Architecture of Singapore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The architecture of Singapore has a long history with an unclear origin, as was the early history of the city-state itself. Although there are evidence that man-made structures did exist dating back at least to the 1330s, little physical evidence remain. Found in abundance in the city centre today, however, are numerous districts and buildings harking back to the founding of modern Singapore in 1819 by the British as a result of agreessive conservation efforts of Singapore's built heritage since the 1970s.

Today, the city is dominated by modern architecture, with the brutalist style particularly omni-present in the thousands of public housing high-rise flats. These are also equally prominent in some of the downtown's older commercial buildings, such as the OCBC Centre by I. M. Pei, as well as many buildings built to house governmental offices and government-linked companies, including the likes of the Singapore Land Tower, Temasek Tower, DBS Building, and the CPF Building.

The large number of what critics refer to as "stoic" and "sterile" architecture has led to calls for greater architectural expression since at least the 1980s. Changing international architectural trends introduced some architectural styles (particularly the postmodernist style) here. Iconic Neoclassic buildings were built, both by the government (Parliament House) and the private sector (Parkview Square). In addition, the call for diverse architectural styles have revolutionalised local public housing architecture.

The Chinese Baroque style can be found among the homes of wealthy Peranakan in Emerald Hill, as well as elsewhere.

[edit] Gallery

Republic Plaza in the Downtown Core area.

One of the housing districts in Hougang.

Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay

[edit] See also

• Shophouse
• List of tallest buildings in Singapore

[edit] References

• Powell, Robert (2004) Singapore Architecture: A short history Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd, Hong Kong ISBN 0-7946-0232-0

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