Old and Ugly? How Two Books on Aging Modernist Buildings in Singapore Challenge the Stereotype

Date: 24^th February 2025, Monday

Time: 6pm to 8pm

Venue: SDE3 LT422

BOA-SIA CPD Points: 2

Please register your interest here.

Aging modernist buildings in Singapore like the Golden Mile Complex and People’s Park Complex tend to be negatively perceived by some segments of the public as “old and ugly.” But this public perception is recently challenged, or at least complicated, by two new books. They are Singapore Strata Malls: A Retrospective for the Future and Unit. Volume 2: Golden Mile Complex. Join the authors Calvin Chua, Sam Chia, and Finbarr Fallon in this event to hear them talk about the little-known stories and intriguing analyses of Singapore’s modernist heritage using stunning visuals.

Copies of the books will be available for sale at the event.

Authors/Speakers:

Calvin Chua is the founder of Spatial Anatomy, a research-oriented practice that responses to the complex processes of urban adaptation and transformation. Through an ethnographic lens, the firm has developed built works, strategic research, publications, exhibitions and activations. In parallel, Calvin teaches urbanism studios at SUTD.
Samantha Chia is an urbanist and writer with a keen interest in documenting the untold narratives of modern Singapore.
Finbarr Fallon is an architectural photographer and artist based in Singapore and London. His documentary photography work has won multiple awards.

Together, Samantha and Finbarr are the co-founders of the UNIT Project, an architectural research and publishing group, which tells the stories of cities through written word, images and film.

About Singapore Strata Malls

Do ageing malls deserve a second life? What are the community and heritage qualities of some of these ageing malls? Can the spirit of a mall live on even when it gets demolished? “Singapore Strata Malls: A Retrospective for the Future” is a book that explores issues of ownership, heritage, culture, adaptation of a particular type of collectively-owned malls in Singapore, the strata mall. Split into two halves of “Structure” and “Spirit”, the book presents a new framework for understanding our malls according to their physical characteristics on the one hand, and their intangible character on the other. The “Structure” half of the book details architectural and urban analysis of Singapore’s strata malls, while the “Spirit” half compiles provocative essays documenting various experiments performed in strata malls.

About Unit. Volume 2: Golden Mile Complex

Golden Mile Complex was sold en bloc in 2022 and closed its doors in May 2023. Although the building has been conserved and will remain, its community has had to bid goodbye while a new chapter awaits. This book documents the stories behind the iconic building in the final years leading up to its redevelopment, through photography, architectural conversations, and interviews with its shopkeepers, tenants, and residents.