(un)Folding : memory, time and place

‘Life is serious, art serene. Architecture does not build for the sake of the engaged or detached spectator watching a play, but rather for people who experience, in spaces, the seriousness of life.’

- Herzog & de Meuron, “Natural History”

Abstract [(un)Folding] explores the relationship between abstract notions of memory and time with architecture, manifest in the history and culture of a place. Through the design of a memorial park in , the thesis investigates how architecture mediates between the absent and the present, the intangible and the material; presenting a narrative of the dialogue between old and new, memory and place, past and present.

No Man’s Land Singapore is a city that is constantly situated in the present, as exemplified by Rem Koolhaas in his book ‘Mutations’:

“cities like Singapore probably represent the truly generic condition of the contemporary city: history has been completely blotted out, the entire territory has become completely artificial, the urban tissue does not endure in any kind of stability beyond a relatively short period of existence. As a city, it represents nothing more or less than the coexistence of a number of apparently unconnected buildings which, by the simple fact of sharing a certain proximity, form an urban condition- and which is inhabited without apparent anxiety”.

The Site, known as ‘the ’, is located at the heart of downtown Singapore, within what is termed as the ‘Civic and Cultural District’. It marks the mouth of the , where the city-state had evolved from a fishing town to a busy trading settlement (in the colonial period) and eventually, to the modern city of today. Since 1823, when the first Master Plan of Singapore was drafted, the site has been designated as a public square, and mainly served the European community in the government area. From 1953 onwards, it became a social ground for the locals to congregate and participate in recreational activities.

The historical significance of the site is further enhanced by the erection of four memorials, dating from 1882 to 1995:

Tan Kim Seng Fountain (1882) This fountain was built in recognition of the generous contribution in 1857 by Tan Kim Seng, a prominent Chinese community leader and philanthropist, towards the purpose of carrying piped water into the town.

The Cenotaph (1922) First built in memory of the British soldiers who died in WWI, a dedication to commemorate those who died in WWII was added later on the reverse side of the monument.

Lim Bo Seng Memorial (1954) Commemorates the major-general, a war hero in the Japanese Occupation, leading in the anti Japanese movement.

Indian National Army Monument (1995) Erected in 1995 to mark the site of the original memorial, dedicated to an unknown soldier of the Indian National Army during the Japanese Occupation.

Due to the sacred nature of it being a place of remembrance, the site has remained untouched despite the continual development of the . However, the significance of the site as a place of reminiscence and recreation has declined over the years. It almost seems to have been forgotten (both by the public as well as the planners) and is now an urban void serving only as a transitional space for the occasional passerby. It can be said to be caught in a constant flux; the memorials on it are marginalized and its status as an anchor amidst change and renewal has become diluted. This characteristic of the site is particularly interesting, assuming a position at a precarious juncture between the old and the new, the water and the land, and between memories and aspirations.

Re-interpret The project involves redeveloping the site, choreographing a journey through the park which presents to the user an understanding of the memorials and the history of Singapore’s development. It becomes a path that provides an alternative experience of the city, quite distinct from the hustle-bustle of the adjacent retail and commercial bonanza- read: the phenomena of shopping, which has unofficially become the only memorable experience one associates with 1 Singapore.

Scraping Building on an existing park entails a sensitivity to the landscape being the surface open to sunlight and air, with a distinct relationship to the horizon. The strategy is to fuse building with landscape, whether embedded, submerged or poised on it, such that there is almost no distinction between building and land. With the shifting horizons, the building announces its presence at certain parts of the site, while disappearing into the land at others. The concept is to form a space by the act of lifting, folding, twisting, and warping a strip of the landscape, setting up the experience of the architecture as a journey through the undulating landscape.

1 Refer to Rem Koolhaas’ ‘Mutations’, “ Singapore = Mall” The overall gesture of this inscription on the landscape engages the memorials, and creates a dialogue between the memorials, the park and the program. The apparent stability of the park as previously signified by its formal English garden design and the monuments is dislocated by the injection of new activities and a redefinition of paths, movement and surfaces.

