Kampong Glam - Connections

KAMPONG GLAM - FORMALLY A MALAY AND ARABIC TRADER’S COMMUNITY - IS NOW A CONSERVED HERITAGE SITE. IN THIS STUDY, WE SOUGHT TO TEST A HYPOTHESIS: THAT THE TYPE OF FACILITIES IN KAMPONG GLAM COULD BE RELATED TO ITS CONNECTION WITH THE DOWNTOWN CORE COMMERCIAL CENTER. USING ANOTHER HERITAGE SITE - LITTLE INDIA- AS A BASIS FOR COMPARISON, WE IDENTIFIED AND COMPARED FACILITY TYPES IN BOTH SITES. IN ADDITION, THE PEDESTRIAN CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THESE SITES AND THE DOWNTOWN CORE WERE EXAMINED, NAMELY THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL CUES (LYNCH ELEMENTS).

Contents 1. City Scale \ Southern Singapore 2. District Scale \ Rochor Downtown 3. Palimpsest \ Kampong Glam 4. Neighbourhood Scale \ Kampong Glam in comparison to Little India 5. Urban Connectivity \ Pedestrian Access 6. Route I \ Sultan Mosque - Esplanade via North Bridge Road 7. Route II \ Sultan Mosque - Esplanade via Beach Road 8. Route III \ Mustafa Centre - Esplanade via Serangoon Road, Bencoolen Street, Victoria Street 9. Conclusion

City Scale

Southern Singapore An overlay of 4 systems - Network, Public Space, Facility, Activity

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District Scale

Rochor - Downtown

From this map, we could see how commercial activities gravitate towards the downtown core. Perhaps this could affect the urban structure of Kampong Glam which is situated at its periphery.

Health + Medical Care & Civic + Community Institution

LEGENDS Highway Main Roads

Educational Institution

Underground Train System

Sports & Recreation

Residential

Park

Residential + Commercial

Water Body

Commercial

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Palimpest - Kampong Glam

This timeline indicates the historical development of Kampong Glam since the Jackson Plan was conceived in 1828.

With nation development and the expansion of downtown core through time, there was a great shift of commercial intensity towards this core. We could see how the effects of history echo in the Kampong Glam with regards to its relationship with the downtown core.

Kampong Glam A historic seat of the Malay Royalty in Singapore, Kampong Glam was formally established as a Malay and Arabic trader’s community. With housing policies implemented within the framework of Singapore’s development, original residents were relocated out from Kampong Glam, leaving behind commercial and cultural activities. Most shophouses were thus subjected to decay, but not until 1989, when Kampong Glam was gazetted as a conservation area by Urban Redevelopment Authority. Today, Kampong Glam is branded as both a “heritage” site as well as a tourist attraction for revenue generation.

Study Focus In this project we want to see if there is relationship between the strength of pedestrian connection between Kampong Glam and Downtown Core and facility system in Kampong Glam. The following sections illustrate the steps taken in this analysis: 1) Comparison of Kampong Glam’s facilities with that of Little India. 2) Documentation of the pedestrian routes from the Masjid Sultan (Kampong Glam) to the Esplanade, and from Mustafa (Little India) to the Esplande. This preliminary study could potentially shed light on the relationship between the pedestrian connection and its facility services.

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Neighbourhood Scale

Kampong Glam in comparison to Little India

Government Property, Paid Access

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Urban Connectivity

by Pedestrian Access

ROUTE 1 Sultan Mosque - Esplanade via North Bridge Road

ROUTE 2 Sultan Mosque - Esplanade via Beach Road

ROUTE 3 Mustafa Centre - Esplanade via Serangoon Road, Bencoolen Street,Victoria Street

We conducted an empirical study by walking through the routes personally. We departed from the Sultan Mosque and marked Esplanade as destination. Both are popular spots for locals and tourists. We mapped our route on site by identifying lynch elements and allowing them to guide us towards the Esplanade.

LEGENDS Path Edges

Similarly, we had the same approach for Little India, which will serve as a preliminary basis for our comparison.

Nodes Landmark

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Conclusion

Based on our preliminary studies of the facility system in both neighbourhoods, Kampong Glam appears to cater more to tourist and is less culturally diverse than Little India. Additionally, from our site observations, the general facade of Kampong Glam is more polished than that of Little India. The commercial areas are also highly accessible in Kampong Glam, while for Little India it seemed more complex and less conducive for way-finding.

We proceeded to investigate and analyse the connections between the neighbourhoods and downtown core. We walk from the popular spots (Sultan Mosque in Kampong Glam and Mustafa Centre in Little India) to the downtown core (the Esplanade - a significant landmark). From the three routes, we have conclude that the Kampong Glam-Downtown Core connection is strong since we were able to find our way without much difficulty. For the Little India-Downtown Core connection, even though there is indeed a connection, it appears to be less established as way-finding within Little India is more complex.

In relation to our hypothesis, we postulate a positive correlation between connectivity to the downtown core and the clientele of facilities in Kampong glam . Whereas for Little India, its diversity in facility and strong sense of character, might have been a result of a weaker connection, and thus less influence from the downtown core. This study is, however, preliminary. Further in-depth analysis, including other forms of connections (such as public transport) is required.

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An urban analysis by Lin Derong + Tan Jing Min / A0111169M + A0054617E Under the tutelange of Oscar Carracedo 24th October 2014 Undergraduate Year 2, AR2223 Theory of Urban Design & Planning Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore