Preserving Condo styles from the 1980s
My condo Clementi Park was built in the 1980s. It is a rambling,
spacious and spread-out estate with 489 units on a million sq ft of
land. There isn't a condo like it anywhere in Singapore. In the heart
of my condo lies the unspoilt woods of Clementi Park. The hillside
terrain, mature trees and park-like atmosphere would never be planned
in the hustle bustle world of today with its too-close buildings and
utilitarian maximisation of land.Apart from the Clementi Park hill,
the blocks of the condo were built to match the undulating character
of the land. Blocks were built into the hillside so that a fourth
floor apartment could be four storeys high from the front, but on road
level at the rear. Unique stepped structures with charm and
quaintness. Surrounded by utter greenery.
Today, we marvel at conservation houses of a hundred years ago for
their historical value. Too many of those were demolished before we
could fully appreciate what the loss of them would mean to us. I
wonder if fifty years from now, our children's children will find
unique estates like Clementi Park of historical value architecturally?
In any case, for its stunning internal nature parks, it is already
worth preserving.
In view of the urban renewal which is happening to Singapore's old
condos at an astonishing rate, perhaps we should stop the demolition
of mature estates for now. Enough. Let's look at the buildings of the
last two, three or four decades with a different eye. They are a part
of our history too! << Back |
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