Pearlbank Apartment

RafflesCity · February 15th, 2004, 06:35 AM

Once in a while, one’s perception of all things is profoundly shaken by the experience of an architectural work from the past, such as the Berber villages in south Morocco and S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane by Francesco Borromini; Pearlbank Apartments, designed by Tan Cheng Siong of Archurban Architects & Planners, is one such work.

Located on a hillside next to Chinatown, Pearlbank Apartments stands admirably different from the traditions of shophouses, the mute practicality of HDB blocks, and the indifferent sleekness of curtain walls that surround the site. This splendid isolation is both physical and intellectual.When it was completed in 1976, Pearlbank attained to some form of distinction by having the highest density for a private development, and being the tallest residential block in Singapore with the largest number of units contained in a single block.

The main residential block consists of a roughly three-quarter circular slab with small slits in between. The block offers three types of units, two-bedroom (130 sqm), three-bedroom (176.5 sqm), and four-bedroom (213.7 sqm); there are 8 units to each floor. At the top of the block are 8 penthouse units with 4 to 5 split levels, roof terraces, and breath-taking views, making the total number of units 272.

Slotted into the sloping site at the podium level is a multi-storey ramped carpark. The community space for the residents begins at the podium roof level, where the lift lobbies to the units and some convenience shops are located. Structurally, the tower block is held together by a series of in-situ concrete sheer walls which also function as party walls; these walls are transferred through huge beams at the bottom of the block to allow more openness at the lobby level.

But Pearlbank transcends this physical description. The design of the building exerts energy of a strong “willed” action – will to form, if you like. Not, I hasten to add, the will to whimsicality of formalistic fashions of the seventies such as mushroom-shaped balconies and truncated pyramidal protrusions, but the will springing from internalised comprehension of high-density urban habitation. Such will is embodied in the clarity of planning, the intrigue of domestic spaces through level changes and the deliberate avoidance of any references to traditional forms of dwelling.

The circular shape of the main residential block, despite the resulting difficulties of construction at the time, makes plenty of sense in maximising the sublime views of the city centre and creating a sense of intimacy with communal circulation corridors facing the internal courtyard. The orientation of the circular slab is such that it avoids afternoon sun for all the units, and the slits in the circular slab allow effective ventilation into the internal courtyard. In one stroke, the connection with the city and domesticity is wonderfully demarcated, although more could be done for the internal courtyard space to highlight its communal nature.

The “pie-shaped” units are “inter-locked” in sections; this painstaking gesture gave the architect plenty of opportunities to create changes in levels, such as those in entrance hall with kitchen and dining, living room with master bedroom, and utility spaces connected to the main circulation corridor through a dedicated external stair. Few would deny that level changes in domestic spaces are enormously enriching devices in design; these had been employed with worthwhile results.

Unlike many of today’s condominiums, Pearlbank Apartments made no reference to forms and colours of traditional dwelling. It asserts its own characterisation of contemporary living in high density despite the popular doubts about safety of high-rise dwelling at the time more so than any other apartment blocks. It borrows no semantic meanings, makes no use of superfluous decorations; it is its own iconic signifier.

Pearlbank clearly forms part of the modernist discourse in architecture of the twentieth century, with luminaries such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn pioneering radical forms of urban dwelling long before Pearlbank. Le Corbusier’s remarkable rethinking of low-cost urban habitation, which began with “Ville Contemporaine” in 1922, generated radically different ideas of urban forms; the technological advancement in construction in later years brought versions of this vision to reality throughout the world. The inter-locking apartment units at Pearlbank recall Le Corbusier’s duplex “cross-over” section of “Unité d’Habitation” in 1952 (although with corridor at every two floors instead of every three floors), and the communal space originally planned at level 28 was intended to provide additional facilities for the residence, much in the same spirit in which Le Corbusier provided his roof communal space at “Unité d’Habitation.” Furthermore, the circular residential slab with a carpark podium resembles Kahn’s memorable sketch of a “dock” complex for Philadelphia in 1956.

If Pearlbank lacks the heroic aura of a pioneering work, it perhaps makes up with its emphatic insertion into a particular site with unique climatic conditions. Among many buildings in Singapore in the seventies affecting the “international style”, Pearlbank is remarkably restrained in its insistence on the purity and consistency of concept. It is precisely in this insistent adherence to an architectural form deriving from logical and clear planning that we find a rare criticality and vision in Pearlbank. Formalism never played any part here, yet there is a strong formal character and almost never a dull moment; this alone should make Pearlbank a modern classic, head and shoulders above many other fashionable and gimmicky contrivances from the same era.

