http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005819-8106-3181-7909/img0061.jpg
^Looks like in Europe

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005504-8073-3222-4710/img0052.jpg

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005494-8073-3222-4699/img0030.jpg

^The huge grand building is the Mercantile Bank. :cry:
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005492-8073-3222-5029/img0032.jpg

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005494-8073-3222-4699/img0034.jpg

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980007377-8105-3181-0353/img0037.jpg

Like someone said before, Singapore Town used to look like some town in Europe. Now, Raffles Place looks more 'American' city -_-

You can really see from the buildings and their styles that even back then, Singapore was THE place for foreign businesses in Asia.

it looks more 'land starved asian city' than 'american' to me.. sg's buildings if classically styled, are short eg city hall / vch / fullerton hotel, whereas for american cities they can be tall too.. even fairly recent buildings seem to have rather traditional tried and tested design elements from short and squat buildings it seems? singapore's scrapers on the other hand tends to be kenzo tange angled! (or im pei angled). count the number of buildings with piercing angles...

but som blocks have been appearing recently though.. although somewhat international-american, ntuc building does make me think of hdb flats?


i hope that wasn't too much rubbish haha

Raffles Place has an Asian feel to it?

Generally speaking, many say that Singapore's skyline (today) resembles LA (although ours is better :D)

Of course on closer inspection, perhaps you can say that the individual buildings have a slightly more refined feel to them - a slightl and subtle Oriental touch.

How is the new NTUC Building like HDB flats??


LA skyline vs Singapore
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v133/RafflesCity/siaadv.jpg

ah i was just thinking about comparing library tower (or whatever its called now) to uob..

see library tower
http://www.tombridge.com/photos/socal0803/library_tower.jpg


esp its crown area
http://www.maguireproperties.com/ximages/us_tower.jpg



and how it compares with this very classical harp (american btw)
http://dwci.net/hoffman/lyon/images/100natural.jpg




and uob (no need for pics here)... uhm well its just cleaner and could perhaps be likened to this harp (japanese)


http://www.aoyama-harp.co.jp/lineup/images/47m_bk_b.jpg




i know its weird comparing buildings to harps but uh that's just a thought i had.

Mercantile & Chartered Banks should be preserved. :cry:

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005113-8073-3222-5047/img0117.jpg
^Goodness, so many grand buildings.
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005120-8073-3222-4724/img0077.jpg
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19990001317-8346-3102-0519/img0058.jpg
^The old Nedlloyd House, one of the last survivors of the skyscraper boom, only to be demolished about 10 years ago! :cry:

Like someone said before, Singapore Town used to look like some town in Europe. Now, Raffles Place looks more 'American' city -_-

You can really see from the buildings and their styles that even back then, Singapore was THE place for foreign businesses in Asia.

Well, the tropical trees give it away.... lol

what does raffles place look like now?

I join you in sobbing and crying with pain over the disappearance of those grand old buildings, redstone. :cry: The last picture in your previous post ... boohoooo ... I'm incredibly depressed. :(

@blabbyboy: good question!

like this http://www.geocities.co.jp/HeartLand/8848/album/F011f.jpg


these mrt entrances... when were they built?
http://www.hkrs.org.hk/members/rwong/singapore/Dsc00490.jpg

and what were they originally? or are they just history-less?

It looks real to me. Then again, my inexperienced eyes don't yet fully understand the ways of this world and hence are unable to make a conclusive judgement....

The entrances mimick the pendiment of John Little & Co.

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005124-8073-3222-4728/img0015.jpg

Is it intentional?

Intentional? :?

Does the entrance mimic the John Little & Co building front on purpose or was it just coincidence.

Seems to me like it was meant to mimic the building, but i don't know... lol

Of course on purpose lah. :D

oh that's a nice touch... did they remove that section and glue it there or make a whole new one?

Don't be silly! Of course they glued the thing on! Don't you know how expensive building a whole new one would've been? Sheesh... talk about a no-brainer...

