019
I was reviewing work done for 2015 and decided that this is my favourite of the lot.
Blocks 74 to 80, Commonwealth Drive were built in the mid 60s, an era of nation building and restructuring of the urban composition. Dismissed as slums at a point in time, these 10-storey flats are results of an audacious high-rise, high-density planning strategy. Soon, they will meet the wrecking hammer, again in the name of urban rejuvenation. Residents were relocated to brand new 40-storey flats across the street.
The façades are articulated with modular structural grid. Visually, this grid amplifies "pigeon holes", a term(with a hint of sarcasm) synonymous with public housing in Singapore. The grid also mirrors a rigid and uniform ecosystem. The layout of every flat is potato-stamped. Affordable housing was in dire shortage at that time and this is an efficient way to house the nation in double quick time.
A man perfecting his golf swing(have fun spotting the bucket of golf balls and his club) and the footsteps of passers-by making their way to and fro the nearby Biopolis break the silence in this lifeless precinct. Despite being deserted, the lights at the void decks are switched on without fail every evening. Without the distraction of residents, cars, noises and other lights, these transient spaces take centre stage. Now they draw attention.
Striking a stark contrast, the regimented and clinical order of the grid is broken up into seemingly spontaneous and disorganised fragments at the void deck level. This is of course, an optical illusion but it is a fitting metaphor for void decks - spaces free of definite programmes and usage. Camouflaged in shadow during the day, these fragments are better appreciated in the evenings.
commonwealth drive by
arkitectural photography, on Flickr
Leica M-P(Typ 240) + Elmar M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH
, TRA(台铁