Today, as we surrender some of our rights to think about habitation independently to developers whose design strategies derive from “market research” for the lowest common denominators, we will do ourselves a great service to take another look at Pearlbank, with all its unresolved corners, peeling paint, leaking plumbing systems, and various forms of mutilations perpetrated by the inhabitants. Architecture must sustain its criticality and vision if any kind of “paradigm shift”, to borrow a term contemporaneous to Pearlbank, is to take place among the “normative architecture” of property development. Let us look forward to maintaining Pearlbank as a “critics’ choice” in the world of “people’s choices”; this has nothing to do with elitism and everything to do with sustaining criticality and innovation which lie at the heart of architecture.

http://www.singaporearchitect.com.sg...1/feature.html

RafflesCity · February 15th, 2004, 06:36 AM

Here are some pics posted by huaiwei. What do you think?

Cliff · February 15th, 2004, 08:02 AM

WOW!!! I want to live in one of those penthouses!!!

Great article! Thanks!

Monkey · February 15th, 2004, 08:10 AM

Pearlbank was built as early as 1976?

What a beautiful building, and such thoughtful design! Lucky Singapore!!!

I wonder why the world had so many more shoebox-like boring rectangular buildings dumped on it after Pearlbank?

Pearlbank should have served as a springboard for future archtecture rather than being a lone standout and highlight!

Thanks for showing off this beautiful building, Raffi!

RafflesCity · February 15th, 2004, 09:26 AM

I am shocked! You find it beautiful?

To be honest I was always intrigued and disgusted by this thing. Intrigued because it sat alone on a hill like an evil castle and disgusted by its dirty-looking colour and facade.

But your comments, this article in an architectural magazine and Blabbyboy's comments are making me look at it from a different perspective (unlike my usual instant gratification reactions to buildings).

Actually I already revised by intense dislike for it when me and huaiwei checked it out. Once you get past the interior you enter a pleasant courtyard with fountains and a garden. The view from up there is breathtaking and the curvature and mini staircases create a nice community feel. This has been very interesting for me

Blabbyboy, "Actually, Pearl Hills may be ugly but it's nothing that a good, high quality refurb won't fix - maybe break open some walls or glass in the "cages" and clad the thing in metallic facade - titanium would be yummy but anodized aluminium also can. Then maybe glass in the top (but leave the side gap open) and add a few levels of new penthouse or even a spire. The "broken up", disjointed look of the outside is all the rage in postmodern architecture TODAY! It could look very contemporary! But it would probably cost so much that you might as well demolish and build a new one!"

Monkey · February 15th, 2004, 09:38 AM

Ugh ... now that you mention it, Raffi, that stained concrete DOES look rather ugly.

I think I took the clues for my assessment mainly from the first picture in the opening post, where the building looks like shimmering silver, and from its design, a very unusual open circle, a design that permits that open feeling and the connectedness to the courtyard.

So you've taken a second look at the place & are thinking about it twice? Great!

huaiwei · February 15th, 2004, 04:11 PM

"we will do ourselves a great service to take another look at Pearlbank, with all its unresolved corners, peeling paint, leaking plumbing systems, and various forms of mutilations perpetrated by the inhabitants."

Like wat Raffi mentioned, that was probably only truly possible when you actually step into the building! I still remember my brief visit clearly, and ever since then, when I stare at the building, I actually think of positive things rather then the usual gasps of disgust!

RafflesCity · February 16th, 2004, 07:40 AM

Indeed. Not only is it cool and breezy up there (on the hill), you can also get fabulous views:

Edit (new pics)

sOmeOne · February 16th, 2004, 09:28 AM

Wow, this is a cool building! It's like a luxury commieblock, I'd love to live there!

Cliff · February 16th, 2004, 01:51 PM

I used to wonder what that building was, I would stare at it and wonder.... It can actually be Singapore's version of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. A city in a building.

heirloom · February 16th, 2004, 04:54 PM

are there lift landings on every floor? its going to be demolished soon right? 99 year lease?

RafflesCity · February 16th, 2004, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by heirloom

are there lift landings on every floor? its going to be demolished soon right? 99 year lease?

Yup. But the lift is small and very slowwwwww.
The 99 year lease expires in 2075 I guess. I wonder how long skyscrapers can last anyway...

heirloom · February 16th, 2004, 05:37 PM

hrmmm normally when 99 year lease buildings reach 30+ they are demolished? because after the building is 33 years old or something the value drops significantly? it's about to poof off i think.. byuebye pearlbank - good riddance!

redstone · February 17th, 2004, 07:49 AM

How many floors does it have?

