Reflection blog

Reflection blog


Throughtout our entire Orchard Road Heritage Trail, we bonded a lot more as a group. We became closer and got to know each other better and worked better as a team as compared to last  year. Our time management improved and we did our work more efficiently. We split up the worl among ourselves in order to get it completed faster. We could have improved on our time management though, as we were not prepeared enough. Hence, we had a shorter period of time and in the end all of us became serious and stayed on task.

While doing the Orchard trail, we were able to split up the work properly and thus we were able to complete our work efficiently. Some of us researched on the past of Orchard, while others went to explore Orchard Road. All of us did different parts but in the end we still learnt a lot from each other's work. Orchard Road is known to be a popular shopping area, where it sells the most fashionable clothes and the best foods in Singapore. However, after all the thorough exploration and research of Orchard Road, to us it is not just a popular tourist attraction, Orchard Road is more of like a place full of Singapore's heritage and culture. Through this whole project, our group has certainly grown closer and become good friends, and we learnt a lot from each other too.

-Chew Jia Ying(07)
-Mani Raagavi(15)
-Nur Saterawati(23)
-Sharveena Krishnan(31)
-Wong Jia Hui, Christy(39)

Goodwood Park Hotel

Location: Goodwood Park Hotel

Brief Introduction: 

The Goodwood Park Hotel is a 235-room hotel in Singapore. It is located at Scotts Road in the Orchard Planning Area within the Central Area in Singapore's central business district.

The hotel building was constructed in 1900. The Tower Block was built to house the Teutonia Club for German residents in Singapore. Subsequently, it was converted into a hotel in 1929. The hotel has since been fully restored.

History: 

The Teutonia Club — now the Goodwood Park Hotel — was a venue for high society in the late nineteenth century. The club's original clubhouse was on North Bridge Road but it moved to Blanche House on Mount Elizabeth after only six months. Thirty years later, membership swelled to over a hundred and plans were made to build a bigger clubhouse.

The Teutonia Club decided on a hillock on Scotts Road for its new clubhouse. Construction began in 1899. On 21 September 1900, the new clubhouse opened its doors with an extravagant ball attended by about 500 guests.

Good times at the Teutonia Club lasted until World War I. The British government in Singapore classified all Germans as enemy forces and shipped most of them to Australia. The Teutonia Club was then seized under the Custodian of Enemy Property.

Transformation through time and space:

1800s -   The Teutonia Club (now the Goodwood Park Hotel) was a venue for high society in the late nineteenth century. The club's original clubhouse was on North Bridge Road but it moved to Blanche House on Mount Elizabeth after only six months.

1899 -    Construction for the Teutonia Club’s new clubhouse on a hillock on Scotts Road began.

1900 -    On 21 September 1900, the new clubhouse opened its doors with an extravagant ball.

1918 -    The building was auctioned off to the Manassah brothers. Ezekiel Manassah managed the property and renamed it, Club Goodwood Hall.

1929 -    In April 1929, the Manassah brothers decided to turn it into a hotel. Rooms were added to the Tower Wing, the houses at the rear were turned into suites, 14 tennis courts were laid out and the name of the property was changed to what it is today — Goodwood Park Hotel.

1942 -    During the Japanese Occupation (1942–1945), the hotel ceased operations. Ezekiel Manassah died in Changi Hospital, a prisoner of the Japanese.

After the war, the Singapore War Crimes Court erected a tent on the grounds of Goodwood Park to try military personnel for war crimes.

1947 -    Ezekiel's stepson, Vivian Bath, took over proprietorship of the hotel. Over the next 20 years, he turned the hotel into one of the finest in Asia once again.

1963 -    Renovations were completed in 1963. About $2.5 million was spent in revamping the hotel. In that same year, Bath sold the hotel to the Malayan Banking Group.

1978 -    The Tower Wing was again extensively renovated. The hotel was extended to include more guest rooms and a hotel lobby. The interior was practically gutted and fully restored and 17 suites were added on the first floor, including the lavish Brunei Suite. A new pinnacle replaced the crumbling original roof.

