Wednesday, February 11, 2009

The Beginning


Lets start from the very beginning - a map of the Pre- and Post War Singapore Improvement Trust Estate at Tiong Bahru.

You can see the difference between the two different planning philosophies from the two different eras.

But both are of course, relevant and charming in their own ways!

The Pre-War Estate was planned to create the semblance of a traditional street-scape, with a strong urban edge and feature corners. This is not unlike the old city of Singapore.

For the Post-War Estate, the planning was focused on ensuring that the flats were oriented East-West, to minimize heat gain from the sun, entering the flats. Green spaces were introduced between blocks to allow for breezes and sunlight to pass through - believed to be beneficial to human health.

Along Tiong Bahru and Lim Liak Streets, the buildings were lined up, with staggered blocks, to create a visually interesting street.

Most of us would agree that visually, and environmentally, it is quite a success.

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