Devilution · February 17th, 2004, 02:19 PM

Yes, this is such a cool building. I have had the privilege of seeing it IRL too and it sure was HUGE! And that view from the top... it can´t be described with words. And, it´s right next to chinatown!!

I so want to move to Singapore soon!!!

heirloom · February 17th, 2004, 02:38 PM

Quote:

[SIZE=1]Originally posted by Devilution

And that view from the top... it can´t be described with words./SIZE]

hrmmm the sea and sky seem to melt into each other..

RafflesCity · February 17th, 2004, 06:07 PM

I just dig that view..imagine it at night! And since the building is on a hill its like being in a taller building

heirloom · February 18th, 2004, 10:56 AM

if you imagine hard enough it would look like singapore is floating in air! or a plateau!

Cliff · February 18th, 2004, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by heirloom

if you imagine hard enough it would look like singapore is floating in air! or a plateau!

Hey! I also imagined that!

Monkey · February 20th, 2004, 08:05 AM

A tall building floating in the sky ... magical!

Reminds me of the book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. It's a lovely book about imaginary cities and architecture ... it's the account the Venetian explorer Marco Polo gives to the Kubla Khan on his way back from his travels to the Far East. It's a fascinating book, very much a luxury read--it touches on so many human and societal and historic and architectural points.

Devilution, I'm used to seeing you in the S & B forum--delighted to see you here!

You visited Singapore & were at the top of the Pearlview? Incredible!

February 15th, 2004, 06:35 AM	#1
RafflesCity By Spirit Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S I N G A P O R E Posts: 26,215 Likes (Received): 2	PEARLBANK APARTMENTS - A Singapore Housing Icon Once in a while, one’s perception of all things is profoundly shaken by the experience of an architectural work from the past, such as the Berber villages in south Morocco and S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane by Francesco Borromini; Pearlbank Apartments, designed by Tan Cheng Siong of Archurban Architects & Planners, is one such work. Located on a hillside next to Chinatown, Pearlbank Apartments stands admirably different from the traditions of shophouses, the mute practicality of HDB blocks, and the indifferent sleekness of curtain walls that surround the site. This splendid isolation is both physical and intellectual.When it was completed in 1976, Pearlbank attained to some form of distinction by having the highest density for a private development, and being the tallest residential block in Singapore with the largest number of units contained in a single block. The main residential block consists of a roughly three-quarter circular slab with small slits in between. The block offers three types of units, two-bedroom (130 sqm), three-bedroom (176.5 sqm), and four-bedroom (213.7 sqm); there are 8 units to each floor. At the top of the block are 8 penthouse units with 4 to 5 split levels, roof terraces, and breath-taking views, making the total number of units 272. Slotted into the sloping site at the podium level is a multi-storey ramped carpark. The community space for the residents begins at the podium roof level, where the lift lobbies to the units and some convenience shops are located. Structurally, the tower block is held together by a series of in-situ concrete sheer walls which also function as party walls; these walls are transferred through huge beams at the bottom of the block to allow more openness at the lobby level. But Pearlbank transcends this physical description. The design of the building exerts energy of a strong “willed” action – will to form, if you like. Not, I hasten to add, the will to whimsicality of formalistic fashions of the seventies such as mushroom-shaped balconies and truncated pyramidal protrusions, but the will springing from internalised comprehension of high-density urban habitation. Such will is embodied in the clarity of planning, the intrigue of domestic spaces through level changes and the deliberate avoidance of any references to traditional forms of dwelling. The circular shape of the main residential block, despite the resulting difficulties of construction at the time, makes plenty of sense in maximising the sublime views of the city centre and creating a sense of intimacy with communal circulation corridors facing the internal courtyard. The orientation of the circular slab is such that it avoids afternoon sun for all the units, and the slits in the circular slab allow effective ventilation into the internal courtyard. In one stroke, the connection with the city and domesticity is wonderfully demarcated, although more could be done for the internal courtyard space to highlight its communal nature. The “pie-shaped” units are “inter-locked” in sections; this painstaking gesture gave the architect plenty of opportunities to create changes in levels, such as those in entrance hall with kitchen and dining, living room with master bedroom, and utility spaces connected to the main circulation corridor through a dedicated external stair. Few would deny that level changes in domestic spaces are enormously enriching devices in design; these had been employed with worthwhile results. Unlike many of today’s condominiums, Pearlbank Apartments made no reference to forms and colours of traditional dwelling. It asserts its own characterisation of contemporary living in high density despite the popular doubts about safety of high-rise dwelling at the time more so than any other apartment blocks. It borrows no semantic meanings, makes no use of superfluous decorations; it is its own iconic signifier. Pearlbank clearly forms part of the modernist discourse in architecture of the twentieth century, with luminaries such as Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn pioneering radical forms of urban dwelling long before Pearlbank. Le Corbusier’s remarkable rethinking of low-cost urban habitation, which began with “Ville Contemporaine” in 1922, generated radically different ideas of urban forms; the technological advancement in construction in later years brought versions of this vision to reality throughout the world. The inter-locking apartment units at Pearlbank recall Le Corbusier’s duplex “cross-over” section of “Unité d’Habitation” in 1952 (although with corridor at every two floors instead of every three floors), and the communal space originally planned at level 28 was intended to provide additional facilities for the residence, much in the same spirit in which Le Corbusier provided his roof communal space at “Unité d’Habitation.” Furthermore, the circular residential slab with a carpark podium resembles Kahn’s memorable sketch of a “dock” complex for Philadelphia in 1956. If Pearlbank lacks the heroic aura of a pioneering work, it perhaps makes up with its emphatic insertion into a particular site with unique climatic conditions. Among many buildings in Singapore in the seventies affecting the “international style”, Pearlbank is remarkably restrained in its insistence on the purity and consistency of concept. It is precisely in this insistent adherence to an architectural form deriving from logical and clear planning that we find a rare criticality and vision in Pearlbank. Formalism never played any part here, yet there is a strong formal character and almost never a dull moment; this alone should make Pearlbank a modern classic, head and shoulders above many other fashionable and gimmicky contrivances from the same era. Today, as we surrender some of our rights to think about habitation independently to developers whose design strategies derive from “market research” for the lowest common denominators, we will do ourselves a great service to take another look at Pearlbank, with all its unresolved corners, peeling paint, leaking plumbing systems, and various forms of mutilations perpetrated by the inhabitants. Architecture must sustain its criticality and vision if any kind of “paradigm shift”, to borrow a term contemporaneous to Pearlbank, is to take place among the “normative architecture” of property development. Let us look forward to maintaining Pearlbank as a “critics’ choice” in the world of “people’s choices”; this has nothing to do with elitism and everything to do with sustaining criticality and innovation which lie at the heart of architecture. http://www.singaporearchitect.com.sg...1/feature.html