1989 -    The Tower Block of the Goodwood Park Hotel was gazetted as a national monument on 23 March 1989.

1900 -    The Goodwood Park Hotel building was built in 1900 to the design of R.A.J. Bidwell, who also designed the Raffless Hotel, of Swan and Maclaren.

Land use:

Goodwood Park Hotel uses high density land-use. In there, besides being a place for accomadation, it is also filled with different facilities such as restaurants. This place uses a limited amount of space but is able to accomodate a large number of people. Thus, Goodwood Park Hotel is a high density building.

Compare and Contrast: 

Goodwood Park is different from the past and presents in terms of how the residential area is used for. In the past, it was used for the military headquarters (during World War II). However, now, it is used as a residential area for tourists who comes to Singapore. Thus the use of residential area in this building has changed over years.

PEEs

High density landuse

-Shaw House

1^st PEE

P: This source has many floor levels in Shaw House, a shopping centre which is a high density landuse building.

E: The source shows many escalators connecting the levels. There are even some express escalators. It also has a cinema and a variety of shops available at the Shaw House.

E: This means that with express elevators, the shoppers are able to travel to the different much faster and this ultimately shows that the mall has many levels. The building is more than 3 stories high, housing the famous main store of Isetan and on the highest level, the renowned cinema Shaw Movies are probably the main focuses of the building.

- Mac’Donald House

2^nd PEE

P: The Macdonald House is around a bank with a tall build.

E:The source shows the building with around 10 storeys high.

E: This means that with a high storey building, the bank will have more departments to work in and ultimately would be more organized since it is built vertically higher. It also saves space in square metres as it is multi-storey high. The workers will have more space for walking around and to complete their jobs.

Mixed landuse

-         Ngee Ann City, Takashimaya

3^rd PEE

P: This source has two different buildings- a shorter and taller Ngee Ann City building. 

E: The source shows 2 different buildings with the same name, Ngee Ann City. One is a much shorter one whereas the other is a taller one.

E: This means that the building serves many purposes. The shorter one being the one with the department stores, the largest bookstore Kinokuniya, the largest Best Denki in Singapore and a variety of different shops. The taller ones serve as offices which are 26 storeys high, where the tenants are usually occupied by Kinokuniya, Metro, Takashimaya Singapore and many more notable companies under the retail sector. This ultimately shows that Ngee Ann City is a mixed landuse as it is not only a shopping centre but at the same time houses the different offices.

- Tangs, Orchard

4th PEE

P: Orchard Tangs can be easily accessible from many places around Orchard with its subways.

E: There are subways located at the basement of Tangs, Orchard.

E: The subways are easily linked to other popular shopping malls around Orchard such as Wisma Atria, ION, Wheelock Place and Shaw House. Inside the building itself, it consists of many shops ranging from banking to household appliances. Hence, Orchard Tangs is a mixed landuse building.

Mixed Generations

-Istana Park

 

5^th PEE

P: Istana Park is a park for everyone.

E: As seen in the source, there are people of all kind of generations.

E: The Park is for everyone, for all young generations, adults and old folks. There are many kinds of leisure sports or outings that can be conducted at the park. They can come as a whole family consisting of 3 different generations. Hence, parks like Istana Park is a good place for all generations to come together to do activities.

-Centrepoint

 

6^th PEE

P: There are different generations that go to Centre Point.

E: In this picture, we can see the different generations of people in one place.

E: This means that many different generations of people are found in this particular place. There is an old woman in the background and a mother of two children whose ages are far apart, one being a child and the other a baby. This ultimately shows that the shopping mall is a place for all kinds of age to visit. There are many different kinds of shops which serves the different needs of the different aged customers.

Mixed Nationalities

-         Goodwood Park Hotel

7^th PEE

P: Goodwood Park Hotel provides a large accomodation for people.

E: It has many facilities located there, as well as restaurants and botiques that see to people's needs.

E: The design of the building allows the maximisation of landuse by being able to accommodate to a large number of people. This shows how the high density building maximises landuse.

-Macdonald House

 

8^th PEE

P: Macdonald House is currently taken by CitiBank

E: This place is used for banking purposes.

