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?