Intertwining Conceptually, the design consists of two strips: one describes the program, strips and the other the movement- a redefinition of the main path through the site. The two strips are intertwined; separate at some points yet connects at others. It presents a labyrinth, a mysterious journey that challenges preconceived expectations and prompts participation, inviting the mind to experience in a new way what it thought it already knew.

Architecture The framing of views are carefully staged to heighten one’s perception of as Trigger the memorials and the surrounding context, speaking of a past while being situated in the present: could this memory of a past time shape an understanding of the present, at the same time alluding a vision for the future?

In this way, architecture acts as a trigger: a trigger to thoughts, emotions, memories and imagination. The trigger is not only something visual, it is no longer solely manifested in a monument but rather lies in the embodied participation of the spontaneous wanderer, whose journey is permeated by personal memories and imagination.

Through this folding of a landscape that is saturated with meanings, history is unfolded through the vestiges of memories, evoking an awakening in the present.

Place of The library is embedded in the southern end of the landscape, situated Learning such that it embraces the memorial as well as opening towards the sea, expressing the symbolic notions of courage and belief in a better future, as signified by the memorial and the location at the mouth of the river. Where appropriate, the land is brought down to the level of the library, forming a sunken courtyard to introduce light into the partially underground space; otherwise the landscape is folded up, forming a seamless transition from ground to roof. Adjacent programs of the bookstore and café complements the experience. At the same time, the water’s edge is redefined, bringing the people closer to the water, forming an active zone at this end of the site.

Place of an indentation in the landscape offers a place of repose, affording views Repose towards the government buildings across from the site, that is reminiscent of the colonial era. Sitting amidst a sea of joaquims2 and next to the reflecting pool, one ponders upon the path taken so far- memories of the journey is juxtaposed with images in the present that in turn tells a story of the past. This notion of cyclical

2 the national flower of Singapore, a hydrid of orchid that can only be found locally, named as the ‘Vanda Joaquim’ time conditions the experience of the space, and initiates a re-appropriation of one’s position in time and place.

Place of on the other end of the site, one enters into the museum where the land Witness emerges from the ground and makes a symbolic gesture towards the Civilian’s memorial on the adjacent site, culminating the experience of the journey in a metaphorical notion of unity, of collective memory and remembrance- the memory of the sufferings of the people as a nation, and the struggles and sacrifices that had enabled the birth of the city-state and its extraordinary achievements in just 37 years of independence. The museum is submerged in the ground, the ground as comforting, neutral, mysterious, and omnipresent. The experience of the museum is complemented by the memory of the experience moving across the site, and vice versa, even though there is no direct visual relationship between them. Natural light filters into the permanent exhibition space through the reflecting pool above, establishing a subtle connection between the two spaces, creating a sublime ambience in the museum. On grade level, the sloping roofs/ground frames the and creates an informal amphitheatre in the park.

The Void The pool is a surface of reflection. Here, the Cenotaph is displaced from the land, and framed by the hovering roof that spans across the pool. The tall, round concrete columns that intersects the space between the roof and the water articulate the tectonics of the tropical trees across the site. The floating path leading to the monument is long and narrow, creating a procession of remembrance and reflection.

The Path The path begins from the water, the water seen as a metaphor of giving life, and also symbolic of the founding of Singapore, an island surrounded by water. The path links up with the major access points to the site, connecting the memorials and interacts with the program strip at certain points. At parts where the old path is diverted, the memory of it is preserved by the sequence of trees that defines the space. The idea that the site can be experienced at many levels and in different ways depending on the path chosen at any one point, is the driving force behind the design of the architecture- a choreographed journey through place, memory and time.

‘Architecture is ‘built’ meaning. We may speak or write our thoughts, a blush may betray an inner feeling, clothes may ‘maketh the man’, but architecture reveals what we believe, how we want to live. It fatefully expresses who we are’

- Charles Jencks, ‘Architecture of the Jumping Universe’