Hidden Orders & Aesthetics - Singapore City
This is an on-going study to discover the spatial orders and aesthetics, that are embedded in the urban forms and compositions of Singapore City in the course of its evolution and development. The focus will be architectural, emphasizing on the elements of space, form and style.
Usually, the spatial orders and aesthetics of the city are the outcome of urban design, carried out progressively by generation of architects and planners. However, they can also be the outcome of mere coincidence – a chance creation by nature in the evolution of the city. The urban characters of the city will continue to evolve over times as the city grows. Some of them will be transformed for the better, while others will disappear or deteriorate in the redevelopment of the city.
In its casual and informal way, the images presented here can be seen as a record of some of the Spatial Memory of Singapore City.
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Photography Narrative:
This was a popular perspective view of Singapore City in the 90s. It had epitomized the delicate balance between the old heritage and the new development that co-existed beautifully in a dense urban setting.
The image
revealed a cluster of high density skyscrapers forming a picturesque backdrop
to the row of ground hugging conserved shop houses that were located at the
riverfront. It displayed a dynamic change of urban scale and density from the
ultra large scale of to the human scale in one breath-taking dramatic
transition.
The design
of the iconic landmark, UOB Plaza by architect IM Pei, marked the beginning of
the revival of urban spaces and connectivity in Singapore - Its podium was
elevated above ground, thus allowing the public spaces from the surrounding
districts to flow through it freely. As a result, the Raffles Place Plaza was
linked up to the Five-Foot Ways of the traditional shop houses and the
promenade of the riverfront in a continuous and uninterrupted fashion.
The image
was captured in 2016. Since then, many new skyscrapers had been added to the
skyline, causing its delicate spatial order and harmony began to fall.
UOB Plaza vs OCBC Centre (2016): Face-Off in Style.
These were two iconic skyscrapers that had dominated the skyline of Singapore City in the period between the 70s and 90s. They embodied the change in aesthetic preferences and urban design strategy over a span of 2 decades.
Architect I.M. Pei had introduced
Brutalist Modernism to Singapore in the design of the OCBC Centre in 1976
and Architect Kenzo Tange had brought in Post-Modernism in the design
of the UOB Plaza in 1992.
The
photograph taken had juxtaposed the 2 skyscrapers in seemingly unrelated
orientation, revealing their opposing stylish forms and preferences – The
robust Brutalist Modernism vs the picturesque Post-Modernism.
The site where Duo Residence stood was an urban infill, constraint by existing road barriers and skyscrapers that were built in different era and in contrasting style. At one end was the Parkview Square completed in 2002, a grand Gotham Building of Art Deco style, and across the major road stood in sharp contrast was the Gateway Towers, a Modernist’s sculpture in the park, designed by I.M. Pei in 1990.
Architect, Ole Scheeren conceived of Duo Residences (completed in 2017) as an urban connector that would unite its isolated neighboring skyscrapers into a dynamic unity. He had achieved his vision without compromising on Duo Residence’s equally dominating form and style — of Ultra Modernist aesthetics.
It was not immediately visible, but soon become obvious when one’s eyes are looking upwards into the sky. An urban axis in the sky was cleverly devised through the unique composition and articulation of Duo Residence. It was a hidden order enriched by its integration of a great variety of building forms and styles.
Marina Bay Sands & The Future of Us Exhibition Pavilion (2016): Dancing Curves
Architect Moshe Safdie conceived of Marina Bay Sands as “the frozen motion of shuffling a pack of playing cards”. It could be visualised spatially as a display of dynamic curvilinear planes and lines.
The frontal view of the building along the bay lacked the dynamic motion of such a curvilinear display, as it was over-powered by the dominating sky-bridge. However, the display of the dynamic motion of flying curves can be found at its garden side.
Its neighbouring building located besides the Marina Bay Garden, the Future of Us Exhibition Pavilion designed by AAL in 2014, was a low lying ground hugging structure. It could be used as a complementing wavy foreground of the image. It would act as a counter balance against the rising and soaring curvilinear lines and surfaces of the towers of the Marina Bay Sands.
It was interesting to note that The Future of Us Exhibition Pavilion had been pull down in 2017 to make way for a new building – the Bayfront Pavilion. As such, this angle of view and composition of Marina Bay Sands as presented in the image had indeed no longer available.
Treasury Building (2016): The Grain Silo of International Style
Modernism was founded as the new aesthetic of the industrial age where mass production was enabled by the invention of the Machines. Its manifesto was “Form followed Function” and its ideal symbols consisted of industrial product like car and industrial building like grain silo.
International Style was an architectural movement that advocated Modernism across the globe. It was a style that had adopted the “form” of Modernism but without its spirit. “Form” in this case no longer followed “function”, but stylish preference. Thus, industrial building like the grain silo had become the “symbol” of International Style – A pure form to be admired for its clean geometry and utilitarian look
A bottom-up perspective shot of the Treasury Building was intended to reveal its ideological and symbolic link to the icon of the International Style – the grain silo. The image as shot also reminded me of a building in the baroque period, which resembled a giant Doric Column of the classical order, placed on top of a pedestal and illuminated with shinning glorious light for worshiping.
In June 2022, the Treasury Building was closed for major alteration to be transformed into the tallest skyscraper of Singapore at 305 m with renew mixed-use function and aesthetic.
JS . Photography
2016 - 2022
Canon 6D . 16-35mm/F4
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