Punggol Coast MRT station pays homage to area's history as fishing village

Concourse of station features columns and beams reminiscent of mangrove trees

- Vanessa Paige Chelvan

At the new Punggol Coast MRT station, each of the 11 huge columns in the concourse branches into beams across the ceiling, much like the sprawling roots of mangrove trees.

The design pays homage to Punggol's history, as does a giant 9.6m by 7.2m artwork in the station by street artist Zul Othman featuring the evolution of Punggol, which was a fishing village and home to Singapore's first zoo.

The columns support the station and the Punggol Digital District (PDD) above, which were designed and built as one.

The Punggol Coast station, a 1.6km extension from the existing Punggol station on the North East MRT Line (NEL), will open for passenger service on Dec 10 at 3pm.

It will be the terminal station of the 22km NEL, serving those getting to not only the PDD but also the Singapore Institute of Technology's (SIT) Punggol campus and the upcoming Punggol Coast Mall.

The station was designed by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and its construction was jointly managed by LTA and JTC Corporation, the master planner and developer of the PDD.

Besides the mangrove-inspired columns, passengers will see a series of pendant lights suspended from the high ceiling.

This is to create "an uplifting, cathedral-like atmosphere, enriching commuters' sense of arrival", said Mr Michael Ong, deputy director of architecture at LTA, during a media visit to the station on Nov 29.