Japan’s Waseda University Students Win Inaugural Asia Pacific ULI Hines Student Competition with Plan to Transform Singapore’s Jurong Lake District

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 31 May 2023 - A team of four graduate students from Japan's Waseda University clinched top honours at the inaugural Urban Land Institute (ULI) Hines Student Competition Asia Pacific out of 19 participating university teams. The two other finalists were from Vietnam and South Korea.

The brainchild of Gerald D. Hines, developer and founder of the Hines real estate organisation, the competition raises interest in urban development among younger generations. Competing students apply their knowledge of all aspects of real estate and land use to devise development projects for an existing site in a major city.

The winning entry was selected by a jury of leading real estate leaders that included Ray Lawler, chief executive officer, Asia Pacific, Hines; Yvonne Lim, group director of physical planning, Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA), among others.

Teams were tasked with addressing issues of equity, housing affordability, accessibility, and sustainability in their proposals to redevelop the Jurong Lake District (JLD). Team Omusubi (comprised of Kento Yoshino, Taichi Kawasaki, Haoyang Xu, and Misato Fujii) from Waseda University proposed a plan, titled "Jurong Urban Health Campus" which envisions a transformation of JLD into a liveable and connected environment. It holistically integrates Singaporeans' lifestyles and heritage with nature so neighborhoods have easy access to community-centric amenities and green spaces.

"We are grateful for Hines' partnership with ULI and for bringing the competition to the Asia Pacific region so students here can take a hands-on approach to solving real-world challenges in the built environment," said David Faulkner, president, ULI Asia Pacific. "I would like to congratulate Team Omusubi and all the competitors on displaying tremendous passion for design and urban development."

"As the fastest-growing economic powerhouse in the world, the region faces challenges such as ageing populations, climate change, and urban migration. We will be in a better position to solve these problems if we support and inspire the next generation of leaders to create more liveable and sustainable communities," Ray Lawler, juror and chief executive officer, Asia Pacific, Hines.

Full press release here. Additional competition notes are here.