The SHOPHOUSE

[RafflesCity]

If there could be a style of architecture that can be identified as truly Singaporean, the shophouse would be possibly the strongest contender.

Like Singapore's multi-racial society, the style of the shophouses are a combination of different cultural elements, combined in a staggering array of possibilities. This thread is a celebration of the humble building blocks of Singapore's pre-war urban fabric.



An old picture of Singapore (Boat Quay)


Today, many clusters of these shophouses have been gazetted for conservation and are mostly found within the city centre and city fringes.





Note: This is the 3rd thread on shophouses. The 2 earlier threads have now been closed but can be viewed here:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=226308

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=22791

Selected pics from the first 2 threads are featured on the first 5 pages here

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Chinatown

Taken by aloyteo: The shophouses of Singapore's early years contrast with the modern city.

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Kampong Glam



by hyacinthus

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by hyacinthus

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Little India





Overview of the area at night (by hyacinthus)

[RafflesCity]

Source: http://www.ura.gov.sg/conservation/mod3ele.htm



KEY ELEMENTS OF THE SHOPHOUSE

The conservation guidelines for shophouses, terrace houses and bungalows relate to the key elements of the typology of the building.

Shophouses, an important building type in Singapore's architectural heritage, are narrow small terraced houses for business and living. Constructed between 1840 and 1960, these humble buildings are two- to three- storeys high, built in contiguous blocks with common party walls.

Quality restoration of a shophouse requires an appreciation and understanding of the architecture of the building. The key elements to be respected in the restoration are:

Roofs

Pitched and finished with overlapping V-profile or flat natural colour unglazed clay tiles, laid on timber battens and bonded with mortar.

Party Walls

Principal load bearing walls which demarcate one shophouse from its neighbour.

Timber Structural Members

The main timber beams, the secondary timber beams, the timber floor boards and the timber rafters.

Airwells

Enclosed courts opened directly to the sky to provide additional natural ventilation and lighting to the interior.

Rear Court

Open court at the back of the shophouse bounded by the rear boundary wall, the service block, the rear elevation of the main part of the shophouse and the party wall.

Timber windows

Windows of the French or Casement design.

Timber staircase

Internal staircase arrangements. The retention and restoration of the original staircase is encouraged.

Front Facade

The shophouse facade has five distinct elements:

The Upper Floor that projects over the five-footway to form a covered pedestrian arcade.

The Columns at the front of the building that form the five-foot way colonnades and support the upper floors.

The Five-footway which serves as a sheltered space for social activities and for circulation.

The Timber Windows on the upper storeys are evenly spaced across the facade.

The Roof finished with natural colour unglazed V-profile or flat clay tiles complete with a timber fascia and galvanised iron gutters and downpipes.

The shophouse facade features one of the five basic Shophouse Styles, the Early Shophouse Style, First Transitional Shophouse Style, Late Shophouse Style, Second Transitional Shophouse Style and the Art Deco Shophouse Style. Within each of these styles, the first storey may be a residential front or an open shopfront.

The conservation guidelines advocate retention, restoration and repair of these main features so as to retain the key characteristics of the traditional shophouse. In adapting the building to suit modern day needs, in some areas, the rear of the building has to be setback for the reinstatement or introduction of the rear service lane and a new rear extension may be permitted.




Example of a 5-footway connecting a row of shophouses. This feature is well suited for Singapore's climate, as it provides shade from the hot sun and frequent rainstorms


by redstone

[RafflesCity]

taken by hyacinthus

Keong Saik Road

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Jalan Besar

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Duxton

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More pictures from Darecky(http://www.sky.s64.pl/home/W/Sing/Sing_e.htm)

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by hyacinthus

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Balestier

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taken by redstone

Lavender

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by redstone

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Geylang

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Boat Quay

by baqthier

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