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Sales Launch August 2020 BTO - Costa Grove

8/14/2020

disclaimer:
1. Readers are advised to use information available here as study guide only and use it at your own risk.
2. Please note that changes/ update based on updated information will be made from time to time, readers are advised to check on this page regularly.
3. Analysis was done based on available data at the time of this review being published.

SUN exposure
a. Singapore located along the equator, nearest to sun on earth. Therefore, higher sun exposure compares to other parts of the world.
b. West sun (afternoon/ evening sun) carries more UVB, which is detrimental to health and building materials.
c. North and South facing will be exposed to west sun too. This is due to earth rotation at its axis at 23.5 degrees and orbiting the sun whole year round.
d. Sun shades are mainly to reduce direct sunlight through high transmission surface like glass. Low transmission surface like concrete wall will receive the same amount of sunlight (which carries heat via infrared).
e. Singapore has high relative humidity (moisture content) at a monthly mean of 72% to 90% (1982-2020). The comfort level for human is at 50%.

Prevailing WIND
a. Enhance micro climate due to localized heat island impact. It helps to lower surrounding/ local temperature.
b. Assist in air change between external and internal spaces. Clearing internal space from detrimental particles/ microbes.
c. Main source of natural/ passive ventilation.
d. Reduces long term energy consumption for cooling. It can replace active cooling using mechanical ventilation which consumes energy and contribute to global warming.
e. Reduce internal moisture level (relative humidity), reduce mold growth.

VIEWING angle / quality
a. Defined by wide angle or narrow angle view. The former is preferred for better awareness of the immediate surrounding.
b. Defined claustrophobic space. The narrow view angle will translate to small and enclosed space and potentially high volume will contribute to claustrophobic scenario.
c. Emotional needs. Seeing things in entirety is usually preferred than seeing things partially.
d. Visual health. Dark spaces induced visual impairments. Seeing things in the dark will increase eyesight stress.
e. Mental health. Prolong exposure to constrain and dimly lit space may lead to suicidal thoughts.

NOISE disturbance
a. Mental health. Stress due to prolong noise disturbance exposure.
b. Hearing loss. Hearing impairment due to prolong exposure to high noise frequency (>80dB).
c. Disrupt resting time. Frequent exposure to different source of noise disturbance will affect quality resting time, which helps the body to recover.
d. Disrupts daily routine. Frequent exposure to different source of noise disturbance will affect human to human interaction, leisure, etc.

Building DISTANCE
a. Determine the privacy of homeowners. Minimum distance will provide enough space for privacy. The issue is what is that minimum distance?
b. Determine if a space is claustrophobic. Distance between building in front, side, surrounding will define if a space is claustrophobic.
c. Affects the viewing potential. Distance between building within immediate proximity will affect the viewing quality.
d. Determine amount of morning sun exposure. Distance between building within immediate proximity will affect morning sun exposure, which is good for Vitamin D and other health complications.
e. Determine the west sun exposure. Distance between building within immediate proximity may help in blocking west sun impact.
f. Buffer for noise disturbance. Distance between building within immediate proximity will help in reducing surrounding noise disturbance (i.e buffer from moving MRT or roads).
g. Affect the prevailing/ local wind circulation. Distance between building within immediate proximity will increase of decrease wind movement which may help in creating a healthy home.

Costa Grove is only the 2nd BTO development after Costa Ris being launched in Pasir Ris since May 2011. Costa Grove will be the first of expected another 7 developments to be launched in Pasir Ris within the 2019 Masterplan framework. Costa Grove is designed by ADDP Architects, which also design Alkaff Vista in Bidadari which was launched back in November 2015. Lately, this firm has managed to land themselves more private condo than the previous decade. Avenue South Residences, The Sky Everton, Park Colonial, Daintree Residences, The Tapestry, Whistler Grand, Kopar at Newton, Pullman Residences to name a few, which was launched from 2018 till 2020.

View from Pasir Ris central towards Straits of Johor. Development to the left of the Pasir Ris MRT station will be developed by Phoenix Residential Pte. Ltd. & Phoenix Commercial Pte. Ltd. which is a JV between Allgreen Properties and Kerry Properties, both part of Kuok Group of Companies, controlled by Robert Kuok (a.k.a. The Sugar King). Costa Grove will be the development to the North West (upper left). Note that this is not the final product of future Pasir Ris as this perspective is for planning purpose only.