February 15th, 2004, 08:02 AM	#3
Cliff Tan Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 4,282 Likes (Received): 1	WOW!!! I want to live in one of those penthouses!!! Great article! Thanks! __________________ www.clifftan.com cliffsuss.blogspot.com

February 15th, 2004, 04:11 PM	#7
huaiwei The Monkey King Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Singapore 新加坡 Singapura சிங்கப்&#2986 Posts: 11,897 Likes (Received): 0	"we will do ourselves a great service to take another look at Pearlbank, with all its unresolved corners, peeling paint, leaking plumbing systems, and various forms of mutilations perpetrated by the inhabitants." Like wat Raffi mentioned, that was probably only truly possible when you actually step into the building! I still remember my brief visit clearly, and ever since then, when I stare at the building, I actually think of positive things rather then the usual gasps of disgust! __________________ Majulah Singapura 前进吧，新加坡！Onward Singapore முன்னேறட்டும் சிங்கப்பூர் "My Settlement of Singapore continues to thrive most wonderfully - it is all and everything I could wish and, if no untimely fate awaits it, promises to become the Emporium and the pride of the East" - Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, 10th September 1820

February 16th, 2004, 09:28 AM	#9
sOmeOne Future Singaporean Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moscow / Seattle Posts: 1,180 Likes (Received): 0	Wow, this is a cool building! It's like a luxury commieblock, I'd love to live there! __________________ Lithuanian beer tastes like bleach!

February 16th, 2004, 01:51 PM	#10
Cliff Tan Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Singapore Posts: 4,282 Likes (Received): 1	I used to wonder what that building was, I would stare at it and wonder.... It can actually be Singapore's version of Roppongi Hills Mori Tower. A city in a building. __________________ www.clifftan.com cliffsuss.blogspot.com

February 15th, 2004, 06:36 AM	#2
RafflesCity By Spirit Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S I N G A P O R E Posts: 26,215 Likes (Received): 2	Here are some pics posted by huaiwei. What do you think?