Don't be silly! Of course they glued the thing on! Don't you know how expensive building a whole new one would've been? Sheesh... talk about a no-brainer...
Now you are the one sounding silly! Of coz it was a re-creation! ;)

It was done in order to invoke a gentle reminder of the architecture which once surrounded our most important commercial area. Notice there are large murals along the wals in the station showing old photos and drawings of those structures too?

well can't tell if that's meant to be sarcastic or not... but if what you meant was that it's very expensive to glue that thing on... well i thought sometimes its worth spending a little more for silly sentimentalities... like merlion?

well can't tell if that's meant to be sarcastic or not... but if what you meant was that it's very expensive to glue that thing on... well i thought sometimes its worth spending a little more for silly sentimentalities... like merlion?

I feel so hurt...... of course i was being sarcastic? Is glue even strong enough to hold the thing on?!?!?!?!

well i didn't actually mean glue.. it was just a bit of... not sarcasm.... something between sarcasm and irony? dunnowhat. because i have no idea what they use to attach stuff.. they do preserve façades of buildings sometimes... so i was wondering if they preserved that top part and brought it down there.

Usually, when they move historic buildings, they take each stone one by one and number it. They then key the numbers into a computer which pieces it together again digitally. After that, they place the stones on top of each other at the exact positions, filling up any broken pieces at the same time. No glue or other adhesive is used, since the buildings are so heavy they can stand on their own.

Old Raffles Place is soooooo beautiful!!!!!!!!!!:D

oh so that was preserved?

Lau Pa Sat was preserved this way.

There are some 'historic' structures along East Coast Park that look like theyve been glued on!

what? i never really notice.. but there's a faint impression

They mimick Raffles Place/ Battery Road of the past.

Not accurate, though.

what? i never really notice.. but there's a faint impression

Those around the McDonalds at East Coast Park.

i thought they were pretty plain? .. never noticed although i seem to go there quite often!

take piccies next time u go :D

haha ok always thought that place architecturally insignificant

oh well its been built on reclaimed land and 'existed' since the 70s, so.........

Does anyone know if Change Alley is still about (I think that was its name). I haven't been there in donkeys years!

Would you all say that the Shanghai Bund is now stronger than any collection in Singapore also?

On another note - my house is akin to the Cliff preservation model (albeit different) - most of the bricks can date back over a 150 years. The actual mansion was broken up and used to construct several detached houses on the same expansive plot in the 70's. Each house has roughly the same amount of bricks (but obviously a load more chucked in), so bricks used for the old kitchen of the mansion can be found in every single kitchen of the new houses which is a pretty cool idea. Another odd aspect is the entrance to the mini-estate: you come in under a living arch and is pretty unique for the era that they were built in.

Yes Change Alley is still around, albeit it is now an elongated mall....aka a vehicular street which has since been pedestrainised.

The Shanghai Bund is another league altogether.

Change Alley in the 1970s:
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19990001351-8324-3302-3085/img0073.jpg

It was a shopping alley last time, sandwiched between buildings at Raffles Place.

Now Change Alley is a pedestrainised road, a shopping mall.

^
Aiyo.......Change Alley look like Masap Malam previously........:eek:

uh... that's the side of singapore i would want to rid of as quickly as possible.

ayoh... why are you so keen on destroying the past? It's a treasure you know, and one that money can never really buy.....

well i certainly wouldnt want to live in those conditions.. it's ok to preserve a small section like a museum..

its not just the past. its also undeveloped.

Change Alley is certainly one of the colourful places of Singapore's financial district.

Heard that its so called because you could lose a watch at one end of it and buy it back at the other! Also in the 70s the moneylenders there spoke Russian as Russian seacrew made calls at Singapore quite often.

Actually, it's so fitting.... change alley....

It is called so because there are a lot of money changers there.

They'll yell "Change money, change money!". :D

How could anyone destroy Change Alley - the Leadenhall of Singapore :laugh:. I thought it might have been redeveloped but as I have been informed it thankfully hasn't. If you don't like the past then modernise it. Britain has done an excellent job of taking disused factories and warehouses and turning them into excellent office, residential and retailing space.

