The city’s Brutalist buildings, in contrast, are widely considered eyesores by the general public.
These buildings often have a shared ownership of common facilities. And because many owners think that selling their units collectively is a better financial bet than investing in a conservation or retrofitting plan, the buildings have largely fallen into disrepair because no one wants to pay for short-term upkeep.
— The New York Times
Mikes Ives reports for the NYT on the not-so-bright future Singapore's aging stock of 1970s Brutalist buildings faces in a city whose global trademark famously is shiny and new.
8 Comments
A brutalist building that doesn't need to struggle.
hahaha brutalist...
well...of course it doesn't look brutal, but one is constantly reminded here that Brutalism got its name from the French 'Brut' for raw concrete, so yes, this building is indeed brutalist, albeit not brutal.
The signage pretty much says it all.
They are Singapore , they dun have history , just development. Pretend to be a world class democracy society while its the LEE's kingdom. May Thy Kingdom comes, Thy will be done.
They dun have history my ass:
https://translate.google.com/t...
@xsfxcx get your facts right. https://www.straitstimes.com/s...
The notion that these buildings are not loved by the general public is misleading. That was not my experience living there, let alone staying in the People's Park Plaza. They are iconic metabolist structures to the city, though admittedly Golden Mile has its sketchy moments. Peoples Park could use more elevator shafts, but that would be easily enough remedied. The buildings do need repairs, but each of those projects has something wholly unique to it. Peoples Park Plaza had an informal bar like Le-Park, Golden Mile has an independent movie theater with its own charm, etc. Those places are loved and cherished in the city because there are so few left. So much of Singapore has been torn down in the past 20-30 years and then remade into something shiny, staged, and pristine that it's a joy to see those moments in the city where the unexpected and less scripted happens.
Per the NYT article, I found this quote to be more accurate to my experience and understanding of local opinion there:
“It would be kind of boring if everything was the same,” she said
through a thicket of pink and green strobe lights at the bar, which sits
in an upper-level parking lot. “That’s why this place is so valuable to
people like us."
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