E: Since it is used for banking purposes, different type of races and nationalities has been to the bank. Therefore, we will see many different races and nationalities banking here. Hence, we can conclude that Macdonald House is frequented by all different nationalities.

MacDonald House

 Location: MacDonald House (40 


Orchard Road, Singapore 238837)

Brief introduction: 


The MacDonald House is a historic building in Singapore, located at Orchard Road within the Central Area.  Initially, it was built for a bank, then it continues to function as a banking hall. Today, although it is more well known to be the site of a bombing attack in 1965 at the height of Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.


It was the first building to be fully air-conditioned in Malaya. In addition to the ground banking hall, seven floors of staff flats occupied the building. An open well runs through the building, allowing natural light into the inner offices. There are six skylights in the ceiling of the banking hall which thus needs no artificial lighting during the day.

History: 


The MacDonald House, located a short distance from the Istana, is the last remaining office building in facing brick in the central area. The building was built in 1949, one of the first high-rise buildings in Orchard Road, the MacDonald House housed mainly British, American and Australian companies. 


Before the building was vacated in the early 2000s, the building housed HSBC on the first few floors of the building.

Transformation through time and space:

1949 -  First built and designed by Reginal Eyre of the architectural firm Palmer and Turner in 1949.

1963 -  After the Indonesian Government opposed the formation of Malaysia in 1962, the Indonesian military began to release saboteurs into both Singapore and Malaysia with the intent of stirring up racial tensions while at the same time undertaking acts of sabotage to destroy vital installations from 24 September 1963. Later, these saboteurs resorted to exploding bombs indiscriminately to create public alarm and panic. The bombing of the MacDonald House was the 29th, and the most serious of the spat of bombings in Singapore, killing 2 bank employees.

1965 -  The external political situation was tense when Indonesian President Sukarno declared a state of Konfrontasi (Confrontation) against Malaysia and initiated military and other actions against the new nation, including the bombing of MacDonald House in Singapore in March 1965 by Indonesian commandos, killing three people. 

2002 -  On 5 April 2002, the building was put up for sale by tender.

2003 -  It was gazetted as a national monument on 10 February 2003 and was sold as a freehold building to Tinifia Investment for S$36 million. Thereafter, it closed its doors for an extensive S$12 million interior renovations job.

  

2005 - On 23 June 2005, the flagship Orchard Road Branch of Citibank Singapore opened at The MacDonald House, occupying 37000 square feet of space spread over the building's lower four floors, making it the largest wealth management centre in Asia.

Compare and Contrast:

The MacDonald House is similar in the past and now in terms of its purpose of its residence. Initially it was built for a bank which used to be mainly occupied by British, American and Australian companies. Similarly, now it is used to house HSBC on the first few floors of the building, Mccann Worldgroup which occupies the fifth to eighth floors while a beauty/spa operator, Expressions International, takes up the top two floors. This implies that it has been always used for commercial/banking purposes. 

Land use: Macdonald House has high density land use. It has 10 stories which contain offices of different companies. It uses high density land use as many companies and fit in just one building thus saving space. Which is very useful since Singapore has a limited amount of space due to being a small country.

Istana Park

Location: Istana Park

Brief Introduction:

Istana Park is situated directly opposite the Istana, Singapore's presidential palace. The Istana is the official residence and office of the President of Singapore. 'Istana', meaning "palace" in Malay, it is where the president receives and entertains state guests. So basically, it is where the president works. It is also the working office of the Prime Minister of Singapore. Located within a large open compound in the urbanised and modern setting of the Orchard Road area, it was once part of the nutmeg plantation of Mount Sophia.

History:

In 1867, the British colonial government took the land and built a mansion to be the official home of the British Governor. This continued till 1959 when Singapore was granted self-government, and the Governor was replaced by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara, who was in turn replaced by the President.


The Istana is the official residence of the President of the Republic of Singapore, previously known as Government House where the British Governor of the Straits Settlements. When Singapore gained self government, the Head of State which was Yang di-Pertuan Negara, got retained during the period when Singapore was part of the Federation of Malaysia from 1963 to 1965. 


