YEAR END (SINGAPORE)

My children live in such different surroundings. I guess it's the way of the modern world. Different countries, different styles, ages and configurations of residential building. The comparisons make for an endless source of fascination.

Singapore has had no choice but to build vertically. "Tower Blocks" can be sordid places and much maligned in the UK for example, but this development is just delightful. Much of it is in the landscaping, but the history of the site as a series of "finger docks" presented a splendid opportunity which has been well seized.

 

 

There's nothing too spectacular about the architecture, but that's fine with me. Better to err on the bland side than to go way over the top, like the Liebeskind development next door, which just tries too hard. (in my opinion). Maybe the styling is a bit arbitrary and dated in places, but the detailing is solid enough.

 

 

 

Do I wish I was living in this kind of "expat heaven?" Not really. Occasional pangs of jealousy perhaps, but in the end I do enjoy living among "the great unwashed" or is it "Deplorables Inc." 🤣🤣🤣

It's a special privilege to stay with family in such different environments though. Something about the "rich tapestry of life"  I'm just so, so lucky.

 

 

Back in Singapore. Rain Vortex at Changi Airport, the Jewel. I've passed by at a lower level on previous visits, but this was the first time to get a proper look at the light show. Surrounded by terraced seating in a simulacrum of the rain-forest that claimed ownership of Singapore Island until relatively recently.

Lots of pyrotechnic displays accessible online at this time of year. This time of transition between years. There is a serious danger of overkill, just as there is with "groundbreaking" architectural form. Too much innovation morphs into a confused jumble of sameness, instead of the unique vision intended when each new design was developed on its own.

But Singapore does quite a good job of evading this trap, in my opinion. Perhaps it's easier within the constraints of an island. Maybe there's something about the unique history and the natural beauty.

Cities are fascinating places. I never tire of thinking about them, revisiting old favourites. Very thankful to have friends and family in some of the most fascinating, willing to host me from time to time.

Happy New Year everyone! 😁🙂😎

 

 

My few days in Singapore are drawing to a close. It's been a suitable bridge between the excitement of a family adventure in Thailand and the impending return to normality in Dubai.

Yesterday I had the chance to walk around in the Orchards shopping area for about an hour. Lots of gleaming towers in various "styles of the moment" standing atop four and five storey shopping malls where the fashions come and go at an even more rapid pace.

The sky was overcast with intermittent light rain but this was not dampening to the spirit as it would be in Northern Europe at this time of year. There is lots of street art on display to humanise the ground level experience : greenery too, lush and abundant.

 

 

 

To think that Singapore has risen to this level of abundance over the course of my lifetime. Perhaps the remaining pockets of poverty around the world will witness a similar transformation during the lives of my grandchildren. I certainly hope so.

I stumbled upon a little gem, a frozen time capsule. Not so very old, but rare now in this part of town. Here is the residential version of the shophouse typology that I love so much. For all it's verticality and rapid cycles of renewal, Singapore has managed to keep these memories of its earlier history, to celebrate them and to integrate them without freezing them into museum pieces.

No city is perfect, but this place is an inspiration to me. I look forward to coming back before the year is out, but let's not start counting chickens.