SMALL IS THE NEXT BIG THING : A CRITIQUE ON THE SCALE OF DEVELOPMENT ON ORCHARD ROAD AND AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL OF RENEWAL FOR LUCKY PLAZA

Abstract

This thesis critiques the scale of development on Orchard Road of late, where most things are now premised on being “bigger, better and faster.” In the past few years, the street has entered a persistent state of reinvention, with new megamalls and building facades shouting for attention. For the earlier generation of strata titled malls like Lucky Plaza, reinvention is hampered by fractured ownership. To avoid the loss of yet another piece of history and cultural layer on Orchard Road, this thesis proposes an alternative makeover model for Lucky Plaza: one which avoids destruction and tabula rasa, builds on its cultural and historical layers and harnesses its fractured ownership as an asset. As opposed to an “ION Orchard” scale of redevelopment, a reinvention within “smaller” means could prove a lot more sustainable, democratic and interesting in the context of being the “next Big Thing”.