Soon after the founding of modern Singapore by Stamford Raffles in 1819 the first Government House was built on Bukit Larangan, renamed Fort Canning in 1985 after Viscount Canning, Governor-General of India. Later in the years, Coleman, Singapore's first architect extended the House and redesigned it in the Neo Classical style. The House was demolished in 1859.

Changes through the years:

1996- Istana Park was officially opened.

1992 -Plans to turn the area fronting the Istana entrance into a lush landscaped park marking the entrance to the Civic District were first unveiled to the public on 20 February 1992.

1993-By November 1993, design plans for the park were finalised.
-The park was estimated to cost S$13 million and occupy the size of about 1.5 football fields.

Early 1990s-Palms and plants indigenous to the region would be planted in the park, in order to blend in with the Istana entrance, which underwent a S$1.7 million improvement project in the early 1990s. The park serves as a gateway to the Civic District, a historically significant area in the heart of the city.

Land use:

Istana Park is used for many purposes, having beautiful scenery like flowers and plants to admire and also places for people to rest and also a jogging lane, it is allows people to do all kinds of recreation there, for example jogging, enjoying scenery and probably even having a picnic with family and also even to take beautiful photographs there, etc. There is a fountain kind of thing that is actually used during national days and etc, and the beautiful lights will be on and fountain will start spraying and it looks very nice, and many Singaporeans want to go to the fountain too, since it is also near the Istana House, which is only opened for public occasionally. 

Ngee Ann City- Takashimaya

Location: Ngee Ann City (391 Orchard 


Road, Singapore 238872)

Brief Introduction: 

Ngee Ann City is a shopping and commercial centre located on Orchard Road. The S$520 million building, as many Singaporeans refer to as "Taka", which is a slang-abbreviation of the anchor tenant's name, Takashimaya. This name is now probably more commonly-used in everyday conversation compared to the building's original name -- Ngee Ann City.


History: 

 Back in the 1950s, the land that Ngee Ann City sits on was a burial ground, owned and managed by Ngee Ann Kongsi. A ten-storey Ngee Ann Building was then built on the site, and was then demolished in order to make way for Ngee Ann City. Revamp of the Ngee Ann City was first considered in 1967 and was then planned by Ngee Ann Development and the Orchard Square Development Corporation in the late 1980s. 


Raymond Woo, the architect who designed the Ngee Ann City building, drew inspiration from the Great Wall of China. The intention was to reflect the dignity, solidity and strength of the Ngee Ann Kongsi. In total, He spent five years designing and overseeing the whole plan and project. The land that belongs to Ngee Ann Kongsi was a much sought-after piece of real estate in Singapore. Previously, Ng Teng Fong of Far East Organisation offered S$175 million as a bid to buy the land and it was also sought by the owners of Hilton International Hotel, however it was unsuccessful. 


Unfortunately, there were also a series of disputes between Ngee Ann Kongsi and the Metro Group which had subsequently acquired the redevelopment rights. Both parties paid heavily for the dispute, as the Singapore Government acquired half the site in 1983. Hence, this left them only 28,322 square metres for development. They began to work on Ngee Ann City  22 years after the project was first proposed. The construction of the S$520 million building took about four years. Ngee Ann City was finally officially opened by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on September 21, 1993.


Landuse:


Ngee Ann City uses a mixed landuse strategy. The source shows an office building built in together with shops in Ngee Ann Citry. In Ngee Ann City, it maximises the mixed landuse as there is an office with shops around so it is more convenient for the workers if they want to relax.


Transformation through time and space:


1950 -    The land that Ngee Ann City sits on was a burial ground, owned and managed by Ngee Ann Kongsi. A ten-storey Ngee Ann Building was then built on the site, and was demolished to make way for Ngee Ann City.


1967 -    Redevelopment of the site was first considered.


1980s-    Ngee Ann City was planned by Ngee Ann Development and the Orchard Square Development Corporation. 


1981 -    The land belonging to Ngee Ann Kongsi was a much sought-after piece of real estate in Singapore. After a series of disputes between Ngee Ann Kongsi and the Metro Group, a joint venture resulted, in which Ngee Ann had a 73% stake, and Metro the balance 27%.