For those interested in classic restoration/modernisations - go to Butler's Wharf (Raffles might have been there) which is slap bang next to Tower Bridge on the southbank. A dump post-London port decline, it is one of the hottest places to live.

Another great example of renovation - Highbury - Arsenal's current football ground will be modified into (once they move into their new stadium down the road which is currently u/c) residential units. With most of the original stadium left in place - Rendering here (http://www.arsenal.com/images/thestadium/gallery/large/img15.jpg)

On another, but connected note I work in a very odd place - I work in what used to be a maltings (ie where the malt used to produce vinegar and beer was roasted) - but has now been converted into office units. All haphazard (its over 300 years old) and with several floors (like a maze) due to the previous usage its pretty unique. Visiting clients are amazed at how unique it is compared to their bog standard office. I think they also enjoy not having a flat ceiling (the roof is vaulted like a cathedral).

Thus if need comes for Change Alley (as a last resort) to be redeveloped - it should be to incorporate it, not destroy or eradicate it into any "overall plan". Afterall without unique traits - how will Singapore be unique :yes:

You might be absolutely delighted to know that Change Alley as we know it today is an intergal part of the top Business location of Singapore, and is practically the main pedestrain throughfair linking Raffles Place with the waterfront.

I would think it is highly modernised, and very well incorporated with its new surroundings too! ;)

Well I aint been there for a few years so its a tad hard for me to tell what from what. As you will most likely be aware that Singapore hasn't been stationary in development terms ;)

Yes of coz, so perhaps it will do everyone a favour if you may go research a little on present day Change Alley before "preaching" to us on the merits of conservation and a runaway commentary about some place which we probably would go all the way to the UK forums if we cared to know more about it...

I come on to this sub-forum for a little look, ask a few questions and bang get labelled as "preaching". Forget about a non-Singaporean showing any interest here again then if the atmospehere is going to be so condescending. :sleepy:

;) Well there is one thing about showing genuine interest in others and wanting to find out more about them, and its another when it comes to using all possible means to basically gloat about "whatever I have back home" even when the situation dosent really call for it.

Perhaps I am too unforgiving, but I suppose your reputation preceeds you.

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005038-6320-3081-0033/img0037.jpg
Shackle Club?! :eek:

uh...

what on earth is a shackle club? pls expln

Isn't it supposed to be John Little?
Don't know why is it Shackle Club? :?

like shag club?

Ocean Building under construction - around 1971?
http://pro.corbis.com/images/RT002203.jpg?size=67&uid={56530456-f325-4793-ae0f-97106cda2671}

wow that looks like east coast park or something...

Ocean Building under construction - around 1971?
http://pro.corbis.com/images/RT002203.jpg?size=67&uid={56530456-f325-4793-ae0f-97106cda2671}
Hua!! I didnt know it was being built even when the old buildings around Raffles Place are still around! :eek:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/reigh/Singapore/IMG_0932.jpg

@huaiwei, yah..the contrast is so dramatic but at one stage I guess the transition had to happen! In retrospect it seems dismaying ^^

@Ray, your pic shows the buildings occupying those old buildings on the left of the old pic...

Change Alley runs inside Caltex House today
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v164/reigh/Singapore/IMG_0932.jpg
http://pro.corbis.com/images/RT002203.jpg?size=67&uid={56530456-f325-4793-ae0f-97106cda2671}

Wow. Those photo's are great! I've been to Singapore this summer and you wouldn't think it would have looked like that. Like someone said before, it is very American looking nowadays, and those pics look like they're from the U.K.! Thanks for posting them. I will store them on my hard disk immediately :D

We have evolved from a British to an American city? :D

Giant turns dwarf

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-10-23/h19a.jpg

IN 1954, Asia Insurance Building was still under construction, but it towered over its neighbours at Raffles Place. Oral history has it that back in the 1950s, an old woman would stand outside the building for a long time every day and swear at it. She carried on that way for years. It was said that her son was killed in an accident there when it was being built.

