CHAPTER OUTLINE AND NARRATIVES

1 COLONIAL MODERNITY

The inter-war years from 1919-1941 heralded the "Modern Epoch" as experienced throughout the world, in the material
and cultural sense. It saw the advent of railroads, air travel, telegraph, and new building technologies.
The rise of Singapore's fortunes and strategic significance fortified its status as the "beacon" of
British Malaya and therefore deserving of a "world-class" infrastructure. This led to the building of
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Clifford Pier and Kallang Airport. The period also marked a significant shift
of focus in colonial public works, from modest and piecemeal efforts to monumental and high profile civic projects.
While all were "materially" modern in their construction technologies, colonial architects chose to design
many of these monuments in European classical forms, as in the cases of the Fullerton Building, City Hall
and Supreme Court.

2 CAPITAL INVESTMENTS

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the plantation and mining industries of British Malaya augmented the wealth of
colonial Singapore. Spurred by confidence in the robust economy during the boom years, private commercial
building work intensified at Raffles Place and Collyer Quay. New workspaces Ð the skyscraper, the modern factory
and the department store - as well as a new work culture, were enabled by the import of advanced building
technology and management systems. Examples of these new spaces include the Ford Factory, Robinsons,
Lee Rubber Godown and MacDonald House. The modern skyline of Singapore along the sea front emerged with the
new architecture of trade, commerce and industry of the European agency houses and Asian entrepreneurs,
cementing the colony's status as "Emporium of the Far East".

3 CONSUMING PLEASURES

Up till WWII, private clubs, exclusive theatres and luxurious hotels provided the upper crust of Singapore's
colonial society with venues for business networking, socialising and leisure pursuits. From the 1920s to the 1950s,
With the rise of the new Asian middleclass in the inter-war years, the market for affordable recreation expanded,
creating modern spaces and institutions for mass entertainment and leisure such as the "Worlds" amusement parks,
sports stadia, cinemas, and cabarets. Like the newly imported leisure commodities and technologies, the
architecture of modern houses in this period (like Haw Par Villa and the Chee House at Grange Road) became
icons of fashion of the nouveau riche. Overall, the cultural milieu of Singapore society, characterised by
diversity in the various ethnic and class enclaves, began to witness a burgeoning cosmopolitanism invigorated
by a material condition of plenty.

4 NANYANG SPIRIT

Given the colonial "divide and rule" policy before WWII, self-help organisations along ethnic, religious,
and kinship lines emerged as essential institutions Ð self-consciously inscribing distinct identities in their
architectural manifestations. This cultural eclecticism in Singapore's built environment was reinforced in the
post-war years with the flourishing of nationalism and affiliation amongst migrant communities with their lands or origin,
most prominently among the numerically dominant overseas Chinese. Modern architecture in this milieu from the
1920s to the 1950s reflected the complexities and contradictions of "dual identities" Ð between the ethnic
traditions of their places of origin and the modern sensibilities of their adopted home.
Examples of this type of architecture are Nanyang University, the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Building, Chung Cheng High School and the Ramakrishna Mission.

5 SOCIALIST PROMISES

In the post WWII years, Britain's new Labour Party government initiated radical reform of colonial development
and welfare policy. As part of post war reconstruction, the colonial authorities launched ambitious island-wide public
works, including government hospitals and clinis (e.g. Kandang Kerbau Hospital) as well as trades and technical schools.
These works were typified by "white" modern architecture and standardised design dictated by austerity.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Improvement Trust accelerated its public housing programme. Building on the
foundation of its pioneer Tiong Bahru estate, it embarked on large projects in Kallang and Queenstown,
raising the standard of living in terms of health and hygiene, through modernist planning and the
introduction of high-rise mass housing. Following full internal self-government in 1959, its mandate
was passed to the Housing and Development Board, set up by the new PAP government. HDB began a massive building programme,
producing works like the Bukit Ho Swee Emergency Flats. Later, it developed Singapore's first
planned satellite township Ð Toa Payoh New Town.

6 MERDEKA MOMENTS

Singapore in the 1950s to 1960s was in a state of flux marked by civil unrest, union strikes and anti-colonial
demonstrations. There was also a surge of nationalist pride, and a fervent desire for a new Malayan national identity.
At the same time, local-born architects challenged the status quo of the European-dominated professional scene.
At the forefront of the effort to mould a Malayan identity, architects were consciously forging a new
modern architectural language, marking a break from the colonial past and celebrating their newfound political autonomy.
Sometimes, this was seen in the naming and symbolism of structures such as Merdeka Bridge,
Civilian War Memorial and the National Library. More significantly, their new architecture sought to express
the aspirations of progress and modernity, while reconnecting with local climate, craft, materials and cultural symbolism,
as exemplified by works like the National Theatre, Singapore Conference Hall and several exquisite "Malayan" churches.

7 MODERNISATION ICONS

Thrust into Independence after 1965, and with the loss of the Malaysian hinterland, Singapore adopted
a global orientation in her economic policies to survive as an economy and polity.
She launched a total renewal of her landscape to facilitate the smooth inflow of foreign investment.
As part of on an aggressive modernisation and industrialisation drive, the decaying city core was
razed to make way for glittering skyscrapers like CPF, DBS and OCBC buildings in the financial district of Shenton Way.
Orchard Road turned into a high-end retail and international-standard hotel belt to boost the tourism industry,
led by pioneers like Marco Polo and Ming Court Hotel. Jurong, formerly a wasteland, was reinvented as the model
industrial town for off-shore manufacturing, sprouting landmarks like the Jurong Town Hall
and National Iron and Steel Mills. These iconic skylines and monumental landscapes, decked in the International Style,
marked the will of the new nation to project her new image as a world-class city.

8 THE AVANT GARDE

In the heady post-Independence era (1965-1970s), many architects were deeply engaged in shaping the new city-state.
They presented progressive alternative visions for the future city, challenging the mainstream notions of sprawling
development regulated by strict zoning. In part influenced by Japanese Metabolists,
they advocated high-density "megastructures" with mixed-use programmes and big city rooms like People's Park
Complex and Golden Mile Complex as well as multi-level urban connections like Change Alley Aerial Plaza.
This was a period of daring experimentation in Singapore's urban planning and architecture,
with a ferment of innovative ideas and schemes from both state agencies as well as private
professional groups such as the Singapore Urban Research Group (SPUR).