Building architectural thread - favorite architectural features

[pakarang]

Building architectural thread - favorite architectural features.

We started this thread at our old home ( http://captainsvoyage.7.forumer.com/...pic.php?t=1903 ) but continue here.

[ombugge]

This thread doesn't look like it has "taken off" yet.
I'll get it going with some buildings from Singapore. (naturally)

First "The Concourse" in Beach Road. An office building with a special design:

I don't know what to call this, or what was in the Architects mind. It looks somewhat like the new Cruise Ships, only more stacked on top of each other.

Then the twin towers" of "The Gateway", also office buildings along Beach Road:

At first glance they look like two over-sized pieces of Layer Cake (Kueh Lapis). The amazing thing with these two towers is that they appear to change shape with the direction you see them from. They kind of grow on you with time. (Designed by P.M.Pei, I believe)

This one is the most surprising. Here seen from a distance (at left) and not at all remarkable:


But when you get close it is a VERY different story:


Here is the Podium block, which you would expect to be filled with high end boutiques or something similar:

But it isn't.

This is the Court Yard: (For lack of a better word)






A view of the Facade:

What cannot be seen in this pics is the statues on top of each "column".
It was getting too dark to get a shot from afar.

And the name and purpose of the building?:

Parkview Square, North Bridge Road (Near Beach Road)
It is an Office Tower, but like no other. Housing Embassies, among other thing.

At the first floor is a Wine Bar of dramatic dimension. Not in terms of number of tables/seats but with the ceiling three stories high, decorated with frescoes and bras reliefs.

The "Wine Cellar" is also VERY special, since it is a column from floor to ceiling, with many compartment kept at different temperatures, each with glass doors at the front.
But no access stairs or ladders to be seen. How do they get to the wine, we were wondering?? We got the answer when somebody ordered a bottle of Champagne, kept near the ceiling (3 stories up, remember)

A pretty waitress in a short "Angle" costume, with little wings on her back and a safety harness hidden in the folds of her dress, strapped on a bridle and wire, which was connected to a winch under the ceiling and proceeded to search for the right bottle of Champagne by hoisting herself up and down, and moving sideways along the "Wine Cellar" front, (for lack of a better description) until she located the right one, put it in a pouch to bring it down to the waiting Bartender.

Why didn't I take any pictures??? NOT allowed. The excuse was that there are several Embassies in the building.

I don't really know what is the reason for this secrecy, or the lavish decorations in, on and around this building. It appears to be functioning just any other Office block.

[ombugge]

Enough gleaming Office Towers, which we have more than enough of in Singapore.

Here is a fairly new building, but built in a Colonial style:



Our neighbourhood Community Centre, Tanglin Community Club. Built around 12-15 years ago, as far as I can remember.

There are also some quite interesting older buildings left from colonial times, although a lot got lost in the rush to modernize in the first decades after independence in 1965.

Here is a building with a "personality problem":




Situated in Little India, it has Chinese tiles on that overhang in front, Malay "fringes" around the roof and is painted in what is typical Indian colours.

Here is a typical building style from the colonial days, pre WWII:
[
This one also from Little India.

A typical row of Shop Houses in Little India:

All with a covered "5 Foot Way" in front.

[ombugge]

In China Town the style is similar, yet different.
Here a typical street scene from Chinatown on a quite day:


A couple of refurbished Shop Houses in China Town:

Now used as offices for a Finance Company.

China Street as it looked in the 1960s:


And how it looks now, after extensive refurbishment and change of usage:

Now a pedestrians only street with restaurants on both sides at street level and offices upstairs.

The back lane of China Street has also been transformed into an oasis of tranquillity:

[Seagull]

Here is a typical building style from the colonial days, pre WWII:
[

So many fascinating contrasts.
I like the clean lines of the green and white pre WWII building (and in a way the decoration along the top kind of reminded me of Ålesund!)

[Ralf__]

At the first floor is a Wine Bar of dramatic dimension. Not in terms of number of tables/seats but with the ceiling three stories high, decorated with frescoes and bras reliefs.

The "Wine Cellar" is also VERY special, since it is a column from floor to ceiling, with many compartment kept at different temperatures, each with glass doors at the front.
But no access stairs or ladders to be seen. How do they get to the wine, we were wondering?? We got the answer when somebody ordered a bottle of Champagne, kept near the ceiling (3 stories up, remember)

A pretty waitress in a short "Angle" costume, with little wings on her back and a safety harness hidden in the folds of her dress, strapped on a bridle and wire, which was connected to a winch under the ceiling and proceeded to search for the right bottle of Champagne by hoisting herself up and down, and moving sideways along the "Wine Cellar" front, (for lack of a better description) until she located the right one, put it in a pouch to bring it down to the waiting Bartender.