Back then, before the green square we know today, the area was a sprawling carpark, but still very much a hub of activity. There was a bustling crowd of itinerant hawkers selling fruits and toys who would be jostling for space with snake-charmers.

They would lay out their goods on a piece of cloth. When raided, they would grab all four corners, haul it over their shoulders, and make a run for it.

Today, Asia Insurance Building is the only recognisable landmark (short, white building in the picture below) in the landscape of modern skyscrapers. But now, the building is among the shortest there.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-10-23/h19b.jpg

Glad you like these pic Sir P von!

Heres another pic of Raffles Place in the 1960s
http://www.jellesen.dk/webcrea/places/sing/79x.jpg

http://pro.corbis.com/images/RT002203.jpg?size=67&uid={56530456-f325-4793-ae0f-97106cda2671}

Looks like a hollywood set...

http://img228.exs.cx/img228/909/rparcade8co.jpg
So dark.... :eek:

http://img193.exs.cx/img193/2735/rpsltch3ji.jpg
Reminds me of that classic WTC 'looking up' photo...

http://img179.exs.cx/img179/9969/rpuobp24ub.jpg
Jewel of the evening, lady of the night... :cool:

Sexy Republic......:D

http://img97.exs.cx/img97/3717/pic0138210de.jpg

Nice picture.Looks so futuristic, like in some anime.

Thats awesome.

Its hard to take unique pics of Republic Plaza and DIS IS IT :D

wahh the last photo is cool:)

Oo la la, the clouds reflected off RP is perfect!

^
Thanks.......:D

Nice picture of Replublic Plaza Stan!!! :eek: :okay:




From the 2nd page of this thread:

^
Aiyo.......Change Alley look like Masap Malam previously........:eek:


I think you mean 'Pasar Malam' which is 'night market' in Malay right? :? ......sorry.....not to correct you but just curious...... ;)

Nice picture of Replublic Plaza Stan!!! :eek: :okay:

From the 2nd page of this thread:

I think you mean 'Pasar Malam' which is 'night market' in Malay right? :? ......sorry.....not to correct you but just curious...... ;)

I supposed you're right cos my Malay is really half past six.......:lol:

Btw, thanks for the compliment....:yes:

Very very close.......:eek:

http://img201.exs.cx/img201/4748/pic0117111ur.jpg

Yes! They should consider simply joining the buildings into one.:D

The gap on the ground floor between BOC and StanChart is vey very very narrow and creepy!!! :eek: :runaway:

They are not joined!!!! :runaway:

Another frightening gap is between Caltex and Arcade...... :runaway:

Sexy Republic......:D

http://img97.exs.cx/img97/3717/pic0138210de.jpg

NTUC on the right???? :?
But the angle looks odd.......

Yes, it is NTUC on the right. Why is it odd? Looks fine to me:)

Emm....I supposed it won't be odd if NTUC were to be a shophouse......:lol: :jk:

Yes! They should consider simply joining the buildings into one.:D

That would be disgusting and oppressive. :puke:

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005113-8073-3222-5047/img0117.jpg
^Goodness, so many grand buildings.
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005120-8073-3222-4724/img0077.jpg
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19990001317-8346-3102-0519/img0058.jpg
^The old Nedlloyd House, one of the last survivors of the skyscraper boom, only to be demolished about 10 years ago! :cry:

How many years they took to complete this construction?

1930s:
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005784-8106-3181-7864/img0023.jpg

The AI Building in the background was built in 1954 so this pic is post 1954:
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980007351-8262-3202-1116/img0083.jpg

This is perhaps 1985:
http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19990001317-8346-3102-0519/img0058.jpg

An article posted earlier by babystan:

Feb 24, 2005
Sip wine at Raffles Place station

By Daryl Loo

OFFICE workers getting off work can now kick back with a cup of coffee with a dash of booze or a glass of wine at the Raffles Place MRT station, something which has never been allowed before.

They can pick these drinks up at the Coffee Connoisseur cafe, the first outlet at an MRT station in Singapore allowed to serve alcohol.

