Innovation Districts: Past, Present & Future
Learn more about how cities continue to create innovation ecosystems for enterprises and start-ups.
Last updated 1 March 2025
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Lecture details
Innovation Districts: Past, Present & Future
7 March 2019
4.00 pm – 5.30 pm. Registration from 3.30pm, seated by 4.00pm
MND Auditorium, MND Annex A, 5 Maxwell Road Singapore 069110
Lecture video and photos
Synopsis
How do cities continue to create innovation ecosystems for enterprises and start-ups? To envision future innovation districts, we look at the past and present developments that are master planned by both private agencies and private developers.
To attract world-class research talent and investments, innovation districts such as one-north challenged existing norms and pushed the envelope in its search of a new spatial experience to encourage serendipitous interactions in a growing community of knowledge and research-intensive enterprises and talents.
In this lecture, thought leaders and experts in the industry will share the vital elements required to create intellectually stimulating and creative environments in innovation districts.
Lecture report
“In a short period of time, Blk 71 has become, in the words of The Economist magazine, the highest concentration of start-ups in the world. This happened by accident. Now there are six blocks, a vibrant community under JTC Launchpad. We had this masterplanning approach, this orchestration of responses, but in the end, you still need to have the ability to adapt.” - Dr Tan Chin Nam
One-north brings various industries – biomedical, science engineering, info-comms and media clusters – into a single development because of Singapore’s limited land. But this has also given the high-density innovation district a significant advantage. The diverse communities have formed unexpected relationships, discovered new ideas and collaborated on a rich array of projects. Over the last 18 years, one-north has attracted some S$7 billion in investments, and it now houses 50,000 workers and 4,900 residents across 190 buildings.
“one-north was conceived as a bold experiment in search of a new generation of innovation environments. It served as Singapore’s determination to be the Silicon Valley of Southeast Asia,” said Dr Arthur Aw. The executive director of the Kimen Group was speaking as part of a CLC panel discussion on what makes innovation districts like one-north tick.
Unlike the city-state’s earlier science parks, which were low-density developments that focused on a single specialisation, one-north fosters innovation by housing different industries as well as integrating work, live, play and learn facilities.
“The serendipities and intensity of everyday interactions of high-density urban life is what differentiates one-north,” adds Dr Aw who was the moderator of the discussion held in March.
The success of the district can also be attributed to Singapore’s strong intellectual property rights protection, its connectivity to the world and a capable workforce, said Manohar Khiatani, the deputy group CEO of Ascendas-Singbridge.
“For innovation, you need strong manpower, and manpower across the value chain. Besides scientists and doctorates, you need technicians, engineers – our education system trains good people across the value chain,” he said. “We also have a (flexible) immigration policy – we bring in talent that we don’t have, and send our best and brightest to go overseas to train in areas that we need.”
While one-north was master planned from the beginning, its developers in JTC were empowered to adjust planning norms to manoeuvre changing circumstances. This flexibility has helped it stay relevant over the decades, said Dr Tan Chin Nam, the chairman of Global Fusion Capital. He cited the example of Block 71. This single repurposed building for start-ups in the district has since grown into a dense concentration of enterprises within JTC Launchpad.
“It’s all about continuous experimentation – prototyping, versioning. The next version is always better. one-north continues to evolve, and its lessons can be applied to other innovation districts in Singapore,” said Dr Tan.
The panellists also discussed what they would have done differently in one-north. Khiatani suggested having more “live” elements. “If we can make one-north more of a destination, for F&B, that we would get 24-7, round the clock vibrancy, which would then help the businesses as well,” he said.
To this point, the assistant CEO (Development Group) of JTC, David Tan, said that more residential developments are in the pipeline for one-north and it is focusing on place-making and activities that will bring the district’s communities together. Tan added that these are part of what makes an innovation district successful.
“The district must be sustainable, liveable, connected and smart, and (act) as living labs for technologies, solutions and different types of land and space typologies to be tested,” he said. “It must be a vibrant community, with lots of place-making activities.”
About the Speakers
PANELLIST
Dr Tan Chin Nam
Chairman
Global Fusion Capital Pte Ltd
Senior Corporate Advisor and Former Permanent Secretary
Dr Tan had 33 years of distinguished service in the Public service holding various key appointments before completing his term as Permanent Secretary in 2007. He played a leading role in the information technology, economic, tourism, manpower, library, media, arts and creative industries development of Singapore and has held various top public leadership positions including General Manager and Chairman, National Computer Board, Managing Director, Economic Development board, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, Chairman National Library Board as well as Media Development Authority.
PANELLIST
Mr David Tan
Assistant CEO (Development Group),
JTC
Mr David Tan is the Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Development Group) of JTC. He oversees the land planning and redevelopment, architecture, procurement and contract management, as well as the planning and development of JTC’s next generation estates like one-north, Jurong Innovation District and Punggol Digital District. He has professional experience in engineering and industry development; having been involved in the planning, design and construction of several major infrastructure, building and reclamation projects, including Jurong Island and Jurong Rock Caverns.
PANELLIST
Mr Manohar Khiatani
Deputy Group CEO, Ascendas-Singbridge
Former CEO, JTC
Mr Manohar Khiatani is the Deputy Group CEO of Ascendas-Singbridge. He was previously the CEO of JTC Corporation (JTC) and spearheaded the development of specialized infrastructure solutions for various sectors and positioned the organization as an industrial infrastructure innovator. Prior to joining JTC in 2009, he was the Deputy Managing Director at the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) where he played an instrumental role in the development and transformation of important sectors in Singapore’s economy and was also in charge of the EDB’s operations in the Americas and Europe.
MODERATOR
Dr Arthur Aw
Executive Director,
Kimen Group
An architect by training, Arthur is today the co-shareholder and Executive Director of Kimen Group Pte Ltd. Prior to returning to Kimen Group, Arthur was the Executive Vice President, Special Projects of the Ascendas-Singbridge Group of companies, where he championed several key initiatives to transform Ascendas-Singbridge from a hardware-centric developer into a placemaker for knowledge communities. He also serves as a Senior International Advisor to Fundacion Metropoli in Madrid.
