Lost Landscapes

"Were it not for the thick forests which hold the soil on the mountain slopes and lowland, the torrential rains of tropical Asia would long ago have swept most of the earth away."

S. Dillon Ripley

After negotiations to establish the free port of Singapore, Sir Stamford Raffles laid out a plan to divide the city across ethnic and religious lines. The map above was made in 1828.

This panoramic view of the harbor was painted in 1849.

What Was Singapore Before Raffles?

Singapore was well known to traders and seafarers.

The Temenggong, one of the Malay rulers of Singapore, was removed from the port to Telloh Blangah (sic), above center.






The Temenggong's Residence 18th Century, Telok Belangah

.

Vernacular Housing of Malayan World.

In contrast, the British East India Company designed a mosque for the Sultan in Moorish Style.





The Chinese

The Temenggong leased land on the rivers of the interior to kongsi, companies of Chinese who organized plantations of gambier and pepper.

Later Rubber Plantations Were Attempted.

Meanwhile, in the Chinese kampong at the harbor, shophouses (store on first floor, living quarters above), mixed with temples built by immigrants from Southern China. This street faced the harbor until the colonial authorities added two more streets of land.

The shophouse was a vernacular style from Southern China, well adapted to the tropical climate.

Over the course of one hundred years, the shop house evolved according to styles and personal resources.




The Big Cleanup Begins

"These were the human faces behind the unemployment statistics. Thousands would sell cooked food on the pavements and streets in total disregard of traffic, health or other considerations...Only after 1971, when we had created many jobs, were we able to enforce the law and reclaim the streets."

Lee Kuan Yew

Farms?

Small Farms supplied produce.

Pig Farming in rural areas.

Or Factories?

Or Housing Estates?

Hawker Centers and Cooked Food Centers are located convenient to Housing Developments and business districts.

Singapore 2016

Housing and Technology Research

Singapore as its Government Sees it:

Landscape Controlled

Landscape Engineered

Landscape Controlled

Manhattan on the Equator?

July, 2016, Singapore's Michelin Moment.

The Future?

Eve Felder heads the Singapore branch of the Culinary Institute of America. Her mission is to train great chefs, and to make chef a respectable profession in Singapore.

The Future?
Mobility Returns to Hawker Food.

The online app YHawker allows you to order hawker food one day in advance, delivered to you at 11 AM or 5 PM.