As Singapore looks for creative new ways to overcome its land constraints and build more homes, offices and play areas, unconventional solutions are already becoming reality in other land-scarce cities and countries.
Japan’s Shimizu Corporation is developing the Green Float, a city on the sea for up to 50,000 people, while developers in London like Michael Shaw of Pent Developments are proposing to build apartments over canals.
Farrells-designed Embankment Place, a million square feet of office space above London's Charing Cross station, and a project to build parks and connectors over a major expressway in Hamburg, Germany, are examples of how space above transport infrastructure can be transformed into buildable areas.
Even the tops of existing low-rise buildings can become prime real estate, with developer Apex Airspace in London expecting to build about 100 homes this year by adding a storey above suitable buildings.