Cistri’s appointment as lead consultant for the business study of Orchard Road demonstrates the value of our multi-disciplinary international expertise for developing vibrant precincts.
Orchard Road has long been Singapore’s prime retail and dining destination. To inform the Singapore Government’s efforts to rejuvenate Orchard Road amidst a changing retail landscape, Cistri led a 10-member consortium to undertake a comprehensive study of issues facing Orchard Road and develop strategies to address these issues.
Our work will help shape the Orchard Road development blueprint for the next 15-20 years and this included:
- Evaluating Orchard Road in terms of economic performance, physical appeal and place management, and benchmarking Orchard Road to other retail precincts worldwide
- Consumer research to understand Singaporeans changing relationship with Orchard Road
- Developing recommendations on land use, design, mobility and precinct management, and evaluating proposed strategies through cost-benefit analyses
- Workshops and multi-level engagements with private- and public-sector stakeholder
Following this extensive analysis of Orchard Road’s economic positioning, understanding of the profile and needs of its customers, and contextualizing its physical conditions, we crafted three main strategies for repositioning. These were then broken down into short and long term as well as maximum to minimum intervention:
- Creating a lifestyle destination through diverse uses
We activated the side streets (especially the ground plane) and broke the strip’s current linear profile into four vibrant sub-precincts: Arts & Culture, Core Retail, Youth & Subculture and Family-Friendly Offerings - Connecting Singapore Botanic Gardens and Fort Canning Park through mobility improvements along Orchard Road
We created a stronger network of green connections from the Botanic Gardens, through Orchard Road, Fort Canning and onto the Singapore River - Co-creating (with various stakeholders) memorable places for people to enjoy through a series of placemaking and activation initiatives
Together with the community and stakeholders, we ensured high-quality placemaking for people and activation by focusing on: Breath and quality of services and offer, Quality of street experience, Events and activities that attract people from throughout the city, The scale and quality of family-friendly events, and facilities.