http://www.straitstimes.com/vgn-ext...cmid=34b1687fc3c5a110VgnVCM100000bd0a0a0aRCRD
check out the voting site above at Straits Times.... what do you want saved?
check out the voting site above at Straits Times.... what do you want saved?
Vote for the landmark to be saved....
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It seems to allow only voting for 1 choice.
In that case I'm torn in between the old bus stop at Old Choa Chu Kang Rd and the former MOE headquarters or SIT flats.
I think it is important that at least one example of each building type should be conserved/retained before they are wiped off the face of the earth. That applies to old-style school buildings, especially the 3 storey structure with sloping shelters on each floor.
As for Tanjong Pagar Plaza, it is an extremely successful example of a self-sustaining community that showcases a HDB complex. It should be retained as it actually enlivens the Tanjong Pagar area, which is set to see a lot of changes and more hotels. I think the shops and market there could be quite interesting for tourists. Who knows maybe in future one of the blocks can be converted into a homestay etc.
I hope the conservation authorities will explore more into the retention of such buildings which most people living today would have memories of
In that case I'm torn in between the old bus stop at Old Choa Chu Kang Rd and the former MOE headquarters or SIT flats.
I think it is important that at least one example of each building type should be conserved/retained before they are wiped off the face of the earth. That applies to old-style school buildings, especially the 3 storey structure with sloping shelters on each floor.
As for Tanjong Pagar Plaza, it is an extremely successful example of a self-sustaining community that showcases a HDB complex. It should be retained as it actually enlivens the Tanjong Pagar area, which is set to see a lot of changes and more hotels. I think the shops and market there could be quite interesting for tourists. Who knows maybe in future one of the blocks can be converted into a homestay etc.
I hope the conservation authorities will explore more into the retention of such buildings which most people living today would have memories of
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Somehow I would rather pick the Pearl Bank Apartment than Golden Mile.
The current state of the Golden Mile Complex makes it undesirable...maybe some marketing might make it 'cool' again, just like how some old forgotten corners of Singapore magically come back into the limelight...thats not to say that its architecture (above the podium) isnt interesting.
If the authorities wanna conserve these, they should start with those properties that have a larger national/public significance, that make it meaningful to the majority IMO. :cheers:
The current state of the Golden Mile Complex makes it undesirable...maybe some marketing might make it 'cool' again, just like how some old forgotten corners of Singapore magically come back into the limelight...thats not to say that its architecture (above the podium) isnt interesting.
If the authorities wanna conserve these, they should start with those properties that have a larger national/public significance, that make it meaningful to the majority IMO. :cheers:
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The former MOE Headquarters. I hope they also retain one of those old-style school blocks seen at the bottom of the pic. I have early memories of this place.
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There's still the old BB HQ at Newton and the current Lee Ah Mooi old folks' home and the half demolished former Tampines Home beside Mt Alvernia. 2 examples of colonial "kampong" styled schools.
Also in need of conservation are each style of the "mass built" schools of the 1970s.
Also in need of conservation are each style of the "mass built" schools of the 1970s.
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Is that the building beside the Newton Hawker Centre carpark along Clemenceau Ave?
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Yeah, its one of the "landmarks" featured
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:banana:
Oldest S'pore bus stop to be preserved: LTA
26 June 08
It emerged most popular landmark in Straits Times poll; Queenstown library ranked second
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A 1970s bus stop due to be razed as part of improvement works will now be saved.
The concrete-and-metal structure is one of four along Old Choa Chu Kang Road and the oldest type of bus stop here.
It was featured with 10 other landmarks in a June 7 Straits Times feature headlined 'Landmarks at risk?'. Readers were asked to go to straitstimes.com and vote for the one they felt should be preserved.
The bus stop turned out to be the most popular pick, drawing 27 per cent of the 1,103 votes cast in the week-long poll.
The readers have spoken - and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has listened. It is now reviewing its plan to replace the bus stop as part of upgrading works.
Its spokesman told The Straits Times: 'The LTA appreciates the unique value of Singapore's heritage properties. In recognition of their importance, we are in fact looking at how best we might preserve one of the early-period bus stops.'
Coming in second in the poll was Queenstown Community Library, which got 15 per cent of vote, followed by retail and residential development Golden Mile Complex (12 per cent) and the Housing Board blocks of flats making up Tanjong Pagar Plaza (11 per cent).
The 11 heritage buildings and structures featured were built in the early years of Singapore's nationhood, but have yet to be given protection from demolition.
The reprieve for the bus stop has delighted readers like Ms Pearl Wong, who had planned to take pictures there with her siblings.
The image consultant, in her 40s, saying the Straits Times report brought back warm memories for her, added: 'It'd be such a pity if Singapore wipes out everything from the past, and have everything plastic and clinical. You shouldn't wipe out memories of the 1960s and 1970s.'
The fate of Queenstown Community Library, remains uncertain.
The modest two-storey building in Margaret Drive - the lease on whose site comes up for renewal in 2010 - was Singapore's first full-time branch library when it opened in 1969. The public housing blocks around it are being redeveloped.
The National Library Board (NLB) was non-committal about keeping the structure. It said: 'As with all public libraries in Singapore, it is important to separate the building from the services provided.'
