Tag: reclaim land

Retracing the Jurong railway line extension

Clementi Road

I recently went on a trek led by the Singapore Adventurers’ Club to retrace the Jurong railway line extension. It was built in the 1960s to freight supplies from Malaysia to the newly established Jurong Industrial Estate and branched out from the existing railway line just after the Bukit Timah station. By the 1990s, a declining usage of this extension led to its shutdown and this segment of the railway line was abandoned and left to be reclaimed by nature, squatters and most recently, the state.

By July this year, the railway’s station at Tanjong Pagar station will be relocated to Woodlands as part of a land swap deal between the Singapore and Malaysia governments. Now the question on the minds of many, is what will happen to the existing railway line and lands? The Nature Society (Singapore) has put up an interesting proposal to reclaim it as a ‘green corridor’, but it may already be too late.

Read about the latest development on Reclaim Land and retrace a railway now filled with the wonders of nature, forgotten communities, and memories of Singapore’s yesteryear.

Finding the Unique in the Generic City

After exhibiting in two locations in London, Uniquely Singapore – Distinctively London?, a project comparing the cities of Singapore and London to find out what’s unique about each from its everyday spaces, will officially open in Singapore this Saturday. This is a fringe event in this year’s ArchiFest and it is held at Illuma shopping mall. As one of the six Singapore correspondents who worked on this project, I got to study eating spaces in these two cities with my London collaborator Lingxiu. If you’re keen to come for the opening reception at 6pm, please RSVP at info@generi-city.net.

There will also be a Really AR? 5 presentation that evening organised by re:act, and Reclaim Land has been invited to share our work together with speakers like architect William Lim. Do come by to support!

 

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Uniquely Singapore – Distinctively London? Exhibition
1-24 October 2010
Opening hours: 10am – 10pm
Illuma, 201 Victoria Street, S(188067)
Free admission
Opening reception: 9 October 2010, 6pm.

Really AR? 5
Saturday, 9 October 2010
7 pm
Filmgarde Cineplex
Illuma, 201 Victoria Street, S(188067)

Uniquely Singapore – Distinctively London?

Could a city’s uniqueness be found in its most generic and banal spaces? This is what Generi-City, a project that I was recently involved in, attempts to investigate through a series of photos comparing six spaces in Singapore with similar ones in London. I worked together with London-based correspondent Chong Lingxiu to explore eating spaces in the two cities. The project is headed by Calvin Chua and Johnny Gao who I’m grateful for roping me in.

You can see the result of our investigation at an exhibition in London between 16 to 19 September 2010 as part of The London Design Festival. It might also travel to another gallery there before coming to Singapore in October as part of ArchiFest 2010. Do check it out if you’re free!