LIVING ROOM IN THE CITY : A PLACE FOR THE CITY OF COLLECTIVE INDIVIDUALS

Abstract

Modernist urban planning gives rise to land parcelling and hence fragmentation of the urban fabric. Urban infrastructure such as vehicular roads that exist to satisfy technical programs within the city further segregates the urban environment. In Clarke Quay area where Singapore River was an important gateway to the entry of migrants onto the island, this area has long been divided by major roads, singular landuse zoning and introverted developments into one that lacks identity and cohesiveness. This thesis attempts to reprogram the city to address the creation of isolated urban ghettoes threatening the urban continuity. Tackling the need to accommodate different inhabitants of the city - expatriates, foreign workers, local unemployed, office workers, local visitors and Muslims, is the starting off point to weave the fragmented urbanscape. The project identifies critical physical, historical and symbolic connections to the different land parcels to reinforce the selected site as the confluence of an otherwise disjointed area. The thesis emphasizes the prominence of historical buildings, long neglected within the city and seeks to highlight interesting urban ways of life. Marriage of religion, daily occupation and much needed urban relaxation positions the project to be a truly mixed-use development, not only of a variety of programs but a living room for diverse urban dwellers.