PEARLBANK : REINVENTING THE DOMESTIC REALM IN 1970S

Abstract

This dissertation seeks to reveal the ideas behind Pearlbank Apartments, through the words of Mr. Tan Cheng Siong, the architect behind. This is done through a careful examination of the work and an analysis on the value of the things he says. At a cursory level, Tan’s invention of Pearlbank appears to be driven only by its stylistic curve and its geometrical genius in enhancing residential spatial efficiency, given that its physical form was strikingly different from other apartments. However, through the understanding of Tan’s past experiences, this dissertation was able to draw some parallels between those experiences and the design ideas seen in Pearlbank. And among which, the study determines that it is his past domestic encounters that differentiates his work from others. Having lived in different environments in Chinatown of the past, the contrasts made clear to him some of the qualities which constituted to his ideal form of living. Therefore in designing Pearlbank, he struggled to retain these qualities of privacy, familial and community, even amidst this new challenge of high-rise living. Hence, this dissertation further argues that Pearlbank is not just a reinvention, but one that is made up of reinterpretations of the past domestic realm into the modern during the 1970s.