Why didn't I take any pictures??? NOT allowed. The excuse was that there are several Embassies in the building.

Your description interested me and - there you are - you can watch this scene in YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r07pMN5Kxk

What a nonsense!

[ombugge]

Your description interested me and - there you are - you can watch this scene in YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r07pMN5Kxk

What a nonsense!

Not everybody is as law abiding as me then. No photography my A**!!
I still wonder why such an elaborate building as an office tower???

[ombugge]

A bit more about architecture in Singapore.

The early Housing & Development blocks built in the 1960s and early 1970s was rather simple and crude.
Here is one of the very early estates, Outram Park:

Now no more. Demolished for re-development a few years ago.

This is "anywhere" housing estate of the period:

Not sure which one. (Could be Toa Payoh, or maybe early Ang Moh Kio??)

With the typical "laundry for drying" at every level:


This was a massive project. One flat was completed every 45 min. on average.
This was an effort to get people out of racially and ethnically segregated Kampongs and into decent public housing. A part of the Nation building effort in a multi-racial/multi-cultural city that found itself suddenly thrown into nationhood, without any hinterland or natural resources to sustain it. Even the fresh water was (and still partly is) imported.

To ensure that people felt like "Singaporean first" the new housing estates held people of all races and religions mixed together, as does the schools.

To make them feel that they owned something that tied them to Singapore, they were also given ownership of their HDB flats through the CPF system. (Described elsewhere in CVF)

Today's HDB flats start to resemble private "Condos", both in style, quality and amenities.
Here is the replacement for Outram Park, "The Pinnacle@Cantonment":

These shots are from last year,when still under construction. (Now completed) What is wrong with some Symmetry???

50 stories high and situated on a small hill, with full 360 degr. view of the Downtown and Port area.

Interconnected at two levels, including the top level Roof Garden. (I will make time to get up there one day and take some pictures.

A normal Housing Board Estates, with some old and some new blocks:

Bukit Merah Estate.


Clementi:

The brown blocks on the right is HDB, the one with the fansy towers on the left is a private Condo.

[pakarang]

I'm in awe over the development of Singapore... from an old crowded fishing village to a top modern and clean super city.

Singapore has so much to offer, and based on these images, they even try to recreate some of the colonial style buildings: which is absolutely awesome!

[ombugge]

Some more architectural samples from Singapore;
Some heavily decorated pre WWII shophouse that has been preserved. These are situated side-by-side all along Balestier Road:













We reached the corner,

[ombugge]

A bit furter along the same road is these houses:






A closer look at some details:


And for an encore, the post WWII shophouses across the road:


Balestier is, and always has been, a typical Chinese area, with shops at the ground floor and residences above.

[ombugge]

Ugliest buildings in Singapore

To round off the postings about Architecture in Singapore, here is what is in my opinion the ugliest major buildings in Singapore. (Not counting factories and warehouses etc.)

Here is the absolute winner in the class, People's Park Complex:

Newly re-painted, but not much improvement.

The new Art Centre in Bugis:




And this is the Front of this same building:

It has large plastic "thingies" shaped like a Clover Leaf (or snow flake?) all over the front, which has "running" lights in various pattern after dark. Really ugly in my opinion.

LaSalle Collage of the Arts:

It is two buildings with black tiles cladding externally, with a courtyard between them, which has a kind of white canvas "roof":


The eight new monster HDB blocks, known as "Pinnacle @ Duxton" is not an all that pleasing either:




The Roof Garden at 50th Floor:


There is quited good view from the Roof Garden at 50th Floor though. (See the "This is Singapore" thread in a few hours)

More ugly buildings are coming up, with flashing lights and totally lacking in symmetry and straight lines.

By the way, this is said to be the oldest existing building in Singapore:

Originally a Stable for horses, but now used as an Art Gallery.

[ombugge]

A final detail of typical Singapore Architecture from the 1950s:

The spiral back steps.

This is from the back lane at the famous Bugis Street, but was common on all houses of this type and size builyt in that time.

[pakarang]

I love that the spiral back stairs are all painted in different colors.... make them actually artistic.

This is what makes the difference between dull city constructions and objects of desire. Doesn´t take much more than some paint.

[pakarang]

Interesting new detail in Bangkok, Thailand: