A Work In Progress

This is the MRT map taken from the website of Singapore's Land Transport Authority (LTA). The solid lines are the ones currently in operation. The dashed orange line (phase two of the Circle Line) is currently under construction and scheduled to open sometime next year. Phase one of the brown line (the Downtown Line) is also under construction.and the other two phases will be built shortly after. The goal is for all of the lines shown here to be operational by 2020. This will almost double the current rail network.

This is an unofficial map that shows the addition of seven even newer lines and several new branches of existing lines. Two of the lines proposed on this map, the Thompson Line (dark orange) and the Eastern Region Line (pink), have I have found mentioned on the LTA website and are still in the planning phases. I am not sure where the creator found their information for the other lines but this many stations seems a bit excessive. Singapore is only one city and most of the stations downtown are already located at walkable distances from each other. Are they building just to build?

Research Methodology

One + Three + Nine

one
High traffic transportation hubs are focused on the rapid movement of the masses, but there is potential for the role of these nodes to evolve from fleeting thresholds into centers for everyday socialization and activity.

+ three
Public infrastructural systems are the product of the industrial movement that valued efficiency, homogeneity, and production. The high amount of pedestrian traffic has also turned the stations and trains into prime places for advertisement and retail. Now as society transitions from being industrial to being more socially aware, the architecture of these hubs must also balance the existing functional elements with more communal functions that focus on human scale interaction and urban street life.

+ nine
Singapore has an extensive Mass Rapid Transportation (MRT) system. Singaporean culture is heavily influenced by the global emphasis on consumerism. When asked what they like to do for fun, most Singaporeans will mention shopping, eating, or both. Additionally, the tropical Singapore heat has driven its street life indoors. As a result, transit stations and interchanges are often connected with or close to large shopping mall complexes that feature chain stores and restaurants, many of which originated in western countries. There are currently three completed MRT lines that service the city, another line under construction, plans for the fifth line have been approved and two more lines are in the design phases. This development will give rise to many more stations before the year 2020, each with the potential to improve upon the previous model. From the existing stations, the new architecture can borrow the focus on pedestrian movement, business development, and successful wayfinding, but this new model should be less planned and less complete. In order to foster a true urban feel on the interior, there should also be space for local businesses, family activities, and daily chance interactions with people in a flexible and adaptable environment that will continue to be relevant over time.

Architectural Consumerism

Architecture is...

Architecture is old in a society obsessed with progress. The 20th century was concerned with efficiency, utilitarianism, and industrialization. As people demanded more, more things were built: more houses, more cities, more space. Consumer culture gave rise to high rise office towers and expansive mega malls. At the beginning of the 21st century, people are realizing that the need for expansion and development is declining. It is time for architecture to start losing its ego. Rather than the iconic architecture of the past, we are experiencing a shift to a more natural, personal environment for the future. In order for these movements to be effective, however, the people will need to shift their attitudes in regards to what they want from their environment. Instead of skyscrapers that emphasize the work-a-holic mentality, perhaps people should be more focused on the home and family. Instead of large indoor shopping malls, perhaps people could return to the street and experience more chance interactions with others on a smaller scale. Architecture must continue to progress to meet people's needs, but perhaps it is necessary to change the direction of progress to ensure a more human scale environment for future generations.

Preliminary Thesis Ideas

Please forgive me for being a little behind. I will do my best to catch up when time allows.

Since I will be abroad for the semester, I am hoping to use Singapore as an inspiration for my thesis project. I have a couple initial ideas about topics I would like to investigate further, but it is still unclear where these questions will lead.

1. Singaporean architecture, like Singaporean life, is largely controlled. It is sterile and everything is placed in its own area. Although 70% of Singaporeans are of Chinese decent, they still have a Chinatown, as well as Little India, the Malay Village, and Kampong Glam. The architectural style of the buildings in these areas have been borrowed from their respective countries, but since it is difficult to pin point a specific style that is Chinese or Malay, this process has resulted in a sometimes superficial sampling of architectural ornament. The government does this mainly for tourism. They have forcibly created these cultural centers intending them to celebrate the origins of the Singaporean people, but what do the Singaporeans think of these places? Do people who move here from China or Malaysia or India feel that these architecture and culture is authentic? How do you attract tourists to these places while still providing for the everyday needs of the Singaporeans who live there?

 

2. Outside the designated cultural areas, the government has filled the rest of the city with monotonous concrete HDB (Housing Development Board) flats. The HDB estates are the truly Signaporean architectural typology. In the same way that Americans should change suburban housing, is there any way to improve the Singaporean cookie-cutter housing developments? What makes public housing here work when it failed so miserably in other cities? Do the residents feel a connection to where they live or are these places lacking in community pride since every one is the same? Is it possible to change the typology of the HDB flat and give each community an architectural identity or would this undermine the entire fabric of the Singaporean HDB culture?

3. Singaporean life revolves around food and shopping. The main centers of this activity are usually centered around the MRT interchanges which experience very high traffic throughout the day. The government is currently working on improving the city's MRT network. One new line is under construction for completion next year and another line is being planned for completion in 2017. These new lines will give rise to new interchanges, which will need to accommodate new passengers, new businesses, and their own atmosphere. How are the current interchanges functioning? What is good about them and what could be improved? Can there be more social or educational activities incorporated into the existing model of the shopping center to reduce the role of consumerism on the everyday life of Singaporeans?

4. Singapore just celebrated its 45th birthday. For the government and the people, the past 45 years have been spent building their nation to be industry, internet and business savvy. Now they pride themselves in their clean, efficient, new city, but what happens next? People have told me that the older housing estates are being targeted for demolition soon. When this happens, the government will find alternate accommodation for the people who live there, tear the entire complex down, and design a new one from the ground up. What are the costs and benefits of performing such large scale demolition and reconstruction? What is the life span of a building and how do you design with that in mind? Are the blank patches of "State Land" sites where buildings have been demolished and what is being planned for them? How does architecture adapt in a city that is so new?