topography while enabling varied spatial configurations, facilitating new dimensions for community interaction. As part of the area’s connective tissue, Bukit Canberra offers freely accessible spaces and amenities for the community, catering to diverse mobility needs. Recreational movement is integrated into the natural environment through networks of experiential paths, with programme clusters tied by loops and layers of wetlands, encouraging movement and fostering physical wellbeing.

Sustainable systems and materials were meticulously considered and introduced into Bukit Canberra, increasing energy efficiency while creating a self-sustainable and comfortable environment for the community. Embracing regenerative design principles, Bukit Canberra regards the natural environment as an equal stakeholder. This harmony between social and ecological systems is key to long-term resilience and growth, creating a better-than-sustainable development that progresses towards a regenerative urban ecology.