Yasmin HSCS
Aug 31, 2018 · 4 min read

Learning Journey to Our Tampines Hub (OTH) (Part 1)

I have lived in this little town called Tampines for about two decades. My home town, Tampines, has won The World Habitat Award in 1992 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

As a beautiful town, Tampines has all the modern facilities like train stations, malls, schools, library, banks, places of worship, parks and playgrounds. The latest addition to our award winning town, I must say, like a new jewel in the crown, is “Our Tampines Hub”, or lovingly called OTH.

What is OTH? It is actually Singapore’s largest integrated community and life style hub. It has 12 stakeholders under one roof, providing a wide range of community, sport, cultural and lifestyle facilities.

I excitedly shared about OTH to my team mates and suggested that we visit this brand new place so that we can learn more about it. On the 5th of June 2018, four of us we were warmly welcomed to go on a tour around OTH.

It was such an enriching experience! We learned that the design of OTH was an outcome of a highly participatory process which engaged more than 15,000 Tampines residents through focus group discussions, interviews and surveys, since its inception two years ago. The Hub aims to be a relevant, inclusive and empowering place that can contribute positively to residents’ everyday lives in Tampines.

Their tag line is “Built with the residents for residents, we strive to serve all members of our community, ensuring that there is something for everyone, right here at OTH!”

During our learning journey, we visited many interesting facilities like the “Festive Mall” which has 100 stores (26 of which operate 24 hours a day!) and the “Festive Plaza” which is an open space atrium for movie marathons, daily stage performance or football match screenings.

We also saw the “Festive Play” where the young can play at the bouncy castles and a full scale children’s playground. There are Bowling Centres, Public Service Centre and a 24- hour Hawker Centre that has more than 40 stalls with affordable meal options.

There is also a “Festive Arts Theatre” which has 400 seats and Dolby 7.1 surround sound system, as a home to several arts groups, to encourage these arts groups to express their creativity and develop an appreciation for cultural diversity.

In addition, you will be amazed to know that OTH has Health Centres, Health Labs, Clinics and Senior Citizens’ Care Centre. There are also Eco- Community Garden, Jogging tracks, roof top garden and barbeque pits.

To promote sports and healthy life style, the OTH has a “Town Centre” which features a 5000 seat stadium with a FIFA quality Pro certified football pitch. It is equipped with an artificial turf that is ideal for football and rugby matches.

There is also “The Arena” which is equipped with futsal courts, tennis courts and a hockey court. OTH has a rock climbing wall and team sports hall that can host matches for floorball, handball, volleyball, basketball and sepak takraw. There is a “Community Auditorium” which houses 20 badminton courts, making it as the largest indoor badminton facility in Singapore!

OTH features not only one but six purpose-built swimming pools! There are interactive pools and jacuzzi which offer endless fun for everyone in the family. There are also competition pools for water polo and diving that cater to enthusiasts as well as athletes in training.

“The Gym” at OTH has the state- of- the- art and the very latest fitness equipment and technology and it is ideal for gym goers who need their fitness regime to suit their busy schedules.

My favourite place must be the all new Tampines Regional Library which is now in OTH! There are 5 floors of over 180000sq ft of customised spaces with an archive of 400, 000 books! Each level is dedicated to a different age group with different themes, colours, creative decor and designs for children, teenagers, adults and the elderly.

I felt very grateful to our guide who patiently explained the significance of the the different parts of OTH. I also felt very proud to share this wonderful landmark in my hometown with my friends who came with me to witness this new and incredible building.

Honestly, as a resident of Tampines, I feel so blessed to have OTH, literally in front of my eyes. You see, OTH is right in front of my apartment, it is only a stone’s throw away from my humble abode. All I have to do is to cross the road and I will get the opportunity to experience the myriad of exciting activities that are organised in this great place called OTH — Our Tampines Hub!

    Yasmin HSCS

    Written by

    Hai Sing Teacher Writer