The Selling Point: Looking Beyond
Definition
Set in the context of urban Singapore, there is a growing need to look beyond the conventional roles played by infrastructures. To address the present problems of urban living in Singapore, infrastructures can play a bigger role than previously imagined in the rapid development process of the city state. To do so, expectations and visions of the future need to be adjusted accordingly as well.
Once upon time, it can be observed that infrastructures in the city played a very monolithic role for its inhabitants. The island was traditionally divided into specific land use prescriptions under the Master Plan which in turn set the infrastructures in place for a singular purpose only. While such approach is still being maintained to a certain degree in the present day, there is now a shift from such singularity specifics to a more holistic approach.
For example, while in the past the growing appetite for high rise office buildings and workspace has driven many old buildings to abolishment, under the current paradigm old buildings are in fact being converted into new spaces for public places such as museums, art houses and whatnot in order to preserve them.
Based on this very approach, it can be proposed that the new revolutionary trend in urban planning encompasses this inclusion of heritage, ie of the existing physical structure for future considerations. Heritage in Singapore may come of as monumental buildings such as the Empress Palace, Chijmes, and many more but at the same it also includes present age buildings that are still confined to their singular purpose. Hence, by taking account of such singularities and reinventing them in anticipation of future needs, urban planning in Singapore can achieve a higher level of holistic management.
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A case in point of this may include the recent redevelopment of the Stamford Road which includes the Capitol Theater, Stamford House and Capitol Building into a new township. The aforementioned refurbishment allows for a more contemporary use of existing space as well as being able to strike a balance between preservation and expansion efforts.