1983 -    The Singapore Government acquired half the site as a result of the disputes between the partners that left them only 28,322 square metres for development.


1989-   Work on Ngee Ann City began. It took four years to complete the building.


1993 -  Ngee Ann City was officially opened by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on September 21, 1993.


Compare and Contrast: 


Almost 50 years ago, the site where Ngee Ann City stands on now, was a burial ground that was owned and managed  by Ngee Ann Kongsi. In 1967, the cemetery was cleared to make way for Ngee Ann Building. However after a while, Ngee Ann Building was also demolished to make way for Ngee Ann City. Over the years, the usage of that area transformed from residential to commercial uses.

Shaw House

Location: Shaw House (350 Orchard Road, Singapore 238367)

Brief Introduction:

Shaw House is a modern shopping mall and the home of Lido Cinema, along Orchard road Singapore. The main hall, Lido 1, has a capacity of over 900, which was renovated in 2004. In order to allow a blockbuster to be seen in several halls at one time, the projection booth has the ability to "interlock" one print in more than one hall. Now, Lido 1 has equipped itself with Dolby Digital Surround, with EX sound system, and is also a 2K DIGITAL hall. Lido 2 is also now a 2K DIGITAL hall capable of screening digital movies. Lido 3 is an E-cinema. Hence, in all, now most halls in Lido cinema is able to screen digital movies.

It is the main store of Isetan in Singapore, which occupies five storeys. It has a Japanese supermarket -- Isetan, in the basement, and has offices on the upper floors of the building. There is also the Lido Cineplex with 8 screens on Levels 5 and 6. On the 4th level, Shaw House has three restaurants, which includes Crystal Jade, and one cafe. While outside Lido cineplex, there is a food court as well as a McDonald's express kiosk. In the basement of the building, there is a small McCafe outlet, and MOS Burger and Pepper Lunch restaurants. The car park of the building is connected to the Shaw Centre. The Shaw House uses high technology as there is a giant LED screen on Shaw Centre facing Orchard Road.

History:

Lido Cinema was constructed in 1958 as a 10-storey office block, and had its official opening by Lim Yew Hock on 22 November 1958. At official opening as a cinema in 1993, the cineplex started with only 5 halls, but was expanded with another 3 halls in 1997 so that to keep up with the high demands of the cinema market.


In mid 2010, more plans were made to add in 2 more 3D theatres and 1 IMAX theatre. Therefore, The Cineplex closed in late 2010 for renovations to add the new and better  theatres. On the 5 May 2011, it then is reopened again.

Land use:

Shaw House was previously nothing but vacant land with an Esso petrol station until 1952, it is now one of the popular places to watch movie blockbusters. This building is more than 3 stories high and at the highest level is the well known cinema which is the main focus of the building. Shaw House is a high density land use building.

Transformation through time and space:

1958- Shaw House is a shopping mall and houses the Lido Cinema. Lido Cinema was built in 1958 as a 10-storey office block.

1980s- In the late 1980s, the old Lido Cinema was torn down and decided to build a 21-storey building with a basement.

1990s- The building also houses the Lido Cineplex with 8 screens on Levels 5 and 6. At its opening in 1993, the cineplex started with only 5 halls, but was expanded with another 3 halls in 1997 to keep up with the demands of the cinema market.

2004- The main hall, Lido 1, has a capacity of over 900, which was renovated in 2004. It was the first hall in the country to be THX certified with SDDS, DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby SR.

2010 – 2011 - Plans were made to add in 2 more 3D theatres and 1 IMAX theatre. The Cineplex closed in late 2010 for renovations to add the new theatres. It reopened on the 5 May 2011.The latter officially opened on the 19 May 2011 to screen its first movie, Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides.

Compare and Contrast:

Shaw House is different in the past and now in terms of its size. In the past, it was only a 10-storey building with 5 cinema halls. However, presently, it appears as a 22-storey building which includes 11 cinema halls in total. This tells us that Shaw House was doing well during its early years and therefore was torn down to be rebuilt into a high-rise building.