It added that it will strive to ensure that library and information services stay relevant to its users' changing needs.
But NLB director of reading initiatives Kiang-Koh Lai Lin, who worked at the branch from 1980 to 1982, said she was heartened by the poll results.
'If the building is preserved, it could be a library museum, to display perhaps old library cards and machines,' she suggested.
It remains to be seen if the other popular buildings will be torn down to make way for new developments.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority, which picks landmarks for conservation, would only say it noted the results of the Straits Times poll and 'would take them into consideration in our ongoing efforts to strike a balance between preserving the built heritage of Singapore and providing for Singapore's future economic needs'.
By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent
Oldest S'pore bus stop to be preserved: LTA
26 June 08
It emerged most popular landmark in Straits Times poll; Queenstown library ranked second
A 1970s bus stop due to be razed as part of improvement works will now be saved.
The concrete-and-metal structure is one of four along Old Choa Chu Kang Road and the oldest type of bus stop here.
It was featured with 10 other landmarks in a June 7 Straits Times feature headlined 'Landmarks at risk?'. Readers were asked to go to straitstimes.com and vote for the one they felt should be preserved.
The bus stop turned out to be the most popular pick, drawing 27 per cent of the 1,103 votes cast in the week-long poll.
The readers have spoken - and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has listened. It is now reviewing its plan to replace the bus stop as part of upgrading works.
Its spokesman told The Straits Times: 'The LTA appreciates the unique value of Singapore's heritage properties. In recognition of their importance, we are in fact looking at how best we might preserve one of the early-period bus stops.'
Coming in second in the poll was Queenstown Community Library, which got 15 per cent of vote, followed by retail and residential development Golden Mile Complex (12 per cent) and the Housing Board blocks of flats making up Tanjong Pagar Plaza (11 per cent).
The 11 heritage buildings and structures featured were built in the early years of Singapore's nationhood, but have yet to be given protection from demolition.
The reprieve for the bus stop has delighted readers like Ms Pearl Wong, who had planned to take pictures there with her siblings.
The image consultant, in her 40s, saying the Straits Times report brought back warm memories for her, added: 'It'd be such a pity if Singapore wipes out everything from the past, and have everything plastic and clinical. You shouldn't wipe out memories of the 1960s and 1970s.'
The fate of Queenstown Community Library, remains uncertain.
The modest two-storey building in Margaret Drive - the lease on whose site comes up for renewal in 2010 - was Singapore's first full-time branch library when it opened in 1969. The public housing blocks around it are being redeveloped.
The National Library Board (NLB) was non-committal about keeping the structure. It said: 'As with all public libraries in Singapore, it is important to separate the building from the services provided.'
It added that it will strive to ensure that library and information services stay relevant to its users' changing needs.
But NLB director of reading initiatives Kiang-Koh Lai Lin, who worked at the branch from 1980 to 1982, said she was heartened by the poll results.
'If the building is preserved, it could be a library museum, to display perhaps old library cards and machines,' she suggested.
It remains to be seen if the other popular buildings will be torn down to make way for new developments.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority, which picks landmarks for conservation, would only say it noted the results of the Straits Times poll and 'would take them into consideration in our ongoing efforts to strike a balance between preserving the built heritage of Singapore and providing for Singapore's future economic needs'.
By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent
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How could they have forgotten to include another charming iconic landmark which would soon be torned down - the Kallang Oasis building. It has unusual sloping roofs that blends well with the Singapore Indoor Stadium's roof next to it. The Oasis looks even more fantastic at night with its bright colorful lights adding vibrance to that part of the bay.
Here's a pic of the Oasis on the waters .... for the memories:
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Here's a pic of the Oasis on the waters .... for the memories:
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^^
Agree with you on that...there are many more buildings not listed on the poll...its fate is sealed? For the other buildings in the poll, I think there is no decision yet whether to tear them down or retain them.
Thanks for that pic...babystan has also captured several shots of the Oasis by night in this thread:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=71729
Agree with you on that...there are many more buildings not listed on the poll...its fate is sealed? For the other buildings in the poll, I think there is no decision yet whether to tear them down or retain them.
Thanks for that pic...babystan has also captured several shots of the Oasis by night in this thread:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=71729
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they probably did it after reading my blog on the oldest bus stop!
http://hyacinthus.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/could-this-be-the-oldest-bus-stop-in-singapore/
http://hyacinthus.wordpress.com/2007/09/11/could-this-be-the-oldest-bus-stop-in-singapore/
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25,912 Posts
That is cool. I was last at the old Choa Chu Kang bus stop in late 2006 and it started to pour heavily. We took shelter at the bus stop and someone remarked that these old-style bus stops were the last remaining ones left in Singapore; there might be some more in Lim Chu Kang.
and I'm not surprised that whats posted on online forums and blogs offer ideas and material for story-writers as well as those tasked to look for new material...which is just as well as many opinions on such topics come from the heart.
and I'm not surprised that whats posted on online forums and blogs offer ideas and material for story-writers as well as those tasked to look for new material...which is just as well as many opinions on such topics come from the heart.
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The georgeous Kallang waterfront at night doesn't look the same anymore once the lights of Oasis were switched off permanently.
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