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2005-02-24/home6.jpg

Before the cafe was allowed to set up underground, the layout of the station's shopping arcade had to be changed, to conform with the fire safety rules that places selling liquor have to abide with.

The revamp cost SMRT Corporation, which operates all the MRT stations and lines here with the exception of the North-East Line, about $7 million.

Minister of State for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said yesterday at the official launch of the Raffles Xchange, as the arcade has been dubbed, that such use of space is encouraged as it creates alternate income for public transport operators.

This, in turn, allows operators to hold off future hikes in fares, she added.

The Raffles Place station is the first to undergo a major facelift under SMRT's plan to add retail space and inject new life into some of its 51 stations.

Work on it started last June and was supposed to have been done by November. But regulatory issues, such as the fire safety requirements, which required the station's walkways to be made wider, delayed things.

'I am glad that SMRT has persevered in its plans,' said Mrs Lim.

It led to a review of rules, like the one on the width of MRT station walkways, by agencies such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Urban Redevelopment Authority which regulate such issues, she noted.

To work around the one that says no retail outlet is allowed to serve alcohol at any MRT station, SMRT built The Coffee Connoisseur outlet in an area away from the main transit area at Raffles Place.

Retail space at the station has been increased by 53 per cent to 2,600 sq m, allowing more shops to open there. From 35 spots, there is now place for 53, of which just one unit is yet to be rented out.

Most outlets are selling clothes and accessories, and include Giordano and Goldheart Jewelry. There is also the usual bunch of food outlets, gift shops and convenience stores.

SMRT chairman Choo Chiau Beng said after his company's experience dealing with regulatory issues at Raffles Xchange, it should be able to complete revamps at other MRT stations much faster.

The operator is hoping to raise its income from retail space rental by 50 per cent or $10 million by April next year.

SMRT is also getting revenue from advertising at its stations, trains, buses and taxis, providing engineering services and rail management overseas, and its taxi business.

But Mr Choo believes that if all goes as planned, SMRT's retail rentals should be the fastest growing area as 'we've still got plenty of space in all the stations'.

'If we can grow our non-fare revenue, it helps us to give people using public transport the lowest fares,' he added.

Copyright © 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.

hmmm.. not only that... you smell roti-boy when the train opens its doors at Raffles Place... :)

The new underground link there is much nicer now

but i dont like how they just ripped off citylink, and did a bad job at that too.

Is it me, or are the facades of the buildings in both pictures all different?

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980005784-8106-3181-7864/img0023.jpg

http://picas.nhb.gov.sg/data/tn_pcd/19980007351-8262-3202-1116/img0083.jpg

If you're speaking about the building at the end of Raffles Place, they definitely look like two different buildings. You can compare with the one on the right of it across the street, that didn't change. The large building on the right also had some minor changes to its facade, it seems.

Okay, another one that remined was the tower with a turret on the left. Other than that, looks like all were either rebuilt or renovated.

LOl, didn't expect the changes in those two would match in magnitude with the one of modern RP.

The MRT...our only sign of the past..
http://img148.echo.cx/img148/6149/img00356s7rp.jpg

hmm.. and maybe this too
http://img178.echo.cx/img178/5711/p10105145hb.jpg

The MRT...our only sign of the past..
http://img148.echo.cx/img148/6149/img00356s7rp.jpg

Haha.....I think thats good enough.....:yes:

Some sexy night scenes

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/ylstan01/City%20landscape/DSC014171.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/ylstan01/City%20landscape/DSC014241.jpg

Relaxing in the midst of the crowd

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/ylstan01/City%20landscape/DSC014311.jpg

Glassy building in CBD
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0192.jpg

Road Crack....:eek::jk:
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0198.jpg

Fighting for space.....:yes:
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0179.jpg

Some new angles......:D

1.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0008.jpg
2.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0013.jpg
3.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0005.jpg

More.....:D

4.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0012.jpg
5.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0009.jpg
6.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0018.jpg
7.
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e126/ylstan02/Sigma/DSC_0068.jpg