Solar Orchid: A Floating, Solar-Powered Hawker Centre for SG50 and Beyond
Originally conceived for SG50, Solar Orchid is SPARK’s visionary proposal for a self-contained, solar-powered floating hawker centre that reimagines the traditional street vendor and pays tribute to one of Singapore’s most beloved traditions. Once deeply connected to its waterscapes—vital arteries of culture and commerce. Singapore has since grown distant from its shores.
Singapore was built on an intimate relationship with the water, which has historically been an artery of culture, commerce and recreation. However, decades of rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and land reclamation have gradually severed this bond, erasing kampungs and kelongs from our coastal and inland landscapes. Solar Orchid proposes a reconnection through a mobile, sustainable dining experience that floats across reservoirs and coastlines, reviving both hawker culture and our relationship with water.
As we commemorate SG60, the project stands as a reminder that visionary thinking is essential. Ten years on, its questions remain urgent:
How can design foster inclusion, adaptability, and delight in our cities?
As designers, we have a responsibility to imagine and propose ideas that improve urban life and enrich the shared spaces we inhabit. Many visionary projects may never be built—but they remain powerful tools for sparking dialogue about the futures we want to create.
Drawing on our deep understanding of Singapore’s urban fabric, Solar Orchid proposes a floating hawker centre made up of self-contained, solar-powered pods. These lightweight units, each housing one to three cooking stalls with integrated utilities like exhaust, water, gas, electricity, waste, and recycling systems, recall the spirit of the original mobile hawker.
A canopy made from an inflated ETFE pillow embedded with thin-film solar cells provides both shelter and energy, aligning with national efforts such as the $11 million initiative to develop floating solar islands in local reservoirs.
The pods are designed to be flexible and modular, able to cluster in various configurations depending on location and need. Their self-contained nature means they leave no trace, offering a low-impact, high-imagination solution for public dining on water.
Solar Orchid grew from a widely acknowledged concern: the traditional hawker lifestyle is declining. In response, this concept aims to revitalise the hawker centre typology while preserving the essence of a uniquely Singaporean experience.
Unbound by commercial or planning constraints, Solar Orchid is a speculative yet grounded reflection on evolving social, cultural, and environmental realities. It invites us to consider how overlooked pockets of the city, especially those along its forgotten shores might once again enrich the everyday lives of Singaporeans.