Missing Singapore

Singapore is rapidly developing. One of the highlights of being an Urban Sketcher is to capture disappearing places. As the old gets replaced by the new, more and more spaces go missing. These spaces are holders of memories. We ate and drank here. We loved and broke up there. We brought our children and parents there. We lived and died here. When those spaces are removed, we feel displaced. Call it "nostalgia" if you like. I call it "home".

I've tried to capture some of these places in my sketches, particularly in my Perfect Sketchbook B5. Why that particular sketchbook? Cos I spent so much on it, and even went and bought the frame specially designed to hold the sketchbook for another tidy sum. The sketches had to be meaningful, worthy for such an investment.

I'd like to share some of those sketches here. Over time I might add some more.

Enjoy.

Pearl Bank Apartments
The unusual horseshoe-shaped tower of Pearl Bank Apartments used to stand atop Pearl’s Hill, overlooking Chinatown and Outram Park. Inspired by Brutalist architecture, it was designed by Singaporean architect Tan Cheng Siong and completed in 1976. It was the first all-housing project to be undertaken in the Urban Renewal Department of the Housing and Development Board’s Sale of Sites programme, and the first residential development in Singapore to employ the slip-form construction technique. At 113m, it was the tallest residential building in Singapore when it was built. It was first put up for en bloc sale in 2007 and was sold only in 2018 after 2 failed bids. Demolitions for redevelopment of this icon started in 2019.

 Image Copyright © Favian Ee  Mar 2018

Sembawang Hot Spring
Located at Gambas Avenue at the edge of Sembawang and Yishun, Sembawang Hot Spring is the only natural hot spring on mainland Singapore. It was discovered in 1909 by Seah Eng Keong in his pineapple estate. Fraser & Neave (F&N) acquired the site in 1922 and sold bottled water from the spring under the brand Seletaris. Many locals came to the spring to enjoy the hot water and soothe their aches and pains. The spring was closed in 2018 as the area underwent redevelopment into Sembawang Hot Spring Park, which is scheduled to open in late 2019.

 Image Copyright © Favian Ee  Mar 2018

Kampong Java Park
Just behind KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (formerly Kandang Kerbau Hospital) stood Kampong Java Park, a haven of peace and tranquility where patients could enjoy a pocket of nature in the city as they underwent their treatments. Formerly a Christian cemetary, the area was developed into a park which opened in 1973. It was the first park to have ornamental lighting, made of steel poles and plastic light covers along its footpath. The park was closed in 2018 to make way for an expressway tunnel.

 Image Copyright © Favian Ee  Aug 2018