SELLING THE SINGAPORE CONDO: THE ADVERTISEMENT DRIVES THE ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

Recent condo advertisements have proliferated our newsfeed in recent times. The number of condo advertisements have rivalled the number of mobile phone advertisements on the newspapers in the weekend. These new launches are usually sold faster than they are being built. This important role of advertising can be said to be undeniable in the process of selling the Singapore condo. Architecture being represented on the advertisement can be said to different from conventional architectural representation. The advertisement seems to manipulate architecture and its representations to sell a perception and a form of lifestyle. These forms of manipulation seek to be uncovered and discussed. Meanwhile, architecture seem to take the cue of the advertisement in its creation. Architecture seems to be built according to the features and lifestyle that these advertisements postulate and market. These themes and features are usually a form of sugar coating and are built upon a generic architecture. The advertisement drives the architecture. The dissertation hopes to elaborate and prove this integrated two-way relationship between the roles of the advertisement and the architecture of the Singapore condo. The advertisement manipulates architecture and its representations into a kind of elastic data, and in turn this data drives the architecture. This elastic data can be referred to the elements and intentions of the advertising surface. The dissertation also hopes to prove this claim with the analysis of many condo's floor plans, images and supported with the study of contemporary theories. It is hoped that the paper will create a more comprehensive understanding of the position and roles of architecture in the creation and selling of the Singapore condo.