February 15th, 2004, 08:10 AM	#4
Monkey Londinium langur Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Londinium Posts: 14,616 Likes (Received): 1	Pearlbank was built as early as 1976? What a beautiful building, and such thoughtful design! Lucky Singapore!!! I wonder why the world had so many more shoebox-like boring rectangular buildings dumped on it after Pearlbank? Pearlbank should have served as a springboard for future archtecture rather than being a lone standout and highlight! Thanks for showing off this beautiful building, Raffi!

February 15th, 2004, 09:26 AM	#5
RafflesCity By Spirit Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S I N G A P O R E Posts: 26,215 Likes (Received): 2	I am shocked! You find it beautiful? To be honest I was always intrigued and disgusted by this thing. Intrigued because it sat alone on a hill like an evil castle and disgusted by its dirty-looking colour and facade. But your comments, this article in an architectural magazine and Blabbyboy's comments are making me look at it from a different perspective (unlike my usual instant gratification reactions to buildings). Actually I already revised by intense dislike for it when me and huaiwei checked it out. Once you get past the interior you enter a pleasant courtyard with fountains and a garden. The view from up there is breathtaking and the curvature and mini staircases create a nice community feel. This has been very interesting for me Blabbyboy, "Actually, Pearl Hills may be ugly but it's nothing that a good, high quality refurb won't fix - maybe break open some walls or glass in the "cages" and clad the thing in metallic facade - titanium would be yummy but anodized aluminium also can. Then maybe glass in the top (but leave the side gap open) and add a few levels of new penthouse or even a spire. The "broken up", disjointed look of the outside is all the rage in postmodern architecture TODAY! It could look very contemporary! But it would probably cost so much that you might as well demolish and build a new one!"

February 15th, 2004, 09:38 AM	#6
Monkey Londinium langur Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Londinium Posts: 14,616 Likes (Received): 1	Ugh ... now that you mention it, Raffi, that stained concrete DOES look rather ugly. I think I took the clues for my assessment mainly from the first picture in the opening post, where the building looks like shimmering silver, and from its design, a very unusual open circle, a design that permits that open feeling and the connectedness to the courtyard. So you've taken a second look at the place & are thinking about it twice? Great!

February 16th, 2004, 07:40 AM	#8
RafflesCity By Spirit Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S I N G A P O R E Posts: 26,215 Likes (Received): 2	Indeed. Not only is it cool and breezy up there (on the hill), you can also get fabulous views: Edit (new pics)

February 16th, 2004, 04:54 PM	#11
heirloom Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 6,158 Likes (Received): 0	are there lift landings on every floor? its going to be demolished soon right? 99 year lease?

February 16th, 2004, 05:37 PM	#13
heirloom Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 6,158 Likes (Received): 0	hrmmm normally when 99 year lease buildings reach 30+ they are demolished? because after the building is 33 years old or something the value drops significantly? it's about to poof off i think.. byuebye pearlbank - good riddance!

February 17th, 2004, 07:49 AM	#14
redstone The Uninspired Architect Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Singapore Posts: 14,068 Likes (Received): 0	How many floors does it have? __________________ http://redstonean.deviantart.com/

February 17th, 2004, 02:19 PM	#15
Devilution Schnitzl'd in the Negev Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Outer Shpongolia Posts: 116 Likes (Received): 0	Yes, this is such a cool building. I have had the privilege of seeing it IRL too and it sure was HUGE! And that view from the top... it can´t be described with words. And, it´s right next to chinatown!! I so want to move to Singapore soon!!! __________________ There. This'll teach those filthy bastards who's lovable. (Bender)

February 17th, 2004, 06:07 PM	#17
RafflesCity By Spirit Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S I N G A P O R E Posts: 26,215 Likes (Received): 2	I just dig that view..imagine it at night! And since the building is on a hill its like being in a taller building

February 18th, 2004, 10:56 AM	#18
heirloom Registered User Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 6,158 Likes (Received): 0	if you imagine hard enough it would look like singapore is floating in air! or a plateau!

February 20th, 2004, 08:05 AM	#20
Monkey Londinium langur Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Londinium Posts: 14,616 Likes (Received): 1	A tall building floating in the sky ... magical! Reminds me of the book Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. It's a lovely book about imaginary cities and architecture ... it's the account the Venetian explorer Marco Polo gives to the Kubla Khan on his way back from his travels to the Far East. It's a fascinating book, very much a luxury read--it touches on so many human and societal and historic and architectural points. Devilution, I'm used to seeing you in the S & B forum--delighted to see you here! You visited Singapore & were at the top of the Pearlview? Incredible!

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