There’s 5 in 16 chances which you will totally avoid west sun impact (1pm-5pm GMT+8 as a guideline) without having sun shades. To increase your chances of getting a lesser impacted unit, you will need to understand how the sun shades being designed and deployed. Different sun shade sizes, placement, materials will yield different results. The effect of the sun shade’s sizes and placement can be simulated with accurate 3D modelling.

Based on the 5 in 16 chances of avoiding a west sun impact without any simulation, this development came in at a poor 18%. Chances is you either get a sauna rated unit or leave out all other attributes and place a strict no west sun impact as your one and only priority. For west sun impact exposure, we rate this development on a scale of 1 out of 4.

There’s 1 in 16 chances of having the luxury of facing the prevailing wind, which happens 20% of the days in a year (based on MSS’s wind data recorded at Changi station from 2014-2017). The next best option would be 3 in 16 chances of facing the prevailing wind, which happens at least 10% in a year (excluding the above). Mechanical ventilation like air-conditioning can never replace natural ventilation as mechanical mean is mainly contained (meaning the same air will circulate in the same room), while natural ventilation allows air changes between external (outdoor) and internal (indoor) spaces.

The recent Covid19 pandemic has shown that the best way to keep yourself healthy is to allow natural ventilation by opening your windows. Then again, natural ventilation can only happen if there’s a huge pressure different (meaning indoor space is extremely hot compare to outdoor) OR facing a prevailing wind direction.

Based on the 1 in 16 chances of facing the 20% prevailing wind, this development scored a low 18%. For prevailing wind exposure, we rate this development on a scale of 1 out of 4.

To further enhance the livability standard, we have added another layer of attribute on top of the building distance, which is the viewing angle. The proposed viewing angle took into account the human eye’s coverage as well as the distance one can see things and identify objects at around 1m height objectively. This attribute will filter situation whereby you have distance between 2 buildings which is rather comfortable, but somehow half of the view has been effectively blocked by the building in front of you. Though there's a comfortable distance between the 2 buildings but your view is limited to viewing the opposite block.

On top of the scenario above which reflects a less desirable outcome, we have further included parameters which reduce the scoring should the unit facing roads, future construction/ obstruction, detention pond, non-natural tributary (big drain), etc.

Based on our in-house guideline on viewing angle, we rate this development on a scale of 3 out of 4.

Highly recommended. We are a couple who balloted for an uncompleted SBF flat. Hausanalyst was able to help us visualize ideal units clearly through his 3D modelling. The info was something we will never able to obtain, even by walking the ground. We also felt very assured with Hausanalyst's guidance as we could feel his sincerity in putting our best interests at heart. 5 stars.

Mr. Tay Guo En | digital marketing | Tampines GreenCourt 4-rm, SoBF, 2020

sample report

Please click on the image below to view the full sample report

The understanding of noise disturbance in Singapore is still lacking though it’s a prevailing issue in recent years especially in the housing estate. NEA has since identified the 3 main noise disturbance sources as Vehicular noise, Construction noise and Industrial noise. On top of these 3 major noise disturbance sources, we have further identified minor noise disturbance source such as activities at the commercial area, social area, car parking area, etc.

As a home owner, you can’t change the noise level drastically, but you can reduce the impact by choosing the right location as well as calculating the distance between the source and your future home.

Base on the 3 major noise pollutants spelled out by NEA as well as our own cumulative observation of the types of noise pollutants, we rate this development on a scale of 1 out of 4.

In 2010, URA introduced an industry guide to control the building length to prevent ‘wall-like’ developments. This guideline is mainly to control the distance between the side of 2 buildings rather than the distance between 2 buildings facing each other to break a ‘wall-like’ building blocks. HDB does have an internal guideline to dictate the distance between building facing each other, but it’s not a regulation per se. To maintain a balance between livability and the economy of property development (as a strict control on a single parameter will affect the other parameters like achieving the plot ratio with or without air space control, MSCP vs basement parking to free up more space for building spacing but increase development cost, etc), we have a more stringent rating system to evaluate the building distance to provide ample privacy as well as to avoid claustrophobic spaces when it came to the super highrise building.

Based on our in-house guideline on building spacing, we rate this development on a scale of 3 out of 4.

Overall, we rate this development on a scale of 9 out of 20. We understand that it’s unfair to judge the project quality base on the noise impact since most will be affected by either vehicular or construction noise disturbance.

Therefore, we also rate this development on a scale of 8 out of 16 which exclude the noise attribute.

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Sales Launch August 2020 BTO - Costa Grove

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