THE DEATH OF THE COLONIAL BUNGALOW AND THE NEW VERANDAH

Abstract

The ongoing transformation of British colonial era estate commonly possess two contradictory tendencies that occur in tandem; the romanticisation of these colonial estates, and the intense development within and around them. This results in the phenomena of conflicting landscapes, glazed in Verandahs and the “frankenstein bungalow”. Coupled with sociological changes in ideas of comfort and social orders, the value and validity of the Verandah1 is in question. This leaves one to conclude the death of the traditional colonial bungalow and it’s climatic design features. The design component is used as a vehicle to demonstrate how the idea of a Verandah can be reshaped to be more than a built feature. Here it is developed as a strategy for the design of the landscape by proposing the introduction of a new Verandah that negotiates the conflicting landscapes of Wessex and Tanglin Halt estate. The architectural intervention draws parallels to the idea of a Verandah; a threshold area between the interior and exterior, and a space that acts as a bridge between the private and public realm. The design proposal is the introduction of a third system to the landscape in-between. It is a connective tissue that bridges two urban precincts with disparate scale, density and their relationship to the ground. On a more intimate scale, the architecture is designed to achieve experiences of neither in nor out; concealed nor exposed. The new Verandah is a space that not only mediates between the immediate but also functions as a desirable and delightful extension to the two estates that it serves.