Alkaff Mansion is a 19th century colonial bungalow located on a hill at 10 Telok Blangah Green. Built in 1918 by a member of the prominent Alkaff family as a weekend house, it became known for hosting high society parties in the 1930s. The mansion once served as the headquarters of the World Buddhist Society until 1984 before it was redeveloped into a restaurant and party venue in the 1990s. The property was then returned to the government in 2004 upon closure of the restaurant. Left vacant for a number of years, the mansion was given a new lease of life when an Italian restaurant occupied the premises in 2011.
Archive for the 'Architecture and Landscape' Category
The Chinese High School was founded in 1919 as the first secondary school in Singapore offering a modern education using the Chinese language. Initially operating out of bungalows on Niven Road, the school relocated to its current location along Bukit Timah Road in 1925. The clock tower building on the school's campus is now a gazetted national monument. Today, it is known as Hwa Chong Institution, a premier education institution in Singapore that consists of both secondary school and junior college sections.
The Gardens by the Bay are three public gardens with a total land area of 1,010,000 m2 in Marina Bay. Built on reclaimed land, the three gardens of Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central are managed by the National Parks Board (NParks). The Gardens include cooled conservatories, individual gardens, event and dining spaces, connecting waterways, lakes, aerial bridges and the showpiece Supertrees, structures up to 50 m high covered by plants. The largest garden, Bay South, officially opened on 29 June 2012.
The Japanese Cemetery Park at 22 Chuan Hoe Avenue was established in 1891 to serve the burial needs of Japanese residents in Singapore. Said to be the largest and best-preserved Japanese cemetery in Southeast Asia, the site measures 30,000 square meters and has an estimated 910 tombstones. Those interred here include Japanese businessmen, professionals, tradesmen and prostitutes who plied their trade in Singapore, as well as a number of war dead from World War II. The cemetery was closed to burials in 1973 and named a memorial park in 1987.
Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) is a public hospital located in Yishun and managed by Alexandra Health. The 3.4ha, 550-bed hospital cost an estimated S$700 million and was opened in phases from March 2010. KTPH is part of a planned healthcare hub that will include a community hospital and medical centre in the future.
The former Singapore Conference Hall and Trade Union House is located at 7 Shenton Way. Besides serving as the headquarters of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) from 1965 to 2000, it also witnessed many significant events in Singapore's history. After extensive renovation works, it was reopened in 2001 as the home of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra. The building, now known simply as Singapore Conference Hall, was gazetted as a national monument on 28 December 2010.
Tou Mu Kung, also called Hougang Dou Mu temple (后港斗母宫), is a Taoist temple situated at 779A Upper Serangoon Road. Completed in 1921, it is the oldest temple dedicated to the worship of Jiu Huang Ye (九皇爷) in Singapore and was gazetted as a national monument on 14 January 2005. Among the Hokkiens, Tou Mu Kung is often referred to as the Kew Ong Yah or Kau Ong Yah temple, after the Hokkien name of Jiu Huang Ye.
Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is an integrated resort (IR) with a hotel, casino, retail mall, convention facilities and entertainment venues including theatres, a museum and nightclubs. Sitting on a 570,000m2 waterfront site at Marina Bay, MBS is operated by Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Corp. and has been one of LVS' most profitable properties since its opening in April 2010. MBS' distinctive architecture includes three 55-storey hotel towers topped by a 12,400m2 SkyPark and the lotus flower-shaped ArtScience Museum.
Matilda House is located at 21 Punggol Road, within view of Soo Teck LRT Station on the west loop of the Punggol LRT line. It is the only remaining historical bungalow in the Punggol area. According to Howard Edmund Cashin, the house was built in 1902 by his father Alexander William Cashin and named after his grandmother. The house was home to several generations of the Cashin family before being acquired by the government together with the surrounding land in 1985. The house was also known as Kampung House and Istana Menanti (Malay for “the waiting palace”). It was gazetted as a conservation site in 2000 and will be restored and conserved as part of a condominium development.
Tropicana was Singapore's first entertainment complex to feature a cabaret theatre, restaurants and nightclubs. Opened in 1968, it was best known for introducing topless revues to Singapore. Extremely popular in the early years of its existence, Tropicana closed in 1989 and was redeveloped into a shopping centre.
