Architecture of Singapore
These range from the eclectic styles and hybrid forms of the colonial period to the tendency of more contemporary architecture to incorporate trends from around the world.
Modern architecture in Singapore began with the transitional Art Deco style and the arrival of reinforced concrete as a popular building material.
An important area of local innovation has involved seeking to develop a form of modern architecture appropriate to Singapore's tropical climate.
[citation needed] These architectural efforts have taken on a new relevance and urgency due to concerns about global warming, climate change and environmental sustainability, especially given that air conditioning in buildings is one of the largest consumers of electricity in Singapore, which is mostly generated by fossil fuels.
A nearby example of similar classical Hindu-Buddhist Malay architecture is Candi Muara Takus in the Riau province of Sumatra.
Apart from some archaeological fragments, like jewellery, porcelain, coins and an inscribed stone, there few material artefacts from the pre-colonial period, and no buildings or even ruins remaining today.
Raffles' regulations for the city also has some influence over the architecture, and some of their effects may still be seen in the shop houses; for example it is stipulated that they should not be over 3 stories high, and needed to have an obligatory five foot way.
These shophouses typically have a so-called five foot way which is a covered walkway located in front of the shop doors, with the upper floors shielding the pedestrians from the elements.
Several of the oldest and most important places of worship in Singapore have been designated National Monuments of Singapore, and they include the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, Armenian Church, St Andrew's Cathedral, Thian Hock Keng Temple, Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery, Sultan Mosque, Sri Mariamman Temple, Jamae Mosque and Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church, amongst others.
Often the approach to matters of style was highly eclectic, and builders combined a variety of stylistic elements from various European, and some non-European, sources in the same building.
Features of this style in the local context included a penchant for inscribing the date of the erection of the building prominently on its facade, the use of projecting horizontal fins as sun shading devices over windows and the use of flagpoles.
Quite apart from the aesthetics of this style, the Art Deco period also marked the introduction of modern construction technologies like reinforced concrete in Singapore.
The most prominent example of their pre-war efforts was the Tiong Bahru estate, where many low-rise, four-storey Art Deco style apartment blocks, shops, markets and other amenities were built on the city fringe.
Although the estate was popular and praised for spacious and green communal areas as well as attractively designed blocks, the rate of construction was slow in relation to the scale of the housing shortage in Singapore.
The HDB was given the legal tools and financial resources needed to make great progress in speeding up the building of public housing.
Architecturally, this resulted in a relatively homogenous suburban landscape, where satellite new towns (modelled after the British), were built with seemingly endless stacks of slab blocks housing tens of thousands of peoples in small two and three-bedroom flats.
In addition, local variants of Critical regionalism have been developed, taking into account Singapore's unique tropical climate and dense urban fabric.
A number of projects were initiated to create distinctive landmark buildings, unique structures, as well as interesting features and attractions in Singapore.
Many of these developments can be found in the Marina Bay area, where one objective in its master plan is to create a distinctive image for the waterfronts as international landmarks.
Developers must take conservation guidelines into account to retain historic buildings' original structure and elements, ensuring period styles are maintained.
