Henderson Wave

Open spaces are scarce in a compact city of 4.99 million people. Shopping malls are still the prefered public spaces for people to hangout after work or during weekend. But the trend is definitely changing. In line with global warming threat as well as green movement all across the globe, people are more conscious about healthy lifestyle. And the healthier way of living is not working out 2 hours a day in an air-conditioned gym; but to go back to basic and being 'embraced' by nature.

In a city where land is as precious as gold, creative thinking is put to good use in coming up with ideas to provide better living environment. Henderson Wave was the result of such creative approach. Perched at 36 metres above Henderson Road, the 274 metres long and 8 metres wide 'sculpture' is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It was built to link Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill. By bridging the 2 hills, it provide an unprecedented opportunity for the residents of Singapore to have a much bigger green lung within their city. Its function however is not merely establishing linkages; but creating a new public domain at the same time. The bridge itself is a popular weekend hangout area for many.

To call it a pedestrian bridge is an understatement. Henderson Wave is a perfect example of the integration of ART, SCIENCE and NATURE to serve a noble social agenda!

Modernism

At the beginning of the 20th century, inspired by the aspiration of Industrial Revolution and agitated by the destruction of World War I to create a better future, a group of architects initiated the Modern Movement. With the arrival of the Machine Age then, standardization was made possible. This mass production approach not only benefitted the auto industry but architecture as well. Architects realized that they could rebuilt their medieval cities into a thriving modern metropolis with the help of the technology of the day in an unprecendented speed. Le Corbusier envisaged the modern city as consists of high-rises organized in an orderly fashion. Thoroughfares would be straight and well connected. Residential floor plates would be stacked one on top of another. The buildings would be standardized as to achieve a consistant order in the scheme.

This idea of urban design has indeed survived today and most notably in Singapore. With about 80% of its population living in government initiated public housing, it makes sense to utilize the modernists' approach in making the dream of house ownership a reality. Hence the creation of the more commonly know HDB (Housing Development Board) Flats all over the island. Mass production and standardizatoin serve this objectives well which is to provide affordable housing to its people at an efficient pace. Most parts of a single unit are precast off-site in order to reduce wastage as well as speed up construction.

In implementing this approach, building design has to comply strictly with HDB's guidelines. Drastic modification from the prescribed floor plans are not encouraged. As a result, the buildings ended up very similar to each other and not much individual characteristics in them. The only ways to identify the block you are staying are through Block Number and sometime the color scheme on the wall. There are some variations on the facade but mostly not substantial. This certainly gives rise to problems pertaining to identity of place. With no significant natural features such as hills and water to define a place, these mass-produced buildings lack unique identity to create a recognizable 'place'.

Howeve, HDB housing is a success story in that it makes house ownership easier to be achieved. Consequently, there is no slum in Singapore. Many countries have tried to emulate its success to achieve their own social agenda. In terms of practicality, it has achieved its objectives. Its downside lies in its failure in 'place making' which will give the city a unique identity to its inhabitants as well as an admiration to visitors.

358 Days in Singapore

The original objective of coming to Singapore for 9 months has been met, in fact has been exceeded by 3 months! It was indeed a valuable lesson to experience first hand the difference between Singapore and Malaysia. Singapore has shown that how good management can propel us to greater heights against all odds. It is a slight culture shock to see different races mingle together in a truly harmonious way in Singapore; something which the Malaysian politicians have been preaching all along but no action whatsoever. All the answers to Malaysia's problem could be found in Singapore if the government is humble enough as to recognize it. I have long try to refrain myself from talking politics in my blog but I just can't help to notice how far behind Malaysia is in terms of nation building. It is no point having the highest twin towers in the world when the fundamental social structure is still in the same condition before independence; or even has deteriorated.

Some might ask, can we change it? Malaysia celebrated its 52nd National Day recently, we are 52 years old already! Middle age crisis has sink in and yet it is still in a mess. My personal opinion is change will happen, but unfortunately will not be in my lifetime...............

Migration is the logical answer for now.

350 Days in Singapore

Time flies, today is my 350th day working in Singapore. The time now is 6:05am.

Singapore is a vibrant city with a sustainable economy. Comparing it to Penang, it is easier to do business here. Everywhere you go, there are people. Together with an efficient public transport system, people can be moved from place to place in a breeze. This fast flowing pattern of people is the ingredient for a fast progressing economy. And the government never feel contented at what their country has achieved so far, they continuously coming out with ideas on how to further raise the living standard of its citizen. This is indeed the most obvious contrast I found when compare to my country Malaysia where politicians are more concern with securing their ruling power.

For career development, Singapore is a much better place to consider due to its more systematic and advance way of doing things. But for living I still consider Malaysia home because of its flexibility and less intense way of life. Well, it is never easy to get the best of both worlds.

Sacrifices have to be made somehow.

Penang Hokkien

I recently came across a wonderful site while surfing the net. For a long time I've thought that Penang as a place and its culture is very unique in that what we have here could not be found elsewhere. For example, it doesn't matter how many Penang restaurants you could find at foreign countries, the taste will never be the same as what you can find on this wonderful island.

Cuisine aside, the next most noticeable characteristics of being a Penangite is our spoken dialect. Our Hokkien is one of its kind since it is very different from those spoken in Singapore, Taiwan and China. Years ago someone told me that when we speak Hokkien, it sounded like music to him. I took it as a compliment.

I strongly recommend this website to those who wish to experience Penang Hokkien and those who stay overseas but wish that you are here on the island.

By the way, if you want to have a good laugh, do listen to its podcast also:

http://